Dear Public Service of New Mexico, I’m still waiting for an answer.

By Peter Burrows, Chairman and Founder, Citizens for Electricity Justice and Transparency Now. elburropete@gmail.com – sivercityburro.com. 11/30/17

Last May, Public Service of New Mexico (PNM) held a meeting in Silver City to get the public’s input on PNM’s plan to eliminate the use of coal by 2031.  I don’t know why they hold these meetings, it must be a legal requirement, because as far as I can tell the “public input” is inputted to PNM’s circular file, never to be seen again.

At these meetings, and this one was no exception, there are always environmentalists who claim that renewable energy is cheaper than coal.  This is absurd, and PNM knows it. My question, asked at the meeting and so far unanswered:

“What would my bill be if PNM generated electricity 100% from renewables?”

PNM should be able to answer this because they have been operating an electricity storage facility for over two years.   It was once heralded as “the nation’s first solar storage facility fully integrated into a utility’s power grid.” (Renewable Energy World, 3/2/15)

Why is this important? Because if PNM is going to provide all of our electricity from renewables, they have to be able to provide electricity at midnight when the wind isn’t blowing, i.e. when no electricity is coming in that is generated from solar panels or wind mills.

“Where does PNM then get the electricity?” is the first question environmentalists never ask. Answer: Stored electricity.  The second question they never ask is, “How much does stored electricity cost?” Answer: A LOT!

I have no idea why PNM doesn’t come up with a cost estimate.  Is the chairman of the board at PNM trying to shield her fellow environmentalists from reality? Does anybody at PNM actually know, or care, what the cost of 100% renewable energy would be?  After all, there’s a world to save. Let the little people worry about cost.

Well, fellow Lilliputians, since we’re the ones paying the bill, let’s generate a cost estimate on our own.

Elon Musk, the Tesla founder, has just completed a $50 million project in Australia called “the world’s largest battery.”  Tesla makes electric cars and is a company usually credited with having the world’s most advanced battery technology.

The $50 million facility will generate enough electricity to supply 30,000 homes for one hour. Repeat: One hour.  I am going to guess that there are about 15,000 homes in Grant County, so the Tesla facility would give us about two hours of electricity.  If we wish to have enough electricity to last from 6:00 PM to 6:00 AM on the darkest night of the year, we would need six Tesla facilities for that 12 hours of storage which would cost $300 million. Just for Grant County.

A $300 million debt offering, amortized over the 10-year estimated life of the battery facility and at a 4% rate of interest, would cost Grant County denizens an average of $36 million per year. ($30 million amortization plus $6 million average interest cost.) That’s $2,400 per home, or $200 per month.

This is only for the cost of storage. The cost to generate the electricity to go into that storage is in addition. Furthermore, the above cost estimate is probably low even if my 15,000-home estimate is high, because more than 12 hours of storage would surely be needed, probably at least 20.  Plus, the amount of solar/wind capacity installed would need to be three or four times daylight peak demand, with the excess earmarked for storage.  Operating and paying for all that extra capacity, capacity way beyond what would be needed with coal plants, is not free.

My organization, Citizens for Electricity Justice and Transparency Now, would like PNM to include in every utility bill a range of cost estimates if PNM was 100% renewable.  This could include not just battery storage, but also the estimated costs for other forms of storage, e.g. compressed air, pumped storage, etc. This would give the rate payer a much better idea of what is at stake when people push for 100% renewable electricity, and it would be a real step forward in transparency.

Also, we would like the New Mexico Department of Revenue to tell us what the average income is of those receiving tax-credit subsidies to install solar panels on their homes.  We strongly suspect, but can’t prove, that those receiving these subsidies are WAY above average in state income and do not deserve to be subsidized by us poor folk.

Finally, you will note on your bill a renewable energy rider that INCREASES your bill, not a renewable energy credit that reduces it.  We believe electricity justice demands that those who advocate for renewables should bear the cost of renewables.  This could be done if PNM simply asked its customers if they support renewable energy, the current cost of which would be given along with the estimated effect on a person’s electric bill given various levels of renewable support.

All of the renewable rider costs would then be paid by those who want renewables, most of whom are probably upper income anyway. That’s only electricity justice, isn’t it?

Note to readers: Donations to Citizens for Electricity Justice and Transparency Now are NOT deductible. Libertarians do not believe taxpayers should subsidize special interest groups. For details on how to contribute, go to elburropete@gmail.com. Cash is preferred.  ; ~)  

11/15/17   

CAIR somehow got my article/column that appeared in The Grant County Beat Nov. 13, “Dear Islamophobes.” They sent an email to the editor/owner of The Beat, and I suggested a response to that email and also wrote a tongue-in-cheek “news” story. The editor/owner wanted nothing to do with it. This is not the first time she has refused to post one of my blogs out of fear of offending Muslims. Repeat: Fear. It appears the campaign to shut down criticism of Islam has reached into the middle-of-nowhere New Mexico where it has effectively censored a little-read news blog. Oh, my. Here is the email exchange and the “news” article. 

###### 

ME: You may not want to go with this one. Maybe a disclaimer that, with the exception of the email from CAIR, this is a fake news piece that I was having fun with, exercising my First A rights and pulling a few chains at the same time.  

Editor/owner: NOPE. Not a chance. I don’t want anyone to know that CAIR emailed me. Just YOU, because it was in reference to YOUR column. And I don’t want to exacerbate matters! 

Local On-line Publisher and Columnist Honored by CAIR – Special to the Grant County Beat by Peter Burrows 11/14/17 elburropete@gmail.com, silvercityburro.com  

The Council on American Islamic Relations, CAIR, sent the following email yesterday to the editor of The Grant County Beat:  

Date: November 13, 2017 at 5:53:24 AM MST To: “editor@grantcountybeat.com”                                  From: Ibrahim Hooper <ihooper@cair.com>                                                                           Subject: Do you also publish other racist, neo-Nazi and anti-Semitic columns, or just Islamophobic ones?http://www.grantcountybeat.com/columns/libertarian-leanings/40490-dear-islamophobes-stiffen-thy-spines-confront-the-evil   

The editor of “The Beat” couldn’t be reached for comment, but this reporter is aware that she is flattered that CAIR is among the vast viewership The Beat enjoys.  

Peter Burrows, who writes the Libertarian Leanings column that CAIR lauded, noted that when CAIR tries to shut down free speech, “you must be doing something right.”   

Burrows suggested The Beat respond with, “Just the Islamophobic ones. The Nazis, neo-Nazis, Jews, anti-Semites, racists, whomever, have not been ordered by their God to kill me for 1400 years.”   

He continued, “I am not surprised the editor did not take my suggestion She is a classy lady who does not want to get into a pissing match with CAIR. Besides, I think she’s smart to keep a low profile on this one, as CAIR’s next step could be to enlist the local ACLU to sue her for publishing a hate speech article.”   

When asked about the “racist, neo-Nazi, anti-Semitic” charges in the CAIR email, Burrows said he pleads guilty to being a racist, “if Islam is a race.” He added that the email did not call his article homophobic, misogynistic or xenophobic. “These guys are slipping.”  

Burrows cited other articles he has written that CAIR might also enjoy, especially “Slandering the Prophet,” written 4/26/15 and available at silvercityburro.com.   

“My number one slander was: Muhammad loved the Jews. That’ll get CAIR’s knickers knotted. If that irritates them enough, maybe they could see their way to getting ahold of the Southern Poverty Law Center and having my blog declared a ‘Hate Group.’ They did it for Ann Corcoran’s fabulous blog, ‘Refugee Resettlement Watch.’  

“I know I’m not that good, but Hope springs eternal.”                                                       

Dear Islamophobes: Stiffen Thy Spines! Confront The Evil! By Peter Burrows  elburropete@gmail.com, silvercityburro.com – 11/12/17 

Some months ago, I offered to give my talk, “An Infidel’s Guide To The Koran,” to three local churches and a university affiliated speakers’ forum. To date, only one response, and that was a firm rejection from the Unitarians.  

Now, some people may say the Unitarians don’t qualify as a “church,” which is a place people go to worship, but as someone who has gone to Unitarian services for almost 50 years, I can vouch that Unitarians are ardent worshipers, which is the reason they rejected my offer.  

You see, the “God” Unitarians worship is Government, and one of the pillars of Islam says, in part, “None has the right to be worshipped but Allah,” which means the Muslims would no doubt classify Unitarians as pagans. Since Allah commands Muslims to “slay the pagans wherever you find them,” I can understand why Unitarians would just as soon not spend a Sunday listening to somebody quote the Koran.  Islamophobes, indeed! 

Now, you’re probably thinking, “So much for the Unitarians, what about the other two churches?” I would describe both as being in the Evangelical category, definitely not “pagan,” but the Koran has quite a few scary verses concerning Christians (and Jews), so it is understandable why those folks also wouldn’t want to be frightened on a Sunday morning.   

My Christian friends go to Sunday services to sing, pray, worship with fellow Christians and feel a sense of renewal with their Lord. They don’t want to be scared to death, and that’s precisely what Islam does. In fact, Allah says, “I will cast terror into the hearts of those who have disbelieved, so strike them over the necks–.” 

As you may have noticed, Islamophobia is rampant in America. For example, next week the Islamic expert Robert Spencer is supposed to give an address at Stanford, but terrified student organizations are protesting his appearance and urging students to boycott his speech.  Sorry, kids, the scary stuff is not going away just because you ignore it. Steel yourselves! Listen! 

While Islamophobes understandably fear Islam, Islamofools actually embrace Islam! Ironically, the Islamofools have successfully convinced the mainstream media that anybody who has the courage to honestly discuss Islam is the Islamophobe, not the cowards who refuse to listen!!  

I’m afraid the Islamofools are in charge. Notable fools include Presidents G.W. Bush and Barrack Obama; Prime Ministers Blair, Cameron and May; and sadly, Pope Francis.