Sure, in 40 years we will run the planet on sun and wind because it's cheap, but if it takes us anything like 40 years to get there, then the planet we run on sun and wind will be a broken planet.
The United States is in the middle of an energy transformation, and natural gas sits at the center of it. The same fuel that was supposed to be a bridge to renewables is now being called upon to power the AI revolution, sustain manufacturing reshoring, and keep the lights on as coal retires faster than alternatives can replace it.
Texas isn't exactly Berkeley or Sandled Brooklynites looking to save the whales. It's because the economics of renewables are overtaking the economics or becoming more attractive than the economics of fossil fuels.
The issue is that the natural gas pipeline system wasn't built for what we're now asking it to do. You've got LNG export facilities pulling massive volumes to the Gulf Coast, data centers and AI infrastructure demanding firm power in places that never needed it before, and a renewables buildout that paradoxically increases gas demand by requiring backup generation for when the wind doesn't blow and the sun doesn't shine.
1mo ago
Underscored — save the words that stop you in your tracks.
