Yes, It’s Hot
What to know: The last few weeks have been pretty brutal in Texas, where we call this climate condition “summer.”
The TPPF take: New data shows that summer isn’t really the problem for the Texas electric grid right now.
“We should be fine for the next few summers IF we don’t lose more dispatchable generation, but what the unreliable apologists are not telling you is that winter is going to be the new summer in Texas,” says TPPF’s Brent Bennett. “In the winter, demand peaks at 8 a.m. and 8 p.m., when there is no sun. And the wind often doesn’t blow in the coldest hours of the winter. Therefore, winter peak demand growth is rapidly outpacing our supply of firm capacity.”
For more on the energy grid, click here.
China on our Coast
What to know: U.S. lawmakers are calling for classified hearings on China’s new efforts to spy on the U.S. from a base in Cuba.
The TPPF take: China’s presence in Cuba is a threat to national security.
“These facilities likely have the capability to monitor cellphone and internet traffic, including financial transactions throughout much of the U.S. Southeast,” says TPPF’s Chuck DeVore. “Modern AI is probably being employed to sift through hundreds of millions of daily communications, looking for information of interest to convert into intelligence. Depending on the availability of electric power, there may even be electronic jamming systems as well.”
For more on China and Cuba, click here.
Child Labor
What to know: The U.S. is facing a child labor crisis, as the Biden administration’s policies enable migrant children to be exploited by the criminal cartels that traffic them.
The TPPF take: The Biden administration makes it easy for criminal cartels to exploit child migrants.
“Rapid DNA testing at the border has been a critical vetting tool preventing strangers and human traffickers from kidnapping children,” says TPPF’s Carol Swain. “Yet, the Biden administration did away with it. The administration didn’t bother to publicize this monumental decision. This is just more evidence that the Biden administration operates on a clear policy of neglect and indifference, unconcerned by the likely handoff of children to predators.”
For more on migrant children, click here.