Biden’s ‘clean’ energy push is unattainable for Native Americans

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Although Inside Higher Ed published an article that intended to express optimism and hope for renewable energy (i.e. green or clean energy) for Native Americans, the reader comes away befuddled and confused about the pragmatism of renewables in America.

Currently, the radical Left is pushing the Green New Deal to impose strict standards on fossil fuels, increase investment in renewable energy such as windmills or wind turbines, and forcibly restrict airplane and motor vehicle travel in the name of preserving Mother Earth. Many of these policies will cost millions, if not billions, of dollars if implemented as quickly as the Left proposes. Also, it goes without saying that it would decimate the fossil fuel industry, gut jobs, put people out of work, and ignore the fact that renewable energy has a long way to go to be as efficient as fossil fuels.

The article highlighted the many problems that community colleges faced when installing and running windmills in windy areas, in addition to mismanagement and the lack of understanding of how renewable energy works.

As the article noted, “transitioning to renewables isn’t like flipping a switch.” Instead, it takes “years for a campus to work out the kinks in its system.”

For example, the Blackfeet Community College installed a windmill to try to harness fast-moving winds near its campus in Montana. However, the wind destroyed the windmills because the gusts were too high.

For Turtle Mountain Community College, the administrators learned that it took up to two years to save money by using wind turbines. The college had to learn how to do maintenance tasks in-house, since it is far away from major cities and finding workers was a challenging task.

There are also issues with expiring energy credits if unused, negotiations with utility companies, and the cost of selling energy versus buying energy from utility companies, all of which are major hurdles for Native American colleges.

The experiences of higher education institutions in Native American areas are a warning to the radical Left’s fervent and zealous push to impose renewable energy on the entire country. It may sound like an attainable slogan, but it is far from a finished product and the risks outweigh the benefits.