I certainly hope that some of the alternative energy strategies I have presented here come to fruition. Because with the current resistance that the left is putting up to new refineries and power plants we are going to be up a creek. With every canceled refinery and power plant the supplies of existing power grow tighter and tighter. And as we have noticed over the past couple of years the costs of the available supplies go up and up.
So far the increased costs have been offset by increased productivity and they haven't taken a toll on the economy, but that cannot continue forever. There is a point where businesses with turn down addition projects because the energy costs are just to high.
The United States has not built a refinery or nuclear power plant of any consequence for the last 30 years, and now I read that even Coal Fired power plants are being rejected because of their "Carbon Footprint", I am starting to believe that the left won't be happy until we have to adopt dirty 3rd world practices of making our own charcoal from firewood in order to heat our homes.
But hey if the 3rd world does it is has to be carbon neutral right after all they bear not responsibility for our current "Global Warming" predicament, if it really does exist.
For more on the lefts most recent efforts to up energy costs read Houston Chronicle - New laws leave oil refiners uncertain:
Sphere: Related ContentOil refiners may reconsider plans for some refinery expansion projects in 2008 in response to new energy legislation that could reduce gasoline use in coming years, industry groups and refiners say.
While expansion projects already under way won't be affected, those in the early planning stages could be delayed or canceled, they said — continuing a pullback that began last year amid rising costs for refinery additions and uncertainty over future gasoline demand.
Within 10 years, U.S. refiners could be producing less gasoline than they are today as a result of the new energy legislation, which calls for stricter auto gas mileage standards and more ethanol output, said the National Petrochemical and Refiners Association, a trade group in Washington.
If that's the case, "it doesn't really make sense for refiners to spend billions of dollars expanding to meet a demand that's not going to be there," said Bill Day, spokesman for San Antonio-based Valero Energy Corp., the nation's largest refiner.
But industry critics say refiners are using new energy policies as an excuse to keep refining capacity tight and their profits high. They claim refinery additions will still be needed to feed growth in gasoline and demand, as well as bridge a shortage in refining capacity today that is being filled by gasoline imports.
"Even as the legislation is implemented, we will have a shortfall of refining capacity for the entire lifetime of those specific energy goals," said Mark Cooper, director of research at the Consumer Federation of America in Washington.
While a new U.S. refinery hasn't been built in three decades, U.S. refiners have been expanding facilities in recent years to keep pace with fuel demands and to take advantage of one of the most profitable periods in the industry's history.
Early last year, refiners were so confident their winning streak would continue that they told the Energy Department they planned to add 1.6 million barrels per day of new refining capacity, an increase of about 10 percent and enough to produce an additional 37 million gallons of gasoline every day.
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