Renewable energy and political connections

This was your magnum opus. Absolutely loved it

Todays XKCD had a similar sentiment, and reminded me of this excellent video again: https://xkcd.com/3226/

I watched this video on YouTube not knowing anything about it just expecting one of your typical excellent videos, and I was so impressed that I came here to thank you and become a Patreon supporter. Thank you for having the courage to speak up so unequivocally and unapologetically. 🥹

Damn, dude! I had been putting off watching this video just because it's so long, but I finally made the time. I was not expecting both "the best take on renewable energy I've ever heard" AND "a flawless and entirely correct presentation about the state of America." Good job!

I joined Patreon just so I could comment on this video as YT comments are ginormous, and I have no other socials. I'll be honest and say I'm having a hard time finishing the video. I didn't agree last time you told people they should rely on the utility and not solar and batteries, and I agree even less with that now than I did then, so I'm finding it difficult to give another hour of my time if all you're going to do is rant that we should be relying on the government controlled grid. I refuse to use the AI summary though, so I felt I could at least throw a dollar at Patreon and see if you can give a good reason why I should watch the rest of the video.

Love all your stuff. Took me awhile to find time to watch this one but wow. Appreciate both parts the usual awesome PSA on the renewables opportunity and the second PSA reality check on squandering it and more in the dystopia seem to be in. Brilliant, courageous and timely . Motivated me to finally show up with some overdue support. TY!!!

I did not quite know what to expect. I don't know why I'm not in tears. This was fantastic. Words fail me so I will leave it at that. I wish I were more optimistic about the future, both politically and energy-wise. I doubt the people who need to see this will ever bother.

Dear, dear Alec, I can not express, how much I admire you and how much I am moved by your video. I always respected you but for whatever it might be worth, this respect has grown immensely. You found the right words, you have great courage and you are using your power. Thank you so much, you are giving me hope. Best regards from the old world!

The last third is why I’m now here 🤘

Cancel my membership? Hell no! That's the most moving political diatribe I've heard since Obama left office. Keep it up.

"if the last third upsets you to the point of cancelling your membership, no hard feelings." I increased my membership. Thank you!

I'm going to disagree hard on the solar/nuclear paradigm. First misnomer of solar is comparing a grid scale system at the panel peak power rating. That is a far cry from it's grid-firm rating. Solar panels make a lot of sense for homes and cars where the energy usage is intermittent, low, and can handle long periods of charging. So you can quote a house at a reasonable percentage of the peak-power rating of the panel (500W at the ones you're listing). Even if you up the system and home battery to do electric home heating, the power usage is pretty low. Industrial power consumption and data centers are an entirely different matter. They need continuous, never-ending power. That means enough batteries to last the long winter nights. And enough generation to charge them in the short hours of sun you do get and still produce the power needed during daylight. So, if you want to do 1 GW of constant grid-stable solar power, even in winter, you need to go big. Real big. Example scenario: State of Virgina currently produces just under 300GW a day. This is expected to increase with the expected AI datacenters. PJM-accredited firm capacity to get to 300GW would be 3,000GW installed and the total system would take about 15 Million acres of land. That is a lot of silicon, steel, and glass. We already have a sand shortage, this would be insane. It would also require 4800GWH of battery to get through the 16 hour nights during the winter. The total cost would be astronomical compared to nuclear. Just getting the land would make this impossible. Nuclear took about 7 years from design to generation before 3-mile island. If we got the regulatory framework under control and streamlined back to that, its costs would dramatically improve. https://youtu.be/N-yALPEpV4w?si=chtSNnGs_z5sH7qF Edit: unit of measure changed from sqmi to acres as I jumped a line in my notes.

Good coverage: https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2026/2/1/2366697/-You-are-being-misled-about-renewable-energy-technology

This video needs to be spread far and wide. I just checked what an auto dub into other languages via AI costs and I would happily give you the 50-100$ it costs so you can have dubbed (not only subtitled) versions of this video. Just ping me and tell me how to send you the money if you are interested. I think it's one of the best use cases for current AI technology to actually do something good.

preach it! this is the stuff i've been dealing with since day one of this term. I can't even understand what every so-called "constittional conservative" has been doing for the last year but giving a damn about the constitution has become a far away thought they've replaced with the though to "let's screw everyone". Keep up this great content, and I, for one, will continue to help subsidize and watch!

Hey, man! I didn't realize you lived around Chicago. I gotta ask, is that the wind farm in Indiana off of I-65 around Rensselaer? I guess it could be any farmland with wind turbines, but I've driven through that area a few times on my way to the Chicagoland area. Some people think they're ugly, but I think they're beautiful. It's the beauty of progress.

I do love this channel. I hope you feel able to continue to focus on what your channel has always been about. But I do have to hope this is the last time you feel the need to spend this much time on the post-credits topic. I'm proud to continue to be one of your patreon supporters and I have no intention to change that. It's very difficult to reconcile the fact that you are right and the need to stand against this with the struggle to maintain my own mental health and the constant powerlessness that I feel. I will be voting aligned with you.

The last third un-upset me so hard I created my membership. I've watched, enjoyed and agreed with the Youtube channel for years, but you know what? Time to show my support beyond likes.

Yes the video made sense to me, and actually opened my eyes to the truth. I was an oil and petroleum defender purely out of being scared for change I guess. I also think that is why most people tend to believe all the negative fearmongering stories about renewable energy. I wish more people would see this video and actually listen to what you have to say without getting frustrated ( over their wrong opinions) I do however still have a problem with windmills and that is just the fact they’re a thorn in the eye in some places. I see them being built in the ocean or farmland? No problem whatsoever to me. But the fact I see them being built on the sides of beautiful mountains in the belgian ardennes ( probaly other places in the world too) does make me a little sad.

Incredible video Alec. You actually made me tear up a couple of times post-fake ending and I’m Canadian! As an engineer(in training) who has always found the reality of renewables to be self-evident, I applaud your well-researched and clearly explained essay. I also applaud your decision to state plainly what is going on, and what you believe needs to be done, despite it perhaps not fitting with your usual programming. Keep up the great work, and take care.

A big THANK YOU from Norway. Watching the politics in the US is really scary when you know what happened here in Europe roughly 100 years ago. And this fascist shit is not just happening in the US either. We’re seeing a similar wave all across Europe, and it is terrifying. We cannot let these people copy Adolf Hitler’s playbook. We shall overcome, but it does not come for free. Love your neighbour, keep finding joy and voice your anger whenever it is needed!

i have re-subscribed to your patreon because of this video. i left briefly because i shifted a lot of my donation money to public radio. thank you for loudly saying what i've been thinking (and in a much less eloquent but no less frustrated manner) for years.

I’m increasing my Patreon subscription amount because of this video.

I had thought of all the videos of yours I've seen, this was the best even before the false ending. Your comments after that false ending were welcomed. Those of us who've studied history and who love this country are aware of what's going on, and even warned of it ten years ago. These are dangerous times, but the choice is clear: stand in opposition, or quietly capitulate. Thank you for not being quiet.

Just wanted to thank you for putting this video together. You did a beautiful job. You're always great with your words and your research, but this one really went above and beyond. There's so much we could say, but we don't want to write an essay. :) Amazing, amazing work! Thank you!

Just wanted to join everyone in saying thank you for speaking the straight-forward truth. So much of the Constitution has been effectively suspended, and everyone in Congress is acting like it is Politics As Usual. Everyone on TV is behaving like this is just how things work. It has been absolutely mind-melting to be observing reality and then see so few people describing. I'm sure you were nervous about putting this out, but rest assured: it was a brave thing, it was a powerful thing, and it was the right thing. Thank you.

Alec, I didn’t think I could love a creator more than I already loved you, and then you went a quadrupled down. I’ve never seen a video that made me feel like genuinely want to yell Amen! I did so much nodding along that I could have hurt myself LOL I can’t believe that clicking on a video about dishwashers and cheap powdered soap could have led me to the incredible amount of plainly spoken and practical common sense and a profoundly deeper understanding of the world around me that you have given me I can’t thank you enough In this latest video you so eloquently and passionately said all the things that have been stuck in my head. It was incredibly cathartic to hear someone say all of the things I have completely given up on News and Social Media because I am baffled that these seemingly obvious truths aren’t evident to anyone. YouTube is the only thing i have left and creators such as you are just about my only source of sanity So again I say thank you and bless you, Sir

Holy hell I just got through the whole video - I'm a newer follower and have been following politics way longer than I would like to admit. I share your frustration - burying your head in the sand _is part of the problem_.

I love the channel and your work! didn’t come for politics. I hate that you’ve had to go political. However, there is no choice but to //dissent loudly// at this point. Thank you for saying it aloud; everything welling up in me through your voice. You have my support and total agreement. Thank you for all the wonderful nerd content and I so look forward to more. Eff yeah!!!

I’m waiting to see how he turns this into a heatpump video

Seriously, anyone following this to any degree knows that growing crops to burn, in whatever way you may think of, is totally out of the question because photosynthesis is so incredibly ineffective.

RIP Alec, it was nice knowing you, I'm sad you will be assassined after all that :D

LIke many I've been watching the US destroying itself from across the pond, it's terrifying, it's heartbreaking, it's bewildering that it could happen in a country that elects it's leaders. This will take years to fix, many years, but the first steps are obvious, I dearly hope it happens. Good luck Americans, it's time to be strong ✊

As a viewer from Germany it is heartbreaking to see that all we have perceived here via media is very true and that apparently no one has learned from our past mistakes from a hundred years ago. Unfortunately we're heading in the same direction. I have to say that I am very proud of you. Speaking up like this is dangerous these days and you have shown a lot of courage in doing it with these extremely clear words. If you ever need refuge, you're welcome any time. This video is something everyone needs to watch. As on photovoltaics: here in Germany electricity costs about 0.30€ per kwh. Fast chargers for cars take between 0.39€ and 0.69€ per kwh depending on location, vendor and your contract. It is still cheaper that burning one-time-usage fuel. I'm unfortunately still driving Diesel (will change next year) for various reasons, but my home has a heat pump and 11,47 kwp on the roof. For me all this is a no-brainer as well (like fiber internet). The future is electric. And a lot of people just don't get it or are afraid or change. One argument I hear against heat pumps was "and without power, it doesn't run" . Yeah, well, how good works the controller board of a gas heater without power? Anyway, I congratulate you and this video confirms my opinion of you being one of the best people out there.

You've never been particularly subtle with your political leanings. After all, objective reality has a leftward bias and yours is a channel about understanding how things work, so it's always been pretty clear where you fall. But there's a big difference between being on the left out of convenience and having a principles you're willing to use your platform to defend. And I'm so glad you chose to make this video.

Good video, and I think you made your points effectively. I think there's value in non-political channels discussing the reality of the world, even if it's off topic for the general thrust of the content. There's always a chance you pop someone's filter bubble.

God dammit, Alec, what are you doing, you got me crying. And I'm not even an American! And my wife says I don't cry enough! (never) Thank you, I love you, and please continue with what you're doing. PS: the socks are great!

I have been a supporter for a while 🇨🇦. Thank you for this pragmatic analysis of renewable energy. I also appreciate that you didn’t demonize the people who work hard in oil and gas that make our current lives possible. A change needs to happen and it makes financial sense to do it. I am glad to be a supporter. Looking forward to practical midwestern sensibilities returning to leadership too.

Thank you thank you thank you. You have given hope to the hopeless.

Nuclear is in a weird spot where we waited so long to establish a good supply chain and modularize it that it's just not worth it anymore. Solar and batteries beat it. And they're as modular as any power equipment could be. They simply won. That's why we need to let nuclear go.

This was a well stated case for solar. Well done! Carter did have solar on the White House... And also started our entanglement in the middle east which was very much a petroleum pursuit.

I love the effect that hanging out with Robert Dunn has had on your videos!

Mr. Watson, thank you Sir. No commercials... You didn't monetize the video. My respect and admiration for your work has redoubled and is applied to your character as well. I joined this service to hopefully offset the loss your sister's power bill incurred for that video. From another jaded 30-something watching the country I was born in turn its back on the ideals I was taught it would strive for. You transferred some snark to me. I will use it well in Arkansas. "The document does not enforce itself, and so it is up to us."

This video is what prompted me to join. It's absolutely what needs to be said and done, and you're an incredible speaker for it. Plus, after the Silverado towing video with Aging Wheels (hilarious dynamic between you two, by the way!), it just feels right to be supporting both you and Robert. Much love from Atlantaland!

I've been watching for years - and your sermon about your personal politics brought me on board with a subscription. Amen, and thank you.

Just sharing that this video is what got me to join your patreon to ensure you can continue pointing out what so many people just like you thought was obvious. But even one mind changed because of your work is a step in the correct direction. Keep up the good work, I've been a fan for years!

Just became a patreon supporter because of this video. I've been watching and enjoying for years, but this video, especially the end, is fantastic.

You hit the nail on the head. I was punching the air with my fist during the closing monologue as if I was in a rally. Thank you for speaking up. Good luck out there

Thank you!

Loved the video! My ears went up when you briefly mentioned data center energy usage. Here's why: I personally designed the building-level cooling systems for somewhere between 2 and 4% of the US's total current data center capacity, depending on how you count. From the civic infrastructure perspective, I'd recommend bearing in mind that every single watt used by a computer turns into heat - no matter how power-efficient the computer or its processes are. If a given data center has contracted with the power utility to receive some number of watts of electrical capacity, the company that runs the data center will find a way of filling the building with computers that will use that much electricity because that's how DC owners make money. Watts of DC capacity built = watts of energy that the DC will be using, whether those watts are being frittered away on energy hogging LLMs or whether they're being wisely expended on responsibly streaming a cat video to your phone. Feel free to reach out if you ever need an expert opinion in this field, for some reason!

Thanks for just a section on politics and partisanship being different. A common joke about engineering is how the farther along you get, the more _everything_ is politics. It's merely not partisan politics. There's departmental blocs, different vendors and contractors, systems to integrate and adopt, different ways to train and use operators, competition and posturing and deal-making to make initiatives and projects work, etc. And that's dry, bog-standard, heavy-industry STEM. And it's still all about people. So what could be more appropriate to talk about that than you, a guy who talks about technology's connections in our lives.

thank you for doing the hard thing, you are right to be pissed off, i agree that many things in the USA today are not right, but we do not have fascism here, we have late roman republic rolling towards roman empire. half of people in this country are not evil, half of the people in this country are not angels, we are all just useful idiots, being busy arguing while the elites get richer, to get out if this, democracy needs a major update, time to use the technologies we have to get rid of representation in law making, start using direct vote, this problem is deeper than who the president is, the system got taken over by behind the scenes interest groups that have politicians in their pockets.

Thank you so much for using your platform to speak out for reason and compassion. You've spoken bravely and humanely, and I hope my tiny bit of support helps you keep on keepin' on.

I’m proud of you as a fellow Midwesterner and someone who grew up in the Chicago area around the same time period. As a very technical mechanical engineer, I have loved your channel and its mission. I’ve also learned a lot that I didn’t know. As a leftist, I started out somewhat cautious of your political leanings, but add you’ve said, you’ve never shied away from them and as I saw more and more I liked you more and as I plainly saw we were very aligned. I don’t know if you’re as far left as I am, which admittedly isn’t super common in the US, but I can see you’re clearly left of the current democrats that only serve to normalize the fascism and racism you bring up that are plaguing our country, and are likely even anti-capitalist which is so great to see. I absolutely love that you so plainly used your platform to speak out against the insanity that is currently happening (and hate that things got to a point that you felt the need to), and that you spoke out so in support of workers and things that just seem like they should be common sense to me. This video means so much to me and is by far my favorite video of yours do SO many reasons. Like I said, we’re likely not totally aligned, but you’re CLEARLY on the correct side of things.

Congratulations, dude. You made a near-50 year old man cry today. And it was for the second time today. The first was when I happened to have breakast in Santa Cruz and saw a giant crowd of young people marching. It was a school walkout opposing ICE and these kids were effin ENERGETIC about it. As a Gen-Xer, I am ashamed that we didn't have that. Our boomers told us "Trust us - politics is for older people" and we didn't get moving until too late. Thank you for being you.

amazing and sadly much needed.

(Retired election official here.) You have a serious error when talking about voting. In most jurisdictions you DO NOT have to be on the voter rolls in order to cast a ballot. Same-day voter registration is a reality in most of the United States, although not all places call it that. Here in the commonwealth of Virginia, the process we use for unregistered voters is pretty simple: 1. You get referred to the election chief for the precinct. 2. The election chief hands you an affidavit in which you state your address and your good-faith belief you are eligible to vote in this election. 3. You sign it, the election chief countersigns it as a witness. 4. You get handed a provisional ballot. 5. You vote just like normal, up until the final step. 6. Instead of going into the ballot box, your vote and affidavit are sealed in a privacy envelope. That envelope gets your name and address written on it. You hand this to the election official, who puts it in a separate bin. 7. You then have two weeks (usually) to register with your local elections board. 8. Before the final vote counts are certified, all the provisional ballots are examined. If the name and address on the envelope match someone newly registered to vote, the envelope is opened, and the ballot placed in the bin for final counting. Yes, this process is a little different than if you were properly registered to vote ahead of time. It's not all that difficult, though. If on Election Day you realize, "oh, drat, I meant to register!", SHOW UP TO YOUR PRECINCT ANYWAY. We want you to vote. We need you to vote. And we have the bureaucratic processes to allow you to vote.

Thanks for the great video! I would be interested in a deep dive into the non-combustive uses of oil (plastics, polymers, etc) and how we might find alternatives there.

Doubtless there will be some backlash to your video - I commend your bravery for standing up for what's right, even with the possibility of negative consequences. I hope my new subscription goes some way to make up for any dip in revenue. I wish I could afford more, but please know my subscription level is purely down to my own limited financial circumstances, and no reflection of the excellent content you provide. I really hope this whole situation can be brought to a peaceful conclusion as soon as possible, the rule of law restored, and sensible policies on renewables enacted. Thank you again, and as far as the entirety unscientific and intangible concept of fortune can be transmitted internationally via the internet, good luck.

Just watched the whole video. THANK YOU!!! I'm so glad to see someone like you putting all of this in plain sight. Even the politics/constitution side! ❤️😬 I hope we are better than this after it is over. And, I hope I live to see things change for the better.

As a Midwesterner myself, I have never been so thoroughly and unequivocally convinced to hold a new opinion. 1:13:25 - Consider how few adults actively seek education about daily\emerging technologies, otherwise only getting political\biased info etc.

Thanks Alec, your video triggered me to support you on Patreon. I watched your whole video, and lots of thoughts crossed my mind. I'm going to ramble. You can ignore it all. 20 minutes in, the land use of solar panels was new to me. I still prefer them on roofs in my dense country (Netherlands), but see your point. I got an EV last year and was surprised to find that charging an EV with PV makes a LOT of sense, economically. Home batteries were not economical yet. But that really depends on your tariff fluctuation were you live. My second thought was that I'm SOOOOO annoyed with short-term thinking from EU car manufacturers who do produce EV, but are still seem married to petrol vehicles. I suspect the same holds for the US brands. They are really on the path of loosing the race against Asian manufacturers, who are already cheaper. I bought my first EV last year, and it is a European one, because I think the quality is still better. Sadly, it is a large SUV, since that is all there is. I recommend Not Just Bikes channel for some info on why that is. But if EU manufacturer don't get their act together soon, they will also loose that race. A point you didn't make: if 75% of all vehicles will be EV in the near future, those 25% of petrol drivers will have to pay for the whole gasoline infrastructure. It will become massively expensive. And as for your last point. Thank you. It is flabbergasting how we seem to live in different realities where groups of people are cast away, and how thin the line is between genuine concern and disguised racism. It is shocking to see that the checks and balances in our political system are all but cast aside by parliament, leading to shocking power grabs. Also that state of news media is frightening. I read a comment here from someone stating he supported Trump, and that politics should be kept out. I normally would wholeheartedly agree. The reason I'm saying that is that is so often turns into a binary yes/no question. I dislike that. Open discussion is replaced to narrow-minded group-thinking arguing that you must be wrong because you are not part of the same group as you do. In my youth I was briefly member of a political party, but decided it was not for me. Instead a few years after that I decided to volunteer at my polling station. I've been doing that for almost two decades now. Your video re-iterates it's importance. I certainly hope there is a way out of the mess your country is in.

This Canadian is pleased to see there are still some Americans who are willing to speak out agasint the sabotage of their country from within.

Just finished watching this video. Thank you for making it. Besides the ending, which I was already aligned with and you expressed better than I could ever hope, the main topic was also enlightening to me. I've always been a proponent of renewables, but even I didn't know a lot of the information you provided. Or at least never connected the dots. This is one of, if not the best videos you've ever put out.

Just created a patreon account to subscribe here. Long time YouTube subscriber, should've done this long ago but this video made me want to support you even more!

Best video so far!

Thank you!!

You got a new subscriber here. Long overdue, but this made me do it.

Thank you so much for this.

Now with you on Patreon. I say again HEAR HEAR!!

Not even living in the US...far from it in fact. But watching the US tear itself to pieces for at least two decades now saddens me deeply. Let's say the country I come from has been there before. And yes, it didn't start last year or in 2016 even, if you hadn't noticed or are too young to remember. Needless to say this video is a cause for increasing my pledge, to help cover legal fees, if nothing else. Because apparently, the US is that kind of effed up place nowadays.

I've been treasuring days that you come out with your highly informational videos for years, but when I got to the conclusion of this video I immediately looked for a way to support your work directly by joining this Patreon. Thank you, sir.

The part about taking the poem on the Statue of Liberty seriously. Wow. Yes, I feel like I’ve been crazy for years because I read and remember it.

Regarding the lead content: if the panel has a CE sign it likely fulfills EU RoHS criteria and doesn't contain lead-based solder. There are some exemptions for solar panels but they seem to address panels made for solar farms.

glad you did this before the end of the month at least

1. You are on point. I'm not in the US. In my country in eastern Europe, over the past 5 years, there has been sufficient decentralised solar power installation to cover 20% of the country's energy needs in summer - that is comparable to the two nuclear reactors that we currently have operating. But more importantly, the set of people spewing bullshit propaganda against renewable energy is precisely the set of people spewing pro-ruzzian-aggression propaganda. So you're very much on point. 2. On the second part of your video, you're a brave man. Reactions such as yours make me think hope is not lost yet. Thanks for standing up for what you believe in.

I just had to become a patron after watching your latest video, and doubly so after seeing you didn’t link it in the description for a quick money grab.

I increased my membership because of this video. Well done. I assume there will be some cancellations, so I'm trying to do my part to make up for that.

Thank you very much Alec! I know it's a though time, also here in Europe, I always get also very sad when people say: "stop buying American, stop using American", because I know there are good people around there like you! We'll cross fingers, hope things will improve soon, both in Europe and America!

It was overwhelming to hear so many of my thoughts being spoken so clearly through the voice of another, but so much more clearly and elegantly (in both parts). Alec, I wish you many years of video making ahead, but this moment is clearly at the top of the hilight reel. Thank you for having the courage to sugar coat nothing and put all the cards on the table. It gives me a boost in hope that was sorely needed. With enough good people like you, perhaps we can make it through the end of all of this.

Excellent video Alec. I greatly appreciate the message at the end of the video, and as a librarian, please continue to use your platform to espouse the virtue of the services we offer. Keep up the good fight, stay safe, and thank you for being a voice for good.

I have been a fan for a long time now and I’m currently wearing your socks. This gave me the leap to join Patreon as well.

I never thought I'd see you calling for outrage, but this is the craziest time that I've lived through. In my opinion, only two or three periods in the history of this country can be compared.

The main part of the video was really well done. I think you made it as simple and easy to understand as it could possibly be, and I think it will convince a lot of skeptics. I also appreciate you using your platform to speak out on the evil happening today.

Alec, a suggestion - make the last 15 minutes available as a separate video and post that on its own on this channel. It will be of benefit to those who lack the staying power to sit through the rest of the video - it's not a problem for me because I don't have the attention span of a gnat, but some of the people who REALLY NEED TO SEE THIS sadly DO have short attention spans.

As a fan of your channel for a long time, this video convinced me I simply had to subscribe. Thank you for using your platform to give voice to those who need it.

This is one of your masterpieces, if not the best video, yet!

Oh man, corn based ethanol was such a mistake. If anything, we really should have subsidized ethanol (denatured of course) from any source. Corn is just a bad way to produce ethanol. Even switchgrass can't match the efficiency of PVs, but I'll acknowledge that sometimes we need a liquid fuel.

Another point about one important thing about electricity and batteries: changing how we produce and store energy is completely independent from how we use it. Lithium won’t become the new oil, because we can switch to alternative chemistries if needed. And those changes don’t require everyone to replace their vehicles or appliances. That decoupling is a huge, often overlooked advantage of electrification.

Hey, Alec. Your video is VERY COOL. I love the pragmatic approach. I know you're not fan of them, but you should definitely create YT shorts from your content to drive people to your videos.

This is an absolutely phenomenal piece of work, one you should be immensely proud of. Watching the United States through the lens / pen of foreign media in the UK makes me very worried indeed, and it is so refreshing to see people stand up against the blatant lies that are told. I wanted to write a spiel here about how the UK may be heading in this direction too, but it's all too depressing and uncertain, and I do not want to dilute the atrocities happening in the USA right now with our own woes.

While I've been pro-solar development for decades, you've opened my eyes on how little space is needed to generate way more power than the entire grid currently produces! Edit: FYI, the wind turbine murder factory argument came from incidents where wind farms were erected in migratory bird travel routes. To the best of my knowledge this is now accounted for in building new wind farms.

You know, I think my favorite part of this whole argument is you didn't mention climate change *once* as a selling point. That well has been thoroughly poisoned to the people you're trying to reach, so that was an excellent tactic. The fake ending was also clever.

Never been more proud to support a creator. This entire video is gold, I think you have a great way of explaining things and this is a great approach towards renewables. And I have already seen how much you care about your community and those close to you (I remember the help you sent to a flooded community center) so was not at all surprised at the second part, thank you.

Thank you for this, the more people show where they stand the harder it is for the lying liars to claim that they hold some kind of majority of thought.

Bravo. Thank you for doing this.

Small correction: photons are not converted to electrons. Photons end up effectively moving electrons. Around 43:00. Love the video .

1:09:03 Saying "look no dead birds" is not really a great way to refute arguments about windmills' effects of birds - it's just an anecdote that there aren't any in that one specific place & time. It's the same logic as "global warming isn't real because it's so cold out right now!" It might've been good to cite a study. Great video though!

I would like to see the land use section address putting PV over parking lots. Providing shading parking further reduces energy use for AC and keeping snow off parking lots and vehicles in the snow belt reduces the resource use for moving snow.

Maybe eight years or more ago I thought solar and EVs were a waste of time, partly because I was reading cynical and biassed media reports, but being fairly open minded and reading a wide array of sources, I came to the realisation that it was still early days for the technology, and seven years ago I had solar panels and a battery fitted, and six years ago I bought an EV. The solar array installation turned out to be a very good decision with a jump in energy prices 18 months . And a few years later I got a new job with free EV charging at the office! Unfortunately many people are happy to remain blissfully ignorant in their bubble of climate change denial, think renewables are witchcraft, and believe fossil fuels are god's gift.

Here in Australia (the country with the largest deployment of roof-top solar per capita) yesterday at midday electricity was so abundant the spot price was -$6.75/MWh... Yes... *negative* money, they literally pay you to get rid of all this excess electricity! (provided you sign up for a dynamic tariff) As a result of this economic force as well as some now rather large government incentives Australia now also has the largest deployment of home battery storage per capita. Honestly surprised me in the last couple years how rapid the uptake has been. Also very good sales for EVs, although not so much focus on fully BEVs, lots of people are choosing PHEVs. Possibly as charging infrastructure grows we'll see more BEVs. However as good as that uptake might get, it still won't complete with my 80 Wh/km per occupant for commuting, an electric train (doesn't even need a battery plus it's fully self driving, like I actually don't drive it, not even 'supervise' it). The local government seems to also understand this and other factors and two years ago all fares became just 50¢ resulting in many more users, increased public attention and more funding for new rail and rapid-charging BEV bus projects. Also great to see one of the loud voices finally being one of the reasonable people. The USA seems to have been plagued by the loud liars for far too long. Hopefully you all can get it together before it all comes crashing down.

Just to be contrarian, I upped my membership tier level because of this video, especially because of the last section!

Really fascinating and enjoyable video on renewables... The simple example about gas being one-time use is a perfect way to explain renewables to people I never thought about before. Followed by a very wonderful Alec with all the filters off! Bravo sir! I really hope the video survives and doesn't get report-bombed off or anything. Both parties suck, dems at least give us the best shot at survival.

Just to make sure: Is there going to be a _longer_ version of this video? Or is the non-existent-yet "unlisted version" going to be shorter?

Alec, please listen to me here. I think this is almost all great, and while I 100% agree with everything your're saying, your goal here is to convince people to confront their internal beliefs. These political beliefs are like a religion to many. You do a truly excellent job on all of the energy issues. But in that last 20-30 minutes, you are veering into some areas where you will trigger republicans to just stop listening, and are using phrasing that only people who already agree with you will appreicate. I was once very religious. I was once republican. And when I think about the things that broke me out of that, you have some of those qualities in your video here. And your fire, passion, and emotion are good. Don't remove those.... But you do need to built up to it logically. Your superpower is in getting people to listen to reason when built from the ground up. You can't skip that step. When you hit on higher level things that the conservative media specifically indoctrinates people to consider ridiculous like calling them fascist or saying it's an "Illegitimate government" (Unfortunately the US did vote for this) you auto-trigger them to stop listening. You must come across as emotionally invested and concerened, but not just mad (in order to change minds). Their votes would be reasonable if Mexico actually was systemically sending murders and rapists over to the US instead of using their own criminal systems, or if the 2020 election actually was stolen, or if the vast majority of people were inappropriately taking advantage of X government system, or if the democrats were actually communists and wanted to make the US like China or North Korea. Yes it's all BS, 100% it's lies. But you cannot skip to the punchline. They have been drinking the kool-aid for decades. My practical recommendation is to just add a line or 2 of lead in before any new subject you bring in. Line 1 - Acknoledge what the republican media has been telling these people. Line 2 - Acknoledge reason, background, or emotinoal concern for this position, with zero snark (as much as it hurts) Line 3 - Harsh fucking reality. Now you can snark. If you let the snark in early, then it's a personal assault.. Or that's how it used to feel to me. But if the snark is held until the conclusion.... Then I have an out. You can lead a horse to water, but you can't make him drink. Waterboarding the horse before you get to a river will not help. An angle I think would do well from you, would be to review more about arguemnts in the past about new technologies. People refusing internal combustion engines over horses, electricity over gas lighting, or some other tech we all use today. Remind how people always fight change because it's human. It's ok to be human. But it's not ok to ignore the facts. It's not ok to hurt other humans. It's not ok to restrict freedom. Either way, I'm with you. You have my support, my patreon pledge, and my reposts when you post the final version. Together we fight, and united we stand.

Hey, I just wanted to say thank you for the video. At first I didn't understand why you wouldn't put solar panels on your rooftop, but it makes sense in your area. And that whole recycling of batteries was also helpful to know in the future, when discussing the issue with other people. That last part was hard to watch, and not because I don't share your values but because as a German we are always reminded of what we did almost 100 years ago and it's scary to think one of the oldest democracies in the world is becoming more autocratic by the week.

My jaw was on the floor on the land use section. What a dreadful waste of resources. And then it kept going. Holy shit!

Good shit Alec and thank you again for using your platform in this way. If the first 2/3rds of the video doesn't convince people renewables are the way forward then it's likely they will never change. If the last 1/3rd doesn't make the blood of every red blooded American boil like ours then they aren't a real American but a traitor to this country.

Fabulous. Thank you for bravely saying what needs to be said.

I watched the video until the very end. I've been a supporter of your channel since 2018. I think I need to stay around longer. Keep up the good fight.

Alec, I feel like I have so much to say that I could spend hours writing to you. (Who knows, maybe some day we'll be able to actually talk about it with each other.) I won't spend hours on this comment, but I will spend my time nonetheless. Because I hear you. Because I'm with you. Because I felt your frustration and passion and anger through the screen and I let mine out with you. This video literally brought me to tears. I stand with you. I stand with you and every human being who deserves better. From our governments, from our society, and from our world. I can't put into words how much it means to have people like you with us. I wish you all the best.

Wow, > 90 minutes. I will reserve this evening (i.e. 13 hours away) for this movie! Much better than >90% of Hollywood ~90 minutes movies...

Thank you Alec, you have well expressed the moral outrage many folks are feeling. (And I love my solar panels and electric car.)

Thank you for this video. It perfectly talks about so many things going on right now that need attention either immediately or very soon. A technology YouTuber should not normally bring someone to tears, but the way you spoke about Minneapolis made me proud of my state and my neighbors. I just hope it stops here with us, so nobody else has to go through this pain. You wrote in your last post about risking the platform you built with this video. It was worth it. You shared so much wonderful information and I’m glad you took a stand for a better future.

👏

Thank you. Your anger is absolutely justified, and I echo your deep concern that we have forgotten how to be a society. Societies care about each other because that's how they survive.

Holy shit. Incredible. I have so much to say in so much agreement that I'm not even going to type it. I was bordering on tears of joy during the latter 1/4, no joke. I hope this video gets tens of millions of views.

Thanks TC. It’s great that influential people like yourself are brave enough to say what desperately needs to be said. I agree 100%. 💙

Hi Alec! Thank you so much for this video, I watched it all the way through. The political part was extremely well said (and I enjoyed the rest of the video too!), and I frankly feel extremely similar to the way you do. However, my question is, have you also considered releasing the politics part as a separate video as well? I'd like to show that to a couple people who may not entirely be interested in the main portion of the video, but most likely will be extremely interested in the political part. Thank you for everything that you do, and I hope the world gets better for all of us.

Thank you. I learned a ton about solar power, and I thought I knew a lot. Double thank you for calling out that “it’s happening here”

54:35 Other than black mass production, there's a company in the US called Redwood Materials ,who has a great system for recycling. Munro Live did a video on it called "Inside Redwood Materials: Exclusive Tour & Interview with JB Straubel"

BTW, Alec, you have excellent taste in tires.

I loved everything about the video up to the fake ending. But then snarky Alec showed up at 1:08. And I was so here for it. Then partisan Alec showed up at 1:16. And I was so TOTALLY here for it. Then Alec dropped the F word (fascism) at 1:20. And I was so INCREDIBLY here for it. Then Alec said shit at 1:26. And I was so FUCKING here for it. Then Alec called for the abolition of ICE at 1:28. And I was so PROUD to hear it. Finally in the last minute, Alec said we need to care for each other. I don’t know if he reads these, but I can glean how much effort, bravery and passion went into writing this script and performing it. I can also guess how concerned he was by “revealing” his true self to the [YouTube] world, something I struggle with relative to my friends and family in Nebraska. If it helps, watching the “secret” part of this video made the fear and anxiety I’ve felt for the past year (or decade) seem less crazy. I felt seen. Thank you.

The last part of the video took courage. Thank you. I think I need to be braver.

I remember reading about the solar panels on the White House... if only Regan hadn't screwed Carter out of a second term, we might actually be much further along with renewable energy.

Thanks for a powerful statement of your personal values. I have a much better idea what to write to my representatives (and motivation to do so), clarifying what I want them to do to earn my vote.

This is a masterpiece, Alec. Bravo!

Thank you!

It's rare that I watch an hour and half video. But I watched all of this. I agree 100% with absolutely everything you said, all the way to the very end. I've been sickened over the last 2 decades at the constant politicization of renewable energy and electric vehicles, the constant mis-information,etc. And while I understand how Trump beat Hillary originally, the fact that we even managed to re-elect him after what he pulled on January 6 has continually blown my mind. Basically I've come to realize that part of our nation is living in a fantasy world. They've been told that the Liberals want to "destroy America" and therefor no matter what Trump does, it must be better than the alternative, so they tolerate transgression after transgression. And I say all this as a life-long Republican that only switched sides when Trump came along.

Thank you.

Enjoyed the entire thing, the renewables and the politics. I'm not going anywhere. And for what it's worth, your past videos about electric cars are why I now drive one today. One of your "driving my parent's Bolt" videos is when I had the realization that "oh my god I have electricity at home and I can use that to charge a car, I don't need to care about public charging infrastructure in my surrounding area" when before that lack of infrastructure was what kept me away from EVs. This is working, you are getting through to many of us, please keep doing what you're doing.

I see we learned from Robert on a recent road trip 😆

Thank you Alec so much for all your videos! I've learned so much from you, my dishes are cleaner, I'm constantly amazed by all the clever technology in my oven, my microwave, even my heating and coffee maker. I have loved learning about all the fascinating uses of our good old friend bimetalic strips, about energy and power, and yes, the latent heat of vaporization. It's even changed the way I see the use of renewable energy. As someone who has heard all those anti-solar talking points and been firmly in favor of oil over solar the lessons you have taught have been life changing. After everything I've learned from you and this channel over the years, I'm absolutely thrilled for the future of electricity. After long days working or even just a bad week, turning on the channel and listening to snarky comments and your enthusiasm for technology and learning how it shapes our lives in beautiful ways has long been a comfort for me. As someone who has loved watching your channel for a long time, I was worried when you talked about losing members and inviting us to cancel memberships and leave the channel. After watching this video, I understood why when you didn't hold back about how you felt about many of the turbulent things going on. I actually upped my membership recently and I intend to keep it that way. While I don't agree with all of your views, I realized a few important things. I still love learning and I don't want to stop just because I have different views. Despite some disagreement, I still respect you and I hope you keep speaking your mind and listen honestly too. I hope that doesn't come off terribly, but being able to disagree with someone else's view on a discussion and still respect their choices is hard to come by these days. I hope you keep teaching the people of the world or at the very least, the internet. The more people know, the better the world can be. The world is a crazy place. Sticking together and lifting each other up will always be the most important thing we can do in this life. If nothing else, I'm grateful for the impact you've had in my life and I hope this story of how you've impacted a life can share even a fraction of the joy with you that you've brought to me.

Amazon is electrifying their fleet. They’ve got no problems charging their electric vehicles. They are saving a ton of money in energy. I bet you their electric fleet is way bigger than that bus fleet.

I love you Alec! But I love snarky Alec even more! ✊

Great stuff Alec, you took the words out of my mouth and then made them better, more coherent and more impactful. I wish every YouTuber--in the US at least could echo your sentiments. We are in a crisis. Renewable electricity: I worry about all the data centers being built and how much electricity they gobble up. Also, to mitigate climate change I think we'll need to drastically reduce fossil fuels used by airlines and implement vastly more electrically-powered freight and passenger rail--both traditional and high-speed.

Nuclear generation and solar generation are very, very different things and should not be compared directly, ever. All kWhs are not created equal! But I appreciate your being up front and I know you are open to learning and changing your position so I'm not worried about it :-).

Great video. You didn't say anything I didn't already know, but this has been a favourite topic of mine for years now. You did say it far more eloquently than I ever could. The concept that with so many solutions now available, the fact that we are still extracting billions of litres of a non renewable, consumable resource in 2026 is completely mind-boggling to me. There is a lot more to get into in the subject of land usage, which is a topic that is an absolute minefield, but there is a wealth of things to explore as it relates to technology and renewable energy. One great example from here downunder was this sheep farmer who installed PV panels a couple of years ago. https://www.abc.net.au/news/rural/2022-05-30/solar-farm-grazing-sheep-agriculture-renewable-energy-review/101097364 They ended up with happier sheep, a better yield from the sheep (wool sheep) and are generating free energy. Absolutely no downsides. The other thing that is worth investigating which I don't think you touched on, is artificial gasoline/petrol. There are stupid political debates about it, because it is currently quite inefficient to create, essentially extracting hydrogen from sea water and turning it into methanol. However the inefficiency argument entirely falls apart, imho, because of that giant ball of plasma in the sky. It doesn't matter how much energy something requires (to a point) if the energy is literally free and has no global warming impact. There is a plant underway in Tasmania (https://hifglobal.com/locations/tasmania) which is planned to use excess hydro power and wind energy to create the methanol. The biggest hurdle is energy storage, but as you say, new battery technologies, pumped hydro, flywheels, or simply shifting consumption times are all solutions that exist right now. There is no pie in the sky argument here, we are already here, just need the social and political will to get there. In regards to the last part of the video, thank you for saying it. I fear it won't get through to the people that need to hear it even if they do watch it, but thank you for putting yourself out there. As a non-American, it's been heartbreaking watching what has been happening there over the last 20 years. The long term fallout of the Reagan era is hitting so hard, and I really hope things can be turned around.

Well said. The way the entertainer turns political when it actually matters reminds me of the end of The Great Dictator where Chaplin gives his speech with equally powerful arguments that are sadly looking increasingly relevant today.

Powerful message Alec! Hopefully some of your fellow creators and creatives follow your example and speak out as well. We live in a era of captive traditional media, we have no Cronkites, or Helen Thomases left there, so non-traditional media must take the Paul Revere role now. Thank you for doing this!

As an immigrant who needs to be careful what I put online, I appreciate you taking a stance that in today’s political climate might seem like a risk. You have a voice that can speak for those who can’t, and maybe will inspire those who won’t. Thank you.

It takes courage. You have it. Nuance is lost on so many today, even the media as you point out. So much has become divisive and purely 'hooray for our side' (yes, this is a song reference). And in the midst of it all, liberty and freedom get lost. What you speak about here is the ability by so many who own 'single family homes' to move the needle more towards independence. In-home storage and photovoltaic harvesting of energy is so easy now, and as you also point out, coming way down in cost. Anything that moves the needle further towards liberty and independence gets my vote, my voice, and my dollars. To that end, I just recently passed 1kw of solar, and have ~40KWH of usable storage in AGM (lead-acid with the added benefit of relatively rapid charge/discharge). Even now in the winter, I'm passing 5KWH a day on clear days, and passing 2KWH a day even when overcast. Now, to be fair, I'm a journeyman electrician with multiple decades of experience working with electricity. But I'm far from done with this, I'm looking at adding solar water heating, in addition to yet more solar panels. Can I reach grid-free operation? Heck no, I don't have enough property for that, BUT, I can greatly improve my independence from those external sources of energy, and eventually hope to have an EV (not yet, rural and driving hundreds of miles for work on the regular precludes it presently, as DC fast charging would harm any EV I used for that purpose, as much as I'd be using it). Though, in the near term, an EV for my wife for 'running around town' and even over into the next town (~45min away at least) is certainly very doable with an EV. For now, the solar I have on the fleet van I own (480W on top) and storage within (~2KWH) will do to keep my auxiliary needs in that vehicle fossil fuel free (and heck, since I've owned it, my cellphone has been exclusively solar powered, yay!). Now that I have the home system that is growing, and have a way to charge the vehicle bank from the home bank (vehicle bank is 24V nominal LiFePO₄, home bank is 48V nominal, aforementioned AGM, an auxiliary input MPPT in the van does the trick nicely, as well as providing auxiliary input from portable panels), I do intend to replace the alternator's duties in the van with the solar system. I've got power-conversion capability up to and exceeding the alternator's output capability, so I can improve that V8's overall efficiency by removing its need to produce electricity, and relegate it to simply propelling the vehicle. Anyway, rambly answer aside, you get a resounding vote of support from me. Why I joined your patreon, and why I love that you are stepping up and showing the courage needed to tackle these misconceptions and outright lies head on. Keep up the good work!

Brilliant and moving oratory. I'm in tears at your expressions of shared fearful frustration with the hateful stupidity in the world. With brutal Truth and honesty you comprehensively illuminate the dark terrorism that we are facing in this nation and expose the deadly zombie evil of the repugnant partisan horror show for the ultimate inhuman ugliness it is.

The mindset of solar being set and forget is a quick lesson I feel like anyone who's ever played a video game with resource management has understood.

This is one of my favorite videos you have ever made

Upped my membership. Thank you for all you do.

Such a wonderful video

The only people who could take offense to the true ending of this video are people whose opinions don't deserve to be taken seriously anyway; people who spend their lives doing and supporting the opposite of what they claim to support.

The huge unsolved problem with solar and wind is the long-term storage. For example, right now essentially all of the continental US is under cloud cover, while the electricity demand is at the peak. So we'll need backup for at least several days of total consumption. I worked as a part of a team that did the worst case scenario calculations for Germany, back in 2005. We found that Germany would need a _month_ of stored energy to last through the 1-in-century period of low renewable generation (now called "Dunkelflaute"). I have not done these calculations for the US, but it seems intuitively that we'd need something like a week of storage. Especially because long-distance energy transmission is not really scalable.

One of the odder things about this is that solar power fits in with the particular right-wing ethos of self-reliance. My dad, who was pretty conservative (more libertarian really), installed a bunch of solar panels on his farm because he was tired of feeling gouged by the local power company. He was proud of his solar array, which was surprising to me give some of his other political positions, but it did provide some freedom from the grid. He did rant one time about where all the power for electric cars was going to come from, so people are complicated I guess.

Me making myself cosy to watch a TC video of approx. 45 minutes, start the video, learns that it’s actually 1 hour and 30 minutes. While I’m cozy now anyway so let’s do this!

As a Canadian, totally on-board for this, but having both of our vehicles electric is nothing short of revolutionary. I've been EV for 5 years and my wife for about 6 months. Our new home is also largely electric rather than using fossil fuels. We have a connection, but it's only as a backup for those who live in subzero climates. I'd also vote for every type of renewable energy, and nuclear.

I haven't watched this video yet, however I work for a rather large bus company in the UK that has just had charging stations fitted and electric buses rolled in. The issue they have now is when they try to charge them they blow the sub station as the draw from the depot is too large. If everyone goes electric and charges up overnight I guess they will need to insure the power stations and sub stations are ready for the huge amount of power being used all at once.

I’m not sure if this is a thing in the States, but I live in Scotland, UK and recently read an article about a growing uptake in household battery storage without having solar/wind attached. The idea is that your energy company has an off-peak rate that means when you sleep this battery charges and during the day you use the battery rather than drawing from the grid. People are reporting up to a third off their electricity bills from this. The batteries can be located outside, but it’s touted for flat-dwellers who would otherwise not be able to take advantage of home-based renewables. I also wanted to credit you with making me seriously think about buying an EV despite living in a flat. I’m well into my first year with my Renault 5 and I’ve never loved a car more than this. Affordable EVs are finally coming to market in Europe and they’re not all Chinese 😉

Thank you for doing this

Been looking forward to this so much, hell yeah!

upped my sub, I have no doubt the video content will only reinforce that decision

SO PROUD OF YOU FOR THIS!!!