Talking points roundup: America’s gas turbine shortage, Europe's record wind curtailment, Germany’s destructive energy policy, and more
Also: “Net zero” policies and AI growth, on “renewables overtaking coal,” a court’s dismissal of a Sierra Club lawsuit, the Ambler Road project, and the disastrous Antiquities Act
Here are some of my favorite talking points I’ve created or shared this week.
On America’s natural gas turbine shortage:
The US is facing a 3–5 year backlog for natural gas turbines—the essential component of gas-fired power plants.
The cause?
Years of “net zero” policies, which eroded investor confidence in natural gas and compelled manufacturers to scale back production of turbine components.
On record wind curtailment in Europe:
Spain, France, and Germany curtailed—i.e., generated but didn’t use—a record amount of wind power in 2025.
What’s happening here?
A massive buildout of subsidized, uncontrollable wind inevitably means both more surpluses when it isn’t needed and more shortages when it is.
On Germany’s destructive energy policy:
Germany already has some of the highest energy prices in the world.
Now they’re planning to spend billions more to subsidize expensive carbon capture and “clean” hydrogen.
They continue to have, as The Wall Street Journal once described it, the “World’s Dumbest Energy Policy.”
On “renewables overtaking coal”:
How to distort truth and sleep well at night: a journalistic guide.
Step 1: Write a dramatic headline that implies something false but is technically ambiguous (if readers don’t get it, that’s on them!)
Step 2: Indicate the truth deep in the article (they can’t say you didn’t!)
On a court’s dismissal of a Sierra Club lawsuit:
The U.S. Court of Appeals (D.C. Circuit) to Sierra Club (dismissing their attempt to block a Tennessee natural gas pipeline): “You’re entitled to your own opinion on NEPA, but that doesn’t make it true!”
If this pattern holds up, it’ll be big for energy and infrastructure development in America.
On the Ambler Road project:
Congress recognized the Ambler Road project as necessary to access abundant Alaskan minerals back in the early 1980s.
Yet it’s still being fought today by the “green” movement!
Why is America lagging in supply chains? The answer includes: Sierra Club, Audubon Society, Center For Biological Diversity, and others.
On the disastrous Antiquities Act:
The Antiquities Act of 1906 has been a disaster.
By giving the president authority to designate any piece of federal land as a “national monument,” it has enabled president after president to close off coal-, oil-, and gas-rich lands to development.
The Antiquities Act must go.
Questions about this article? Ask AlexAI, my chatbot for energy and climate answers:
Popular links
EnergyTalkingPoints.com: Hundreds of concise, powerful, well-referenced talking points on energy, environmental, and climate issues.
My new book Fossil Future: Why Global Human Flourishing Requires More Oil, Coal, and Natural Gas—Not Less.
“Energy Talking Points by Alex Epstein” is my free Substack newsletter designed to give as many people as possible access to concise, powerful, well-referenced talking points on the latest energy, environmental, and climate issues from a pro-human, pro-energy perspective.
Have you heard about an energy start-up company, BrilliantLightPower.com ? I looked at the website and it looks very promising.
My chatGPT search does not appear to support Alex’s statement that hydroelectric is doing the vast majority of the work to overtake coal:
Wind 32%
Solar 14%
Hydroelectric 5%
Coal 25%