Pretzel Logic

[NCMUFan]

https://www.cnn.com/2026/03/23/climate/trump-totalenergies-offshore-wind-cancellation

[Billy Hoyle]

https://www.cnn.com/2026/03/23/climate/trump-totalenergies-offshore-wind-cancellation

Disagree. There is no logic of any kind involved here. Just Dear Leader's obsession with wind farms.

[cheebs09]

Disagree. There is no logic of any kind involved here. Just Dear Leader's obsession with wind farms.

He's ticked they built a wind farm near one of his prized courses in the UK.

[Uncle Rico]

This is a very good example of fiscal conservatism in action

[MU82]

He's ticked they built a wind farm near one of his prized courses in the UK.

This is sure to make him feel even more ornery:

In a special election yesterday, Dems flipped a Florida state House seat in the district in which Mar-A-Lago is located. In 2024, the Republican candidate won the district by 24%. Capt. Bone Spur had enthusiastically endorsed the GOP candidate who lost this time.

Oh, and the Hypocrite In Chief did vote in the election ... by mail.

[Uncle Rico]

This is sure to make him feel even more ornery:

In a special election yesterday, Dems flipped a Florida state House seat in the district in which Mar-A-Lago is located. In 2024, the Republican candidate won the district by 24%. Capt. Bone Spur had enthusiastically endorsed the GOP candidate who lost this time.

Oh, and the Hypocrite In Chief did vote in the election ... by mail.

It's ok if white people find easier ways to vote

[Shaka Shart]

As someone in the industry, this is not necessarily paying them to stop as much as it's refunding their lease with conditions. If I'm Total this is a great deal for me to get out of something that is being deliberately sabotaged.

This admin with all the work stoppages has made it so prohibitively expensive to build these sites that the rest of the world is charging full steam ahead on, it's a no brainer for them to take their money back. The energy companies building the few offshore farms now have taken mind boggling write downs as it is (the goal of the admin).

It still a matter of if, not when. There's offshore lease auctions going on constantly around the world.

[WellsstreetWanderer]

Many people are not convinced about the ROI given the immense expense for construction, sporadic use and limited life expectancy coupled with inability to recycle the components.

[Shaka Shart]

Many people are not convinced about the ROI given the immense expense for construction, sporadic use and limited life expectancy coupled with inability to recycle the components.

Can't manipulate the price of wind, it's always free vs pay by consumption for gas. Wouldn't be getting built rapidly all over the world by energy behemoths if the math didn't pencil.

Use is constant offshore where there are constant wind flows. Curtailment is mostly due to the grid constraints onshore, not the farm itself.

Useful life of modern offshore wind farms are more or less the same as gas plants (30-35 years with proper maintenance)

90% and rising of wind turbine components can now be recycled. That includes the blades. How much of natural gas emmissions can be recycled?


I know if you watch the show Landman, Billy Bob Thornton once said something differently though. Gotta hear both sides

[TSmith34, Inc.]

Many people are not convinced about the ROI given the immense expense for construction, sporadic use and limited life expectancy coupled with inability to recycle the components.

Oh, are many people saying? Big strong guys with tears in their eyes saying sir?

[The Sultan]

Many people are not convinced about the ROI given the immense expense for construction, sporadic use and limited life expectancy coupled with inability to recycle the components.

Sounds something the free market should be able to sort out.

[WarriorFan]

Industry requires a steady base load of power on which it can rely 100% of the time.  Why is Germany de-industrializing?  No power.  Wind can be a partial solution but it's ugly and has very low return after extremely high Capex.  Companies like Total were doing it only because they were getting enough government money to make it have some small ROI.  Efforts now need to concentrate on reinforcing the base load through Nuclear, clean coal, and gas.  AI draws a huge amount of power, and that demand will only grow.  He who has the most power, wins.  Right now, unfortunately, that's China... and for China to win the AI race would be a risk to the type of society we hope to enjoy for a few more years. 

[MU82]

Clean coal 

[rocky_warrior]

Nuclear

Talk about CapEx! Nuclear is by FAR the highest.  You might do some more research.

clean coal

Lol.  Filtered cigarettes are perfectly safe!

I won't deny that "modern" coal plants are much better (but still worse than natural gas, and not zero emission like solar and wind).  But most of our coal plants aren't new, and the CapEx of new ones is higher than solar and wind.

[Shaka Shart]

Industry requires a steady base load of power on which it can rely 100% of the time.  Why is Germany de-industrializing?  No power.  Wind can be a partial solution but it's ugly and has very low return after extremely high Capex.  Companies like Total were doing it only because they were getting enough government money to make it have some small ROI.  Efforts now need to concentrate on reinforcing the base load through Nuclear, clean coal, and gas.  AI draws a huge amount of power, and that demand will only grow.  He who has the most power, wins.  Right now, unfortunately, that's China... and for China to win the AI race would be a risk to the type of society we hope to enjoy for a few more years. 

We don't subsidize coal, gas, and oil. I stand corrected.

Why is there still a 3+ year supply queue for wind turbines after the gov sunsetted a bunch of the IRA benefits.

Why is there record setting asset acquisitions of wind/renewable energy assets by private equity if there's no returns

[Shaka Shart]

"Returns on wind aren't good enough, we should be doing nuclear instead".

I say this with all due respect in tandem with Rocky's capex comment. Be serious

[rocky_warrior]

Why is there record setting asset acquisitions of wind/renewable energy assets by private equity if there's no returns

Put solar (and a Powerwall) on my house a couple years ago.  Net exported 2.5MWh in 2025.  Total $ loser 

[Shaka Shart]

Put solar (and a Powerwall) on my house a couple years ago.  Net exported 2.5MW in 2025.  Total $ loser 

Yeah but much do you pay in subscription fees to the sun though

[rocky_warrior]

Yeah but much do you pay in subscription fees to the sun though

It does try to irradiate me daily.  But it hated me before I got solar too.

[jesmu84]

Many people are not convinced about the ROI given the immense expense for construction, sporadic use and limited life expectancy coupled with inability to recycle the components.

Immense expense? Compared to what other power generation construction?

Limited life expectancy? Source?

Inability to recycle components? Source? Is that same concern focused on other power generation components?

🤡

[MU82]

Knock it off. "Windmills" are killing whales and causing cancer!

[Shaka Shart]

Knock it off. "Windmills" are killing whales and causing cancer!

You do know that's a myth right? They actually are there to activate the 5G chips implanted from the Covid vax

[TSmith34, Inc.]

Why is there still a 3+ year supply queue for wind turbines after the gov sunsetted a bunch of the IRA benefits.

Why is there record setting asset acquisitions of wind/renewable energy assets by private equity if there's no returns

Because you stupid libs ain't know how to do no ROI calculation, even with your fancy degrees and lattes. Eve'ybody knows clean coal is big ROI, which is why the coal companies is doin' so good. Private equity is just a buncha big dumb libs who's bad at the maths.

[rocky_warrior]

clean coal is big ROI, which is why the coal companies is doin' so good. Private equity is just a buncha big dumb libs who's bad at the maths.

I mean, this is gold.  But that's expensive to mine.

[tower912]

But if the world got smart and went huge on wind, solar, etc., Iran, Saudi Arabia, Russia, Venezuela could drown in their oil.  There are so many options.  But we continue to willfully make the worst, most destructive, illogical choices.