Three threats to the age of energy abundance

For the past three years I’ve been talking up a new age of energy abundance. First of all, the U.S. just became energy independent for the first time in many decades, thanks to increased drilling for oil and natural gas. But far more important is the stupendous decline in the cost of solar power and batteries. For the first time in almost a century, we’ve found new energy technologies that work better than the old ones. And so it’s little surprise that the world is installing massive amounts of solar and batteries, at an accelerating pace. Of course China is the pace-setter here, but the U.S. is investing quite a lot as well — building solar plants, buying EVs, and building battery factories. The reason I’m excited about this — and why you should be excited too — is productivity. Right around the time that U.S. productivity growth slowed down in the early 1970s, the oil shock caused us to start curtailing our energy use: Correlation isn’t causation, but there’s good reason to think tha

For the past three years I’ve been talking up a new age of energy abundance. First of all, the U.S. just became energy independent for the first time in many decades, thanks to increased drilling for oil and natural gas. But far more important is the stupendous decline in the cost of solar power and batteries. For the first time in almost a century, we’ve found new energy technologies that work better than the old ones. And so it’s little surprise that the world is installing massive amounts of solar and batteries, at an accelerating pace. Of course China is the pace-setter here, but the U.S.