Natural Gas Proven Reserves are Growing- We Don't Need Wind

The efficiency, affordability and abundance of natural gas is unmatched by solar or wind energy generation. President Obama and his administration, however, are reluctant to give up on the renewable energy. I don’t blame them—I would be too if I was responsible for dumping billions of dollars of taxpayer money into companies that were now failing.  Top that with the fact that wind and solar energy are not nearly as reliable, affordable, abundant or efficient as natural gas.

For years have been saying that we are running out of natural gas and we need to stop relying so heavily on it and find alternative fuels. These facts are continuously disproved—in 2010 the proven oil and natural gas reserved reached the highest level ever recorded during the 35 years the Energy Information Administration’s has been collecting such data. The increase in known reserves has come from an expansion of drilling and drilling technologies, as well as higher prices for oil and natural gas, which creates incentives for additional exploration. Further debunking any ideas that the United States was running out of oil and natural gas reserves is the fact that not only are our proven reserves up 50 percent from 30 years ago, but the country has also consumed more than double the amount of our proven reserves in 1980. 

Wind and Solar power pale in comparison to the power of oil and natural gas. In a recent speech, President Obama pushed for America to be more like Denmark—a nation spending far more on renewable energy. First off, the American economy and the economy of Denmark are different, and secondly, the power of wind in reality turned out to not be so great in Denmark. A study completed by the Danish Centre for Political Studies—funded by the Institute for Energy Research—found that there is a reason why wind power is not a common energy source. The study is cited as stating that, “wind power has met as little as 5 percent of Denmark’s annual electricity consumption needs”. 

Wind and Solar power companies are not succeeding in America either. Many companies that received federal loans from the Department of Energy are now bankrupt or on the brink of insolvency. Companies in the green energy field are reliant on government loans and subsidies in order to operate and compete with natural gas and oil. These green energy companies would fail and even are failing without these subsidies—a clear sign that the technology for these alternative power sources is just not there yet. 

Government subsidies for green energy companies take resources away from the private sector. The market will produce and provide the most affordable and highest demanded energy by consumers. Preferential treatment such as subsidies and mandates benefit the few chosen companies at the expense of others. We need to allow the market—not the government—determine how we produce energy. Americans need and want affordable, reliable, efficient, and sustainable energy—something that alternative fuels have failed to deliver.