Why America’s Most Conservative State is Building its Largest Wind Farm

[@PolyMatter]

I just finished recording a new episode of my Nebula Original "China, Actually". And can get access to it (soon) and six other Nebula-exclusive episodes by signing up right here: go.nebula.tv/polymatter -Evan

[@notaplic8158]

You make good videos dude, but will you ever stop shilling nebula?

[@franciscoaguirre96]

Because they ran out of energy during the most extreme parts of the year. Some died. The majority of people lived with high bills because no one at the electric company has morals.

[@lobost12]

​@@notaplic8158he was literally among the founders, why wouldnt he shill it lmao

[@zhcultivator]

Please make a video on the South Thailand Insurgency 🇹🇭 soon.

[@notaplic8158]

@@lobost12 yeah, I know, but don't you get sick of people making self promotion their entire personality? Were at a point now where his videos aren't even really videos, they're mostly a thinly veiled cover to beg people to join his nebulas. He spends half the video going on about it and then spams nebula links in the comments, never replies to or considers feedback/criticism and most of his description is talking about nebula. It gives me alpha bro vibes where they'll make a ragebait video and then in the middle of it they'll start shilling their books and courses and stuff

[@johnsmiff8328]

Renewable energy is actually pretty popular in rural communuties once the people start seeing what it does. The independence/self sufficiency of it is usually pretty attractive, and if you rent out some land to a solar/wind farm or start your own little thing, the money coming into the community is usually welcome

[@alexrogers777]

Eh, from what I've seen its only popular with rural areas when their the ones producing and using the renewable energy, like small personal wind turbines and roof top solar arrays. They're still overwhelmingly against any projects big enough to actually be impactful and lean heavy into NIMBYism to oppose any large productive sites

[@speedy01247]

any person who wants to live off grid is gonna choose Renewable since well its renewable and can last decades without major needs that would require outside assistance. (on the small scale, but on the large scale its still self sustainable so long as the state has the industry to work on it)

[@williamchamberlain2263]

:) Good to hear that they can be persuaded once they do their own research. It is a shame that the economic arguments are hidden from people

[@Croz89]

Wind only really makes economic sense on grid scale, individual turbines are great until they break, and then the flat callout charges to maintenance rack up, plus you go to the back of the queue since the grid scale arrays take priority. Solar is different.

[@flipsolo]

💯One of conservative ethos is self-reliance, then renewable energy is that! Unfortunately, today's "conservatives" are reactionary moral police and/or further enriching rich folks.

[@TheHipClip]

As a European there's two thing I know about Wyoming. It's windy and it's so windy that Semi-Trucks regularly get blown over. Of course it makes sense to build a Wind farm there.

[@micahbonewell5994]

One of the problems with this that Polymatter failed to highlight: Although it has the best land for wind in the US, electrical transmission losses and costs are highly proportional to the distance it has to travel before being used. Therefore because basically no one lives in Wyoming, and its surrounding states are also relatively sparsely populated, it makes the cost for wind farms in Wyoming quite high. Ideally you want to build wind and solar farms right next to where they are being used.

[@Hadar1991]

@@micahbonewell5994 Yeah, but the could also a domino effect occur, that Wyoming would not sell electricity directly to California, but mainly supply Utah and Nevada, which could then supply California. If Wyoming could supply most of electricity for Utah and Nevada it would make a massive breathing room for California.

[@mockingspongebob773]

@@micahbonewell5994 hvdc cables work on large distance

[@simontaylor2143]

He also didn't mention that there is such a thing as too much wind for turbines to operate (admittedly speeds might not get that high in Wyoming). And quite apart from long distance loss the sheer amount of copper required to connect such disperse energy sources as wind turbines is huge.

[@desireandfire]

Couldn't Wyoming just self sustain itself on wind

[@Eoin-B]

The reason it never went over the line in California was that the data centres started using backup generators. We have the same issues in Ireland on a much larger scale. 20% of our country's usage goes to data centres FANG being the majority and we had to put an indefinite hold on all new construction because we ran into the same issue last winter.

[@2x2is22]

I love how those FANG companies proclaim to be green by buying those green credits when in reality they emit more than anyone. They have us all believing in this impending "climate doom" and yet are the greatest consumers of fossil fuels. They are literally saying one thing and doing another

[@Eoin-B]

@@2x2is22 in all fairness, they are actually building wind farms, but that's because they are legally required to. So I don't know if they would do it anyway. But they all actually have backup oil generator by their sites. The public are not huge fans or all these data centers as they don't employ to many people, but in total 10% of Irish people work for American multinationals and most are the highest paid too so the government tolerates a lot of their shit.

[@jasonreed7522]

​@@Eoin-Bbackup generators are very common in commercial buildings to cover all of the "emergency power" and "standy power" requirements as decided by code and the owner. A code requirement would be emergency lighting of atleast 1 foot candle (USA) on emergency egress paths. And an owner requirement would be maintaining power to the freezers in a pharmacutical research facility so their samples don't get wrecked. Backup generators being fossil fuels is also reasonable as they shouldn't be running all the time and are usually pretty cheap. Oil is something that you can store in a tank for a long time, and Gas is often a utility connection. However, if the data centers are going to pretend to care about the environment they should atleast try an offest their consumption with local solar or getting an agreement with their utility saying they are buying green power. (Electricity pricing is complicated but these programs do help transition the grid to carbon neutral faster)

[@Eoin-B]

I was just saying the mandate in Ireland was only recent. Our country is littered with pharmaceutical and tech companies who most of course all have backup power. But what I've seen built in my county in the last 2 years is next level. For instance, Apples Cork Campus built a small powerplant-size backup generator and Redhat (Fedora) did the same in the last year nearby.@@jasonreed7522 We tend to hide these enterprise parks in vallies, but the oil generators make you kind of sick. Our government is getting huge backlash for this mandate as it hinders our green goals and data centers don't provide that much extra jobs. The bigger backup generators were only mandated because of the near brown-outs we had in the last 2 years.

[@Eoin-B]

​@@2x2is22 I don't know why you put climate doom in double-quotes. Record temps and frequency of hurricanes and wildfires are growing rapidly over the last 30 years. That's not a conspiracy. Saying that they are clearly greenwashing, which I do agree with you.

[@josephharrison5639]

As a conservative I’m glad we’re finally getting back to our roots of environmental protection just wish we’d consider nuclear energy more often as well

[@Julianna.Domina]

As a Leftist, I'm very glad to see some conservatives finally getting with the program and conserving the planet we live on. We have common cause against wealthy business interests here. Also we definitely need more LFTR reactors. Cheaper, easier, safer nuclear energy.

[@me0101001000]

I beg you, don't make the same mistakes our government made with nuclear. Sincerely, A German resident

[@memofromessex]

Conservatives should naturally conserve the natural and built environment for future generations. It's something I support as a somewhat conservative social democrat.

[@nick2555v6]

Car dependency is horrible for environmental protection, we've destroyed so much land with parking lots and strip malls instead of using our land efficiently

[@KonigSchutze]

Very glad to hear this. Too often I hear Trumpians love polluting and rolling coal for the same of sticking into the "libs". Good to hear this - I think you're in the minority but that's anecdotal.

[@PremierCCGuyMMXVI]

I’ll be honest, protecting the environment used to be a massive conservative pillar, glad to see more and more want to renewable energy and environmental protection. Edit: just to clarify, I’m not trying to dis on conservatives, we all have different valid opinions, I’m a Progressive but I do try my best to respect the viewpoints of my conservative friends even if I strongly disagree with it. But when it comes to protecting our home planet all 8 billion of us depend on, it’s crucial we don’t commit ecocide or rapid global warming like we saw during the late Permian. The past 10,000 years of interglacial period gave us rise to our civilization as a species and this interglacial period is due to last many tens of thousands more years, it’s important we keep our Planet as a climate that is stable and perfect for humanity to flourish and not turn it into a hot house that floods our major cities and causes mass extinctions of vital ecosystems. And to close, science shouldn’t be politicized, there are solutions to climate change that both sides can agree on and that was demonstrated in this video as well, the link between co2 and global temperature has been well known since the 19th century and the evidence is unequivocal. It’s time we stop playing politics and come together as Americans and solve the most important issue the human race faces in the 21st century.

[@MidWitPride]

Conservatives should be the ones most concerned about nature. It really does not make any sense for conservatives to not be for environmentalism. If you love your country, why would you not try to conserve its nature?

[@carsonfarmer1074]

​@@MidWitPridefr

[@The_Midnight_Bear]

​@@MidWitPride As a conservative, it also makes sense for me to not have to foot the bill for megacorps, and then have to be taxed to the gills for the damage. Also, fossil fuel industries are non-competitive(it's literally a cartel), and the main exporters of oil are islamic autocracies, socialist tyrannies, and Russia. I think my conservative brothers are supposed to be against all that.

[@kokofan50]

Renewables are just green washing for fossil fuels

[@rwilson1197]

Nuclear power is the way forward

[@finitewehosh6542]

I use to work at NARM. I left because I saw how the pits were getting smaller (aside from the mega pit), and the reclamation area was getting bigger. Production has nose dived across the coal industry and I wasn't going to hang out for the bust.

[@Aman-ti4qu]

I never understood America’s skepticism over Nuclear Power. The rate of nuclear accidents and subsequent deaths is much much lower than fossil fuels. And like everything else, safety will only increase over time. Most nuclear power plants are currently running on tech that is decades old, how do you expect them to get better if you won’t invest in it. It can literally solve the immediate transitional needs to cleaner sources of energy

[@guardianangel1337]

One main problem is the waste coming out of nuclear plants. There is currently no solution to store it safely. Don't get me wrong, I also think nuclear has potential, especially when compared to fossil fuels, but I don't want to drink contaminated water.

[@jackskellington6cs]

A new nuclear project is under way in Wyoming actually. TerraPower's Natrium Project in Kemmerer, WY.

[@killingtimeitself]

@@guardianangel1337 Thats an issue with old plants modern gen IV reactors will burn waste and reduce its store time down to just a few hundred years at most.

[@guardianangel1337]

@@killingtimeitself it's great that the new reactors are better in that regard. But still, we need to build a expensive storage system that is suitable to store the waste for "a few hundred years". To be fair, I don't know much about US nuclear waste storage, I'll have a look

[@doujinflip]

Because the impact of an incident (which only grows more inevitable with more adoption) is too damaging for too long, and the controls to properly mitigate and contain these risks only keep rising in costs ☢️

[@c144gaming]

Here in north Dakota a relatively similar state to Wyoming we have tons of wind farms. You can see huge fields of them near Bismark and minot. We also have a huge coal plant.

[@w8stral]

Well no, as N. Dakota has its wind on its Eastern border, HALF the distance to large population centers and N. Dakota likewise does not have the HIGH altitude prevalence of ice. During the windiest months(winter), Wyoming is nearly always Iced at that altitude making wind turbines uneconomical. Summer is the ONLY construction period as spring/fall aren't really possible either which is not true of N. Dakota.

[@Gamer_2047_]

But in MSM conservative voter means dumb environment hating inbreeder red state making wind farm doesnt suit narrative bcz narrative is based on lies and deceit

[@AnthonyRusso93]

I once saw a picture of the windsocks they use in Wyoming and it was made of a heavy metal chain and I mean heavy like it would be a fouled anchor on a destroyer perhaps even a cruiser but definitely heavier chains exist but hardly by much. The whole thing was under two meters but definitely above one meter. There was a radially stripe pattern hemicircle to determine angular displacement visually. You would think 90 degrees of angular displacement would be just an inside joke reading on the scale. I would've thought that too but the obvious joke reading on the scale was present and it was "chain is missing." At first I still couldn't believe it there was no way that wind that strong could be a regular occurrence it must have been exclusively for tornadoes or something right? Now I know better. Damn Wyoming you scary.

[@lostincyberspaceIII]

My grandpa was a small aircraft pilot and was originally born in Wyoming and had family living there. He said Flying into the Casper airport was the worst because they would have 4 different windsocks along the runway and they would be pointing in different directions and at full displacement.

[@adamdapatsfan]

The main problem with a setup like this (or similar projects, like solar in the Sahara) is that - as you mention - they have to compete with projects in areas that are less ideal for power generation, but more ideal for construction and transmission. Building a new wind or solar farm in California itself will have less arduous permitting, no extra taxes, lower maintenance costs, and far lower transmission costs. It doesn't matter whether Wyoming's wind is twice as good - if it also _costs_ twice as much, you might as well build twice as many turbines elsewhere. This isn't just true of California, but the planet as a whole: the relatively centralized grid infrastructure model we used with fossil fuels isn't as useful, because the energy is 1) harder to transport and 2) available pretty much anywhere, just with local peak and trough times that need smoothing. I worry that pushing for mass renewables in Wyoming won't pan out in the long run, as lower operational costs than coal (which is to say, fewer jobs) combine with competition from other states building local generation, leaving Wyoming with a white elephant scapegoat, and potentially causing longer-term issues for its population. That said, if there's one thing America's good at, it's increasing energy demand, so maybe this plant will be just as profitable as the rest. Only time will tell.

[@w8stral]

The host of this video didn't bother to do basic research. The problem with wind in Wyoming is a thing called Distance to ANY population center making it the LAST place one would build a wind farm. The cost of building a transmission line the #1 problem. #2 is ICE, #3 is altitude and prevalence of ice combined with extreme cold making maintenance near impossible forcing COSTS to nearly equal that of ocean turbines. NOT NIMBY, NOT federal permits, not Wyoming as those fees apply in every state and in many cases are higher such as ... California.

[@ramirofarto4008]

Energy demand will skyrocket with the electrification of transport, heating and industry. Take a look at forecasts of growth in electricity demand, the IEA is a good place to start :)

[@arthas640]

​@@w8stralI was surprised he didn't bring that up. Wyoming is one of the least urbanized and lowest population density in the US which means MASSIVE transmission cost and loss. The same is true with coal but coal is more predictable. They could build a lot of smaller wind farms spread out but that increases construction costs. Selling energy is also expensive since Wyoming is far from major population centers, they'd lose a ton trying to transmit it to LA.

[@w8stral]

Transmission loss is not really a problem. Technically it is, but in reality compared to the cost of the transmission line itself, it is not. Why Iowa, Texas, OK, Kansas, S. Dakota, Nebraska N. Dakota will be covered with wind turbines before Wyoming gets inundated with them. There are already wind turbines there in Wyoming by I-80 in the heart of that wind corridor. Guess what? 50% of them are broken... @@arthas640

[@geoffreydesena587]

Will there be a part 2? It was just starting to get good!

[@jeffbenton6183]

The people of Wyoming will determine that, I guess.

[@jeckjeck3119]

@@jeffbenton6183 They are GOP, so you can bet they will do something stupid.

[@Joshua-dt5vi]

​​@@jeckjeck3119 better than being California, literally hell on Earth, I would know because I live here

[@jeckjeck3119]

@@Joshua-dt5vi Yeah, climate change has been hitting poor old Cali far too hard.

[@Joshua-dt5vi]

@@jeckjeck3119 Not just climate but California is the root of all disasters, economic, social, and climate

[@lostincyberspaceIII]

The Wyoming population has huge negative opinions on wind power. I lived there for a number of years and knew ranchers who were barely making ends meet(pun intended) that absolutely refused to even allow for a survey for feasibility of wind turbines on their property, even when there were some in the area that had proven effective and were paying the land owners a modest amount allowing them to keep the ranches that had been in their families for generations. Unfortunately many in Wyoming don't see the problems that are arising with how they are running things. I was an intern in the state legislature there and it was appalling at how against modernization the people were there.

[@steviechubbs5238]

As a current Wyoming resident, I can tell you that people are very much against modernization here. That being said, wind farms are not the future for Wyoming or renewable energy as a whole, at least in their current forms, and are actually pretty bad for the environment. The blades cannot be recycled, so they tend to pile up in landfills. You can see some pretty big blade dumps in Colorado, across the border, and when they break down, they tend to dump thousands of toxic chemicals into the atmosphere, far more than your average oil and gas job

[@6.5ftkristapsporzingis71]

@@steviechubbs5238😂

[@jeffbenton6183]

@steviechubbs5238 I've read about blade dumping issue, but do you have a source for the toxicity of it? I've only ever heard that disposing of the blades in that way actually has a low impact on the environment.

[@skorp5677]

​@@steviechubbs5238Have you ever heard of emissions coal produces when burned? :) Sure it's not perfect but coal is much MUCH worse for the environment.

[@tim211292]

@@steviechubbs5238 your problem is that you have no choice, you can make up shit about renewables all you want but the reality is your low taxes will go away once noone is buying your coal. if you had 2 brain cells you would be planning for revenue that will replace it.

[@y33t23]

Conserving your homeland is after all a conservative topic in its roots. Producing clean energy and stopping open pit mining is therefore what a normal conservative should be doing. However many still fail to understand this coherence.

[@monkofdarktimes]

Lobbies

[@Julianna.Domina]

Or that if America is self sufficient on green energy, we would no longer be succeptible to Saudi Arabia turning off the tap and driving up global prices. (I know America is a net exporter, but it's a global market. Plus, regardless of whether or not you believe in the science, oil, coal, etc WILL run out, and we need some energy to run our economy and military. It's just math.)

[@patriot9487]

Mainstream conservatism is pro big business, at least openly. Mainstream liberals try and hide it

[@dannydanny865]

How are you going to be sure that the switch to renewable will not threaten the job security of americans though. I mean look at what happened to West Virginia, surely you cannot say it has been a positive move. If you cannot provide a suitable job replacement for the lost jobs from renewables there will always be pushback. So don't sit on your white-collar desk chair spouting nonsense when it's the blue-collar working class who will suffer.

[@RobertCoberly9999]

Lobbyists and right wing media agencies successfully convince them that its in their best interest to allow the wealthy to prioritize profit and business growth over conservation or preparedness. Then they are shocked when something like, oh say, East Palestine, OH, or the Feb 2021 Texas Power crisis happens because they vote time and time again against increased regulations or for outright decreased regulations and oversight, and suddenly its "Oh the government isn't doing enough, there's toxic chemicals in our drinking water/people froze to death in their homes." Then after all of it, every time, they still vote the same people responsible into office year after year anyways. That's how effective the brainwashing is, and it's not just the conservative side that is guilty of this, either.

[@ozzi9816]

One thing to consider that I see often ignored is that green energy doesn’t have a single “silver bullet” solution like fossil fuels, and that’s one of the hardest things for people to wrap their head around. Wind won’t work everywhere, solar won’t work everywhere, hydro obviously only works if you have a large body of water, etc. but when we get to have a healthy selection of green energy options there will most likely be *some* sort of solution that works almost everywhere- it just won’t be the same one for all places like coal/fossil fuels are currently. And of course for those places where no other good green solution exists, nuclear can be a fallback, at least temporarily, while they work on finding or developing one

[@w8stral]

The problem is the green crowd are a bunch of bald faced liars about the costs. Pretending these "solutions" are solutions when they are the opposite. They are burdens increasing costs, not decreasing costs. When Greenies start actually adding in ALL, uh hem, ALL the costs for when the wind is not blowing/sun is not shining into their BASE price, then we can FAIRLY, finally have a discussion. Instead the green religion dumps all those costs onto fossil fuel boys who have to pay a thing called taxes without government subsidy which is not true with the wind/solar crowd. That being said, Solar in the South is by far and away the best solution, IF they demanded the solar panels and their components be built here... Until then the "put the pollution and mining " elsewhere and "pretend we are green" religion is just clowning themselves.

[@rustyshackleford1465]

Nuclear should be the mainstay, and hydroelectricity/wind/concentrated solar should be the supplement... though there is a case that concentrated solar can work effectively for industrial purposes. Solar panels and large batteries are almost as bad for the environment as an unfiltered coal plant... much less a natural gas plant.

[@Cecilia-ky3uw]

@@rustyshackleford1465 Nuclear is literally just a water heater.

[@enwi3nd]

This was fascinating. I really learned something here. Thank you.

[@Skeejus]

worth mentioning, West Texas (especially Nolan County) is THE center for wind energy in the country. What's wild is that it's right in oil country so you get to see derricks next to wind farms

[@Planeet-Long]

This basically shows how government regulations can kill progress. We don't have nuclear power for the exact same regulatory reasons. The fact that the Coal Lobby actively got a Wind Tax just shows how much energy progress the world is missing.

[@bbd121]

Polymatter videos are a delight. Renewable energy has always been interesting to me. There are also bladeless wind turbines like 'Vortex'. I wonder if it compares to the typical wind turbines.

[@w8stral]

Sucks would be the proper term. as Cost/area collected = SKY HIGH. And they aren't "bladeless", you just can't see them as they are buried in the structure.

[@jacob4070-v5p]

Really, really good video. You've branched out into energy policy (and done a great job) while also connecting at the end to your famously insightful understanding of China. I love to see the time, research, and care that goes into each of your videos.

[@Penname25]

Maybe because all that land is available? I mean geography plays a big role in many political and economic decisions.

[@Game_Hero]

close but not all of the story. The rest is due to the best sites for wind power being in Wyoming due to its mountain passes and plains, as seen in the video.

[@MrTaxiRob]

I just moved to Ohio, and my energy provider is pushing 100% renewable plans which are majority wind generated.

[@akatheking82]

wind is def not "100 % renewable"

[@MrTaxiRob]

@@hephepforay well at least the utility companies are getting behind some green initiatives in another conservative supermajority (totally gerrymandered) state, but they are still doing new natural gas exploration and extraction in southern Ohio

[@justbecauseOK]

@@akatheking82 I think you are wrong, very wrong. Renewable energy is energy that comes from a source that won't run out. They are natural and self-replenishing, and usually have a low or zero-carbon footprint. Examples of 100% renewable energy sources include wind power, solar power, hydroelectric, including tidal energy.

[@robertkent4929]

I'm hoping to move to Wyoming some day. It would be nice to see this obvious addition to the economy

[@Yamyatos]

Can you show temperatures in °C aswell? I have no way other than googling what the heck "100 degrees" are. For those like me, 100 =~ 38°C, 115 = 46°C

[@mappsmappings4025]

Bro just learn how to do conversions. Subtract 32 from it (let's just use 86 degrees as an example, which would give us 54). Then divide by 9 (in this case getting us 6). Then multiply by 5 (in this case getting us 30, meaning 86F is 30C). There you go.

[@guardianangel1337]

@@mappsmappings4025 what the heck, I didn't remember the conversion being so over complicated. I should praise the metric system more often

[@mappsmappings4025]

@@guardianangel1337 if it's easier to remember, 1C is worth 1.8F

[@Yamyatos]

@@mappsmappings4025 It's easy, really. Good content creators add it to widen the audience that can watch their videos without putting effort into it. There you go. Why would i have to learn conversions for units that are completely irrelevant in my life? Next you tell me to learn conversions to inches and miles lmao.

[@bearcubdaycare]

​@@mappsmappings4025That's way too complicated. Simply add 40, multiply by 5/9ths (F to C), and subtract 40. (Uses the fact that -40F = -40C, exactly.)

[@aligyie]

10:16 this graph is a bit misleading, it would be better to look at wind speeds at 200m, since recent development has shown that higher wind turbines are more economical

[@TheGIGACapitalist]

Alabama has one of the larger sovereign wealth funds. Alaska has the most well known ones. Conservative states do progressive or leftist programs when it makes economic sense.

[@Sinaeb]

aka when it's too late

[@TheSpeedyLoonyCanoli]

@@Sinaebaka sensible and responsible investments. You cant switch to a new source of power and expect everyone to pay twice as much as they did before.

[@TheGIGACapitalist]

@@Sinaeb Pretty much. Sovereign wealth funds are a tool of economic warfare and China is so far ahead its not even funny.

[@marcusaurelius8467]

Having the government pay for infrastructure projects that benefits everyone is an idea that's far older than the very concept of left-wing politics Governments are supposed to do that

[@whm_w8833]

Isn’t Alaska banking it’s sovereign wealth on oil?

[@ike5276]

I lived in that area all my life. Although closer to the Rockies and Jackson but also bordering the desert. It’s a super vast and empty and not good for much area. Im glad they will be making use of it

[@TheIndustrialFish]

Anyone interested in Baotou, China or want a raw look at the operations that go on there, i highly recommend the documentary Behemoth (2015). Its breathtaking and saddening, reminds me a lot in style of the docu Ascension (2021) or Samsara/Baraka.

[@Add_Infinitum]

You know I never really thought about it before but all these KZbinrs being sponsored by Nebula is not only them basically being sponsored by themselves but also advertising something on their yt videos that is meant to be a niche but direct competitor to yt

[@starrwulfe]

This past summer we drover through Texas from the NM/TX border at the panhandle, through Amarillo, Wichita Falls, DFW and down to HOU. There are A LOT OF WINDMILLS. A LOT. As in over 3000 that I could count. 30 years ago there were zero. Wind in Texas is the new oil.

[@ClementinesmWTF]

There’s a reason Texas is home to the “energy capital of the world”-Texas is huge on oil, but it’s also huge on anything energy-wise.

[@jasong3972]

Unfortunately Texas wind is lowest when demand is highest. The Texas grid needs energy storage to leverage wind.

[@Z_RE0]

conservative doesn't mean everything stays the same forever or against green energy. what most conservatives in America don't want is radical switch to green energy and have government requiring certain things to be a certain way, instead of slowly adapting as the technology becomes more viable

[@katout75]

Good video, highly infomative.

[@jeremyday9518]

To be fair, you drove along I-80 which goes through the southern Wyoming desert. Head north and you realize that Wyoming is beautiful

[@catHORSE]

Between Rawlins and Cheyenne on I-80 is beautiful too

[@catgodswim]

3:43 big wyoming chungus

[@alexv3357]

The Midwest is a colossal wind funnel. With enough transmission capacity flyover country could become the great engine of American industry, and it is infuriating that the area of the country with the greatest potential is the area most resistant to unlocking it. One would think the vast wealth to be had from producing so much of the energy that powers America's wealthy coasts and major cities should be incentive enough, but apparently not.

[@w8stral]

The host of this video didn't bother to do basic research, nor did you. The problem with wind in Wyoming or anywhere else is a thing called Distance to ANY population center making it the LAST place one would build a wind farm. The cost of building a transmission line the #1 problem. #2 is ICE, #3 is altitude and prevalence of ice combined with extreme cold making maintenance near impossible forcing COSTS to nearly equal that of ocean turbines. NOT NIMBY, NOT federal permits, not Wyoming as those fees apply in every state and in many cases are higher such as ... California. Good Luck getting 500GW transmitted 1500miles. Ah, but you are one of those idiots in cities who doesn't give a F' about those in rural areas who have to put up with all those transmission lines and whirling turbines making kaledescopes out of the sunset/sunrise and destroying all the bird populations... Next problem is everywhere the wind farms are built? Birds vanish. Multiple studies in UK show bird population decrease by over 90%(duh), giant blenders in the sky... In effect every wind farm is a Bird DESERT. Especially a medium and large bird desert where greater than 95% of those species disappear(got killed off) One of the Arctic MAJOR migratory routes are... THROUGH the great Plains idiot.

[@Chris_P_Bacon]

Your videos are always top notch, keet it up!

[@marlonboniface]

"The only thing that stands in the way is an arduous, bureaucratic, maze of federal, state, and county regulations." 😂

[@jeckjeck3119]

Cut back on some regulations is a must.

[@andreidavid9281]

This is a good example of politicians actually looking out for their people

[@iTeerRex]

Because it’s not about leafy greens, it’s about paper green.

[@Mr1897WinchesterSlinger]

I think the greatest part of this entire video is the fact that it acknowledges that Wyoming exists

[@SterbiusMcGurbius]

Short answer. Red states are more rural. Solar and wind require vast areas. Can't build a 50 acre solar farm in the middle of NYC.

[@MrTaxiRob]

By the same token, part of the reason food is getting more expensive is because farmland that is closer to population centers is getting redeveloped into suburbs and exurbs. It's a slower acting cost factor than the current wave of inflation, but it's measurable in transportation cost.

[@neanderthal2599]

Growing up in Wyoming, I loved watching the windfarms as I went from Laramie to sheridan

[@LegionOfWeirdos]

I drove through Wyoming once. That was enough.

[@michaelhess4825]

Go north 👌

[@megalopath]

All the shots of the state are absolutely stunning! Might be bland to most people, but I kinda want to go visit and see the scenery now. lol

[@logank444]

I wish this wasn't a political issue. Renewable energy is just good for the planet and people's health

[@Konusu]

at 9 minutes in, I see why the switch is so smart. If you make the switch to wind farms / renewable energy in wyoming, you can get the same tax breaks that are currently offered in wyoming except instead of coal, it would be green energy exports.

[@theo181297]

I wonder If the state could end so empty to be non-functioning, and basically a huge nature (or lawless) reserve

[@bm6753]

Thank you. This is very interesting content.

[@PatrickTT]

I can draw the borders of Wyoming from memory!! 🤓

[@Game_Hero]

3:43 Is that...Big Chungus on the state welcome pannel???

[@mumblesbadly7708]

Because there is so much wind in Wyoming! Its highways experience more tractor-trailer blowovers than any other state!

[@akalion213]

5:58 I can live with feet and pounds but please put Celsius somewhere in the corner for Fahrenheit...

[@sawyersprott]

For what it’s worth, I live in Central Texas, and my electricity provider has an option to switch to 100% renewable energy sources for your home for only $0.43 per 1000 kWh. We barely use more than that, and I’m a big nature nerd, so it was a no brainer. I’m also what would generally be considered very conservative, at least socially.

[@JoelSolomons8]

I pay 30p/kWh in the UK plus 59p a day standing charge 😭

[@killingtimeitself]

just for the record, this may not actually be literal green energy, it's more than likely a renewable energy credit, which goes to funding more renewable energy, it's not that you're literally consuming it. It's a bit paradoxical, it's more confusing than it is bad or misrepresentative.

[@jasonreed7522]

​@@killingtimeitselfthats the only way to do it while still having an interconnected grid. The math and politics of electricity markets is a bit complicated, but the nature of the physics of electricity is that nobody can determine what generator is responsible for the current flowing into your home, and nobody can control the flow so that you only get energy from the solar plant and not the equally distant coal plant. The best we can do is have the ISO (independent system operator) order green plants to increase generation in response to your increase in demand, even if a gas power plant would have been cheaper per kWh generated. The end result is marginally less emissions and marginally more money directed to more politically acceptable power generation plants.

[@killingtimeitself]

@@jasonreed7522 yep, though normally one would think its going to be a little more direct than simply reselling green credits but hey thats a privatized energy market for ya.

[@lightingflow4203]

I think you mean 1 kwh for 0.43 dollar because 1000kwh is a 1 mega watt .

[@ccbill2852]

Interesting topic, thanks

[@lipingrahman6648]

A lot of these energy issues can be mitigated by more use and investment in nuclear power.

[@unmanned_mission]

It isn't perfect either

[@LCTesla]

there's a point at which renewable energy gets so cheap in the most viable areas that even conservatives cannot ignore it and we are FAST approaching that point. the cost-efficiency of renewable energy doubles at a steady, predictable rate every 5 years or so. it's just a matter of time until even generation + storage becomes as cheap as the alternatives at a massive scale.

[@w8stral]

Solar/wind is only viable with copious quantities of Natural Gas. If NG gets taxed or quashed, solar/wind will vanish as "viable"

[@geography__jackson6139]

I live in Wyoming (and work on a wind farm) and many people I meet tell me they think it sounds like a cool job and are just happy that I’m working.

[@lowbaritonewwj]

I was a traveling tech for a larger 3rd party wind company for over 11 and a half years. I quit in January, and now teach it. Not mentioning my former employer, or current employer is intentional. Never worked in Wyoming though

[@MarkATVWyoming]

Supermajority in Wyoming want oil/gas development....we don't want amymore windmills.

[@marco-ls9fm]

3:43 anyone noticed the big wyoming chungus?

[@bryancollier704]

Most conservatives don't have a problem with green energy. The problem is forced implementation with diminishing results. Or implementation where it's less efficient. Instead of profits, it cost money (most of the time). If green energy can be used and it makes sense, then there is no problem. Electric cars are the same, though not about energy. Attempting to force me to go Electric would negatively impact my life. My town is 25 miles from a gas station, and it floods. Towing boats, pulling boats in and out of the water. Taking crabs to market in Baltimore. We can't afford to sit and wait for the car to charge. When the tide comes up in a storm I can still get over the bridge and through the tide to get to town. Sometimes going green just isn't the way to go is my point.

[@jaketaylor3901]

You live 25 miles from a gas station and you think it’s more convenient to have a gas powered car 💀 you charge your car at home brother. Unless you’re driving more than 350-400 miles a day, that’s an asinine thing to say

[@bryancollier704]

@jaketaylor3901 it floods brother. And the power goes out fairly often.

[@holy3979]

​@@jaketaylor3901Far easier and cheaper to store gas than it is to store electricity

[@CGP05]

Wow this was a very interesting video, I love learning about renewable energy and politics/government.

[@croozerdog]

because renewable energy is actually a cheaper investment by now, so no matter your political views, profit is profit. you can not believe in climate change and be super anti woke, but you can't be mad at cheap power

[@kennethcraig9228]

Not nearly as cheap as nuclear could be. Too bad there's so much fearmongering on the topic, so it'll take decades before the US ever effectively utilizes it.

[@Kabodanki]

it's a misconception to say it is cheaper, because like most things it never take into account the whole picture, and people like to focus on the part of the numbers that would fit their narrative.

[@christianhumer3084]

​@@kennethcraig9228Nuclear power was never cheap itself. Only those who could bring governments to spend money on developing, building, operating, waste disposal and decomission profit from it.

[@dx-ek4vr]

Renewable IS cheap... where it makes Geographic sense. Texas just oh-so-happens to be a state where it makes alot of Geographic sense

[@kokofan50]

The sticker price is lower, but all the other costs make it the most expensive.

[@grafity1749]

Very good video!

[@Parakeet-pk6dl]

8:34 why are solar panels weakened during the hottest days? I thought they would deliver maximum output then...

[@unserkatzenland8884]

At 7:31 he explained the reason. Solar power isnt strong during the evening when people are coming back to their residents.

[@jarrodreed8183]

Hot solar panels are less efficient.

[@richdobbs6595]

No, solar panel efficiency is negatively affected by high panel temperature. Although the sun is stronger in summer than winter, the decrease in efficiency on the hottest days outweighs the increase number of photons hitting the panel.

[@Parakeet-pk6dl]

Thanks! :)

[@thetaomega7816]

its why you hear all the interest about superconductors. They so far only exist at low temperatures, because lower temperatures in general increase efficiency of electric current@@Parakeet-pk6dl

[@revinhatol]

"Yeezy" Kanye West would LOVE to see these wind farms@

[@Praisethesunson]

I was expecting him to say Wyoming has wind because everyone knows Wyoming blows.

[@kiwitrainguy]

Wyoming used to be the home of "The Big Blows" (Union Pacific Railroad gas turbine locomotives).

[@andr74b11]

Does anyone know what car this is at 5:43?

[@MichaelSmith-ij2ut]

I'm something of a large wind farm myself

[@trent1984]

Well Kansas has a lot of wind from my experience

[@dansands8140]

Because either things work in the real world and make people's lives better, or they're a worthless waste of people's labor and blood to look good in a newspaper. Wind has moved into the first category.

[@treecultleader970]

3:42 BIG WYOMING CHUNGUS BHAHAHAHHA

[@beastrule]

Why did you say 17% of 1% in stead of 0.17%?

[@Ginabina76]

I dont know guys. I lived in Wyoming for 25 years, then moved back home to the east coast where I'm from and we came back after like 6mths. We love Wyoming and everything about it. You all making fun of it are just use to too much stress 😂🤣

[@premiumpotato1249]

*opinion here* I think conservatives never hated green energy, it is just that the ways we were going about trying to become green was flawed and an expensive failure. Baby steps is what we need to do, not to take away all oil drilling and THEN start working on green energy.

[@ShatteredKnight]

I was wondering when a new video would pop up a few minutes ago

[@jontalbot1]

As a non American it’s hard to understand why anyone is opposed to renewables, especially in a country built on adaptation to change. It’s a sort of willful intransigence- if people l imagine l dislike want this, l am against it. Conservatism should mean change with the grain of things- not opposing it out of spite

[@doujinflip]

Because it's new and expensive with more socialized benefits, and therefore a concern instead of an opportunity.

[@Rej-gc5zi]

People who oppose renewables because its against their short term interest. Hard to think about the planet when you can't put food on your family's table or a roof over their heads if the coal mine closes.

[@fdangleshadang-a-lang7149]

Never thought I’d see my hometown shouted out on here!

[@blankblankpog]

Actual conservatives wont obstruct something that makes sense economically, if it's economically sound they'll do it.

[@sebastienholmes548]

Like nuclear energy.

[@matthoffman8162]

medicare for all? significantly cheaper in the long run

[@blankblankpog]

Not with those all illegal aliens mate, if we've got strict border controls, i guess fellow conservatives would support that @@matthoffman8162

[@silverywingsagain]

You mean like housing the homeless?

[@ashleygreen5343]

Hahahaha. I wish. Most people aren't rational economic actors.

[@ecoideazventures6417]

@10:33 - "This unlikely alliance between America's largest, the most liberal state and the smallest, the most conservative one has the power to radically transform the American West" - Maybe we need to rephrase the popular statement - economics makes strange bedfellows!

[@ankokunokayoubi]

Does Wyoming exist?

[@neoanderson7492]

no

[@levismith7444]

Yeah but don’t tell California that

[@Suburp212]

"Wyoming makes Montana looks like a Bastion of liberals" I just about lost it then. Fantastic comment.

[@TheAurelianProject]

I hate the implication you’re making that being conservative suddenly means you’re not allowed to like green energy. That’s not at all what most conservatives believe.

[@Spobbles69420]

They live in an echo chamber. People actually lose their shit when they find out things like Texas is working on high speed rail between Dallas and Houston faster than blue states can get to it. It’s a cult.

[@whodarboilebamnames3990]

Kind of funny considering conservative states in the USA by far have the best conservation efforts and systems.

[@elegantbiscuityt]

3:43 Big Wyoming Chungus

[@joshuarussell1165]

Not sure why people assume conservatives are against green energy. We just want economically responsible energy. If that happens to be environmental friendly, that's even better! (see electric cars)

[@hs5312]

I think it usually out of contrarianism

[@GiRR007]

Its almost as if over urbanization is a bad thing. As well as income taxes.

[@alexandrudorries3307]

Calling Texas the most conservative state in the US is inaccurate - the state could flip blue within the next few years and, while the northern half of the state is overwhelmingly conservative, the southern half with its larger population centers is pretty liberal by the standards of the American South.

[@levismith7444]

Especially with all the Californians moving there in droves

[@doujinflip]

​Yet CA remains solid blue and too many people still want to move in permanently. The deeper issue is that traditionalist interests are literally dying faster than they are convincing new converts.

[@dojokonojo]

Conservative Californians move to Texas. Texas has been in the verge of flipping for the last 10 years but it will never happen

[@LucidFL]

They’ve been saying Texas will turn blue for over a decade lol. I’ll believe it when I see it because nobody projected Florida to turn solid red yet it did

[@Spobbles69420]

@@doujinfliptraditionalist beliefs are dying out? Let’s revisit this after seeing the effects of leftists having no kids, aborting kids, or sterilizing their kids because they think they’re trans. With one side having kids and starting families and focusing on health and fitness to the point journalists tried calling it an alt right movement, trends are gonna start changing, especially with how hard people are coming down on schools and universities

[@Steeledane02]

this man absolutely FLAMING Wyoming in the beginning of the video is so damn funny

[@efeddwdw9782]

Wyoming is so pretty, Tetons etc. Wdym nothing to see

[@Fr00stee]

3:46 why is big chungus on the sign lmao

[@jkjkjr2363]

I’m a wyoming resident and have a few issues with this. First there are more liberal areas in wyoming like Jackson and Laramie. Second the only reason that coal is declining in wyoming is because of green entertainment initiatives from other states and the government. That brings a lot of resentment from wyoming residents as wind energy doesn’t provide the jobs that coal does to the community. Another point is that it’s not clear if wind energy has a lower carbon cost than coal if you look at the complete process of both. Wyoming is much more in favor of nuclear power than wind or solar as well since it doesn’t create unwanted objects across hundreds of acres of land. There is definitely a large bias in this video that doesn’t show how wyoming residents actually think and feel about the wind farms being produced

[@michaelhess4825]

Live in Wyoming. Have a Tesla, am fully onboard with killing coal and oil and taxing wind and sun. Yeah I'm in the minority, but it's a growing minority as all the old ranchers die.

[@bearcubdaycare]

Actually, coal use has been declining mostly due to natural gas, especially shale gas. Nuclear is very expensive per kWh, and getting moreso (unlike every other source). But, yes, a viable option, if you're willing to accept that. Typically plants are sited near water. More jobs, in anything, means more cost, and lower wages. Increasing productivity means doing more with less labor, as one can see happening in most industries over not only my lifetime but many centuries. Agriculture only takes 4% of the workforce, down from a majority in the early 1800s. Manufacturing is using robotics. All this is nothing new, pardon the pun, been happening very visibly for generations, a big part of modern well-being, plentiful food and goods, and a supercomputer in every pocket.

[@w8stral]

Nuc is expensive as private enterprises can't do the engineering and testing making it prohibitively expensive and no one wants to build the outdated garbage we currently are using as they are NOT self regulating(can't have H2 explosions) and therefore no pressure vessel required, far more efficient(higher temps), far less waste(in fact will eat most of the waste we have piled up), Will use all Uranium, not just 0.03% of it giving Millions of years of power supply, which we have known how to build going on 50 years now, but since the government will NOT allow anyone to test such concepts without 100% government funding, oversight, design, etc, no one bothers. Engineers(mechanical economics majors) go where they are wanted and the governments around the world have NOT allowed anyone to work in said field... other than China/India/Russia recently who are building breeder reactors. @@bearcubdaycare

[@alexanderf8451]

"not clear if wind energy has a lower carbon cost than coal" Wyoming education brought to you by the coal industry.

[@tylerblaess4278]

Is it true that Solar and Hydro power is weakest on hot summer days? That seems counterintuitive to me but idk.

[@Spudeaux]

I don’t know about hydro, but haze and smog are more prevalent when it is hotter Abe that makes solar less effective. The hydro issue might be specific to California and their weather patterns, but I don’t know.

[@doujinflip]

Sagging transmission lines explain part of it (electrical resistance increases with temperature), especially if it needs to cross the better part of a state to reach the customers.

[@Croz89]

Hydro tends to get a bump in the spring when the snow melts, It then dips during the summer (if your summer is dry) and increases again in the autumn when it rains more.

[@clarencetse]

I honestly feel most people are pretty educated about nuclear and are ok with it; the loudest critics are on the fringes on both sides.

[@bearcubdaycare]

Germany sadly started shuttering all its nuclear after Fukushima, so I'm not so sure. But the biggest obstacle is cost; it's a very expensive way of producing electricity, like triple cost. Even the ones that just came online in a southern state. In fact, nuclear's cost continues to rise, for some reason (while other sources continue to decline in cost).

[@Game_Hero]

and those who forgot all the trouble nuclear waste caused in the 70s

[@holy3979]

​@@bearcubdaycareIt's upfront costs are high but in the long run it's actually a lot cheaper due to the significantly lower fueling costs. Here in the states at least the issue is that there are so many government regulations that it would take 30 years to build a new plant and get certified, on top of the significant regulatory costs...

[@dontlaughtoomuch11]

One problem with this "idea", wind turbines often shut down when it's "too windy". (Same goes for solar panels in the Sahara desert, their circuits explode) Yes, the giant blades are no longer controllable any structural engineer would highly advise to NOT install this! I have seen this happen on too many occasions. A nuclear powerplant makes far more sense in a safer area in Wyoming.

[@alexhawkins1795]

Winds in Wyoming could be too strong for wind mills.

[@ianshaver8954]

Depends on the type of turbine.

[@orbiradio2465]

The engineers know which wind turbine to choose for which wind profile.

[@sarthakbharara]

It doesn’t feel like a PolyMatter video unless it features China.

[@RussellFineArt]

I lived in Wyoming for 2 years, it's extremely windy, cold and BORING!! Wyoming doesn't intentionally keep their population low, people just don't want to live there. Even Wyoming citizens know, coal is dying as it's extremely expensive and uncompetitive in the energy market. Wind and nuclear power will easily take over coal in the next 10-15 years, that's a fact.

[@no1reallycaresabout2]

3:44 BIG CHUNGUS!

[@gsadow]

I think that you need to check your assumptions. Conservatives are not, nor have they ever, been against 'clean energy'. In fact, as you note, conservative states are the main locations for much of the US clean energy. What conservatives demand is that clean energy makes practical and financial sense; meaning, it must exist without the usual Leftist regime of intensive government subsidies, which distorts market realities. And if you think that coal use is reducing globally, you just aren't paying attention. Germany, that bastion of green energy, now is using more dirty, lignite coal than ever, because they are politically opposed to the truest green energy, nuclear.

[@Voidapparate]

Well if you had actually listened to the arguments of those so called "leftists" you would've known that subsidies are there to help the industry reach up to scale faster. The question of their profitablity was already a foregone conclusion.

[@bigsarge2085]

My beautiful home state.

[@yamazee3628]

The difference between right and left is not that the left wants to do good and the right doesn't, its just that the right is pragmatic while the left is unrealistic.

[@Monkechnology]

And the left can't stop crying and whining about everything under the "we're le good guys" slogan

[@CheeseMasterSports]

The video itself is great, incredibly informative and the information is presented in such a way that most people can understand. However, the comment made at 0:27 is incredibly subjective. People can find beauty in anything