The Fallacy of Renewable Energy: Leigh Goehring

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Leigh Goehring, managing partner of Goehring & Rozencwajg, joins the podcast to discuss his view that most renewable energies are ineffective at reducing carbon output and pointless as investments.

Content Highlights

• The consensus opinion is that renewable energy will solve many of the problems of CO2 production and energy needs. This is false (3:12);
• The "terrible energy efficiency" associated with renewables will make the world poorer (5:00);
• What is the problem with solar and wind and why are they so inefficient? (7:20);
• It's no coincidence that the energy crisis started in Germany, which is now forced to import coal (12:20);
• Vaclav Smil and the premise that there has never been a new technology with inferior energy efficiency that displaced the old technology (13:59);
• The ulterior motives behind China's green energy push (18:33);
• The "great hope" for a Moore's Law of wind mills and solar panels is a fallacy. Input prices have declined because energy prices have (21:05);
• Where does that leave electric cars? (25:00);
• Background on the guest (33:42);
• What parts of the energy industry are better targets for investment right now? Look to uranium for starters, "the perfect solution to our problems" (37:17);
• Copper is "the quintessential green metal" also facing a supply/demand imbalance. Also agricultural commodities, grains, fertilizers, nitrogen, and potash (41:26);
• Mosaic (MOS) is one of the world's largest phosphate and potash producers, and a stock the guest is particularly bullish on -- it trades at just 5x earnings versus 25x at the peak (47:07);
• An agricultural crisis could soon be upon us, leading to hoarding of supplies (49:58).

More Information About the Guest

• Website: GoRozen.com;
• Twitter: @GoRozen;
• LinkedIn;
• Link to Goehring & Rozencwajg video on the history of energy.