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Net Zero has forced global financial and companies to become carbon-neutral. But the why is only one question that we will tackle on another day. Today, let’s look at the energy policies that countries force upon critical infrastructure in the name of Net Zero and only cause harm to people and even more damage to the environment.
CNN Reports:
London’s Heathrow Airport is closed, prompting global travel chaos
Heathrow at standstill: London’s Heathrow Airport is completely shut down today because of a power outage due to a large fire nearby, causing massive disruption at one of the world’s busiest travel hubs. The fire is now under control, but Heathrow’s backup power supply was also affected.
• Global travel impacted: Heathrow’s closure is expected to affect more than 1,300 flights in the coming days, and disruption will be felt in travel hubs across the world. An airline analytics firm estimated that “upwards of 145,000” passengers could be impacted, while an aviation expert told CNN the airline industry could lose hundreds of billions of dollars.
• Cause under investigation: Counter-terror police are probing the cause of the fire, authorities said, given its impact on “critical national infastructure.” The UK’s energy minister said there was “no suggestion” of foul play.
UK’s National Grid says power restored to “parts of Heathrow” on interim basis
From CNN’s Lauren Kent
British utility company National Grid says that it restored power to “parts of Heathrow” on an interim basis, but the airport said it is unclear when its supply would be “reliably restored” and is still urging passengers not to come.
Heathrow closed early Friday after a massive fire at the nearby North Hyde power substation in Hayes, west London.
“The network has been reconfigured to restore all customers impacted, including the ability to resupply the parts of Heathrow airport that are connected to North Hyde,” National Grid said in a statement in which it apologized for the disruption. “This is an interim solution while we carry out further work at North Hyde to return the substation and our network to normal operation.”
“We are continuing to work closely with all stakeholders to manage this incident, and are focused on returning to normal resilience levels as soon as possible,” National Grid added.
What Heathrow is saying: Meanwhile, the airport said in a statement that it does not have “clarity on when power may be reliably restored.”
The following update is from X and it is a shocking reality. The backup system that was built on diesel generators and would automatically kick in, was swapped out for a biofuel system that failed miserably in order to meet Net Zero standards.
Hat Tip to the Texas Alliance on X
Heathrow apparently moved away from diesel-powered back-up generators to biomass-fueled ones. https://t.co/7hQQTfP75v
— Texas Alliance (@TexasAllianceEP) March 21, 2025
This also leads us to another set of articles that I am working on, and that is gasoline, biodiesel, and ethanol. As the United States is in an Energy Renaissance of Sanity it would be nice to ask the question is biofuel even worth it. Ethanol is more harmful to the environment and costs the United States billions of dollars every year.
I know that traveling between homes, I can travel using ethanol-free gas and gain 2 miles per gallon each trip. That adds up over time, and we know that ethanol takes more energy to produce and is harder on engines, costing more in repairs.
Grok on X reports the following on Ethanol.Calculating the exact annual cost of ethanol production in the United States involves several variables, including feedstock costs (primarily corn), energy inputs (like natural gas), labor, infrastructure, and government subsidies or tax credits. Since precise, up-to-date figures for 2025 are not fully available, I’ll provide an estimate based on historical data and industry trends, using the most recent reliable statistics and reasonable assumptions.
In 2023, the U.S. produced approximately 15.6 billion gallons of fuel ethanol, according to the Renewable Fuels Association (RFA). Production costs vary depending on corn prices, plant efficiency, and co-product revenues (e.g., distillers dried grains with solubles, or DDGS, and corn oil). A model from the farmdoc daily series by the University of Illinois, which tracks a representative Iowa ethanol plant, offers a useful framework. This model accounts for variable costs (corn, natural gas, and other inputs like enzymes and labor) and fixed costs (plant maintenance and overhead).
Key Cost Components (Based on 2023 Data):
- Corn Costs: Corn is the primary feedstock, accounting for about 70-80% of variable costs. In 2023, the average corn price was around $4.50-$6.00 per bushel (USDA data). Ethanol plants yielded about 2.95 gallons per bushel in 2023. At $5 per bushel (a midpoint estimate), the corn cost per gallon is approximately $1.69 ($5 ÷ 2.95). For 15.6 billion gallons, this totals roughly $26.4 billion.
- Natural Gas and Other Variable Costs: Natural gas costs for thermal energy, along with non-corn inputs (e.g., enzymes, water, electricity), were estimated at $0.21-$0.26 per gallon in the farmdoc model for recent years. Using $0.24 per gallon as an average, this adds about $3.74 billion (15.6 billion × $0.24).
- Fixed Costs: The farmdoc model assumes fixed costs dropped to $0.15 per gallon after 2018 (due to loan payoffs for older plants). For 15.6 billion gallons, this is approximately $2.34 billion (15.6 billion × $0.15).
- Total Production Costs Before Co-Products: Adding these, the gross cost is around $32.48 billion ($26.4 billion + $3.74 billion + $2.34 billion).
- Co-Product Revenue Offset: Ethanol plants generate revenue from DDGS and corn oil, reducing net costs. In 2023, DDGS production was about 35 million metric tons, with prices averaging $200-$250 per ton. Assuming $225 per ton, this yields $7.88 billion (35 million × $225). Corn oil production was 4.2 billion pounds, with prices around $0.50 per pound, adding $2.1 billion (4.2 billion × $0.50). Total co-product revenue is roughly $9.98 billion, lowering the net cost to about $22.5 billion ($32.48 billion – $9.98 billion).
Government Subsidies and Tax Credits:
Historically, ethanol production has been supported by subsidies and tax credits, though many direct incentives (like the $0.45 per gallon blender’s credit) expired in 2011. The Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) indirectly supports production by mandating ethanol blending, and some states offer additional incentives. A 2010 Congressional Budget Office study estimated biofuel tax credits cost $6 billion annually in 2009, mostly for ethanol. While direct subsidies are now minimal, the economic impact of the RFS and related policies could add several billion dollars in implicit costs to taxpayers or consumers annually, though this is not a direct production cost.
Final Estimate for 2023 (Adjusted for 2025):
Assuming production remains stable at 15.6 billion gallons in 2025 and factoring in potential increases in corn prices (e.g., to $5.50 per bushel due to inflation or market shifts) and energy costs (e.g., $0.26 per gallon), the gross cost could rise to $35 billion, with co-product revenue offsetting it to a net cost of approximately $25 billion. This aligns with industry trends showing operational costs of $1.50-$2.00 per gallon after co-product credits.
Thus, the United States likely spends around $22 billion to $25 billion annually to produce ethanol as of 2025, based on 2023 production levels and adjusted for modest cost increases. This figure excludes indirect costs like subsidies embedded in policy or environmental externalities, which could push the societal cost higher depending on how one defines “cost.” For a more precise 2025 figure, real-time data on corn prices, energy costs, and production volumes would be needed, but this estimate reflects the best available information as of March 21, 2025.
Getting back to the Heathrow airport and the UK. The Net Zero aspect of backup generators for critical infrastructure needs a total review. Their grid is in horrific shape with no bright spots on the horizon at night. The UK is facing a long winter’s night even though we are approaching spring. Here in the United States, we have nearly dodged a bullet from the prior administration, but we are not out of the woods yet.
The UK does not have a Secretary, Chris Wright, appointed by Donald Trump, at their disposal, and it is not looking good for a once great country.
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This story was originally printed on The Energy News Beat Substack
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