Select Page

Biden Employs Wartime Powers to Pump $169 Million Into ‘Clean Energy’

Biden Employs Wartime Powers to Pump $169 Million Into ‘Clean Energy’

As the country enters winter, the Biden administration is working on how to take easily available and affordable heating away from American households. To push electric heat pumps over gas heating, Joe Biden invoked wartime powers to pour millions of taxpayers money into projects making those pumps.

As reported by The Washington Examiner (November 18), Joe Biden invoked the Defense Production Act of 1950 to allocate $169 million for electric heat pump projects. The taxpayer money under the Inflation Reduction Act, originally aimed at fighting inflation that rose significantly under Biden, will be directed to 15 sites for manufacturing electric heat pumps. The story noted:

This is the first time a president classified climate change as an emergency by utilizing the Defense Production Act, which was established during the Cold War.

Members of Biden’s political entourage, like Biden’s National Climate Advisor Ali Zaidi and senior adviser for Clean Energy John Podesta, were more than ready to laud the move of funding the electric pump projects using emergency powers.

But conservatives see it as another wrong move by the administration that has brought many failures to the country. Steve Gruber of Real America’s Voice responded to the news on his show, calling Biden’s claim of climate crisis as the greatest threat to America a “complete fallacy.”

Critics on Twitter/X also called Biden’s move a total misuse of presidential emergency powers.

Karen Harbert, CEO of American Gas Association, expressed her disappointment over the Biden administration’s use of the Defense Production Act that is meant to advance national security and not for pushing a “policy agenda contradictory to our nation’s strong energy position.”

The Biden administration’s efforts to push Americans out of gas-powered appliances over debatable climate change science has been meeting reality checks in more than one place. Recently, the electric vehicle (EV) producers were reported to pull back on production because of a sharp rise in the price of minerals needed for making EV batteries. The Western Journal cited Anthony Milewski, CEO of Nickel 28, calling the situation “dangerous”:

“This situation is a bit dangerous because the mines aren’t going to get built. We should be building those mines now and we’re not.”

The story wrote that it can take years between a mineral discovery and getting to use it in manufacturing EV batteries.

Fox News reported on Tuesday (November 21) that Ford Motor Company is “dramatically scaling back” its Michigan-based EV-battery plant, reducing its scope by more than 40% of the original production target.

Clean or renewable energy is also seen as less reliable by critics of the climate change narrative pushed by the left. In an opinion piece in The Washington Times (November 21), Jason Isaac wrote that the left’s narrative fails in the face of harsh winters or any weather for that. In his words:

“…it doesn’t help the grid when wind turbines freeze, and the sun isn’t shining, which is exactly what we encountered in Texas almost three years ago.”

About The Author

27 Comments

  1. frank stetson

    Dempsey is amazing. He writes: “the Inflation Reduction Act, originally aimed at fighting inflation.” What a naïve little man. Apparently, he does not read Horist….

    Then he claims that by increasing heat pump manufacturing in the US, Biden is instead: “working on how to take easily available and affordable heating away from American households” by incenting US manufacturing for lower cost heat pumps that are US made and more competitive in price to consumers due to increased domestic supply.

    Instead, I guess Dempsey would rather the status quo where 40% of all heat pumps made in China, US about 10%. China has about 30% of all installations, we are far, far behind leaving us defenseless to build, or to install. Dempsey seems to want that.

    What Dempsey does not like is: Amstrong International to produce in Three Rivers, Michigan. He hates Honeywell International for making them in Geismar, Louisiana. And he detests Ice Air for cold climate and geothermal heat pumps in Spartanburg, South Carolina, not to mention Mitsubishi Electric for compressors in Kentucky which is still better than China IMO. Just not Dempsey’s.

    At the heart of the matter: “to pour millions of taxpayers money into projects making those pumps.” Amazing. Heat pumps are HVAC units that save on operating costs creating a cleaner environment. In my youth, I managed construction post college and we were installing these in MD in the late 70’s. The THREAT to existing alternatives has been there for 50 years. Dempsey feels this is directed against gas suppliers, but he is naïve. By golly, where does 40% of our current electricity to run heat pumps come from Ernest? GAS you fool.

    To correct the Dumpster, lower cost heat pumps will affect furnace sales by gas or oil, but frankly, who cares —– we’re selling em a US made heat pump instead. And less of the money goes to China.

    One thing folks: there is some sort of Federal incentive for consumers to get these, but trust me —- it’s a healthy payback period on the investment AND the price, even with incentives, may cause you to take a loan. Do the math but chances are you will need to stay in place for a number of years to recoup the cost and begin the profits (payback, breakeven). And you will probably not be able to increase your house price for it. Certainly, Dempsey wouldn’t shell out an extra buck to save money on utilities. He’s naïve though.

    Check your current incentives and recognize the program may be state managed, so a bit screwed up, based on your state. Also, NEXT YEAR there is a good chance your incentive will rise considerably —– depends on the state and how fast they can get their act together —– check your state for info.

    • Donald Cadwell

      Try selling one to an Eskimo.

      • frank stetson

        Actually, they can and do use heat pumps in Alaska.

        • Jim wampler

          Only geothermal would work in Alaska. Get north of Pennsylvania and air over heat pumps ain’t worth shit

    • Geronimo

      What good is making heat pumps in the US if nobody wants them?

      • frank stetson

        Geronimo: And if a tree falls in a forest and no one is there, does it make a sound?

        FACT is that over 2M heat pumps sold in 2022, more units than gas, and no IRA credits. Look it up EIA has the stats I think. OR someone like that.

        Methinks Geronimo leaps before he looks. Ironic ain’t it?

  2. JoeyP

    I will NOT buy a HEAT PUMP at ANY price . . . I CHOOSE what I want, NOT the Government. And I suspect the REST of the COUNTRY sees it that way too.

    • frank stetson

      Good JP, always love a guy who cuts his nose despite his face. See above, but apparently the country see’s Joe’s way and is buying heat pumps as if they were better than gas. 40% of them are run by gas anyways as in anything electric we have.

      Dempsey is not telling the truth. Typical Trumplicant.

  3. Americafirst

    Fake and very dead Biden cannot employ or invoke wartime powers under any circumstances. If the false Biden tries, it is an act of treason. Biden was not inaugurated as POTUS therefore is NOT the POTUS at all. What a joke that imbicile is which is why I usually refer to him as “Joke Biden”. There is definite proof of my statement out there, especially from Guantanamo Bay.

  4. LMB

    So when does it make it okay to Employ the War Powers Act when you’re not at war for a Climate Change Hoax!!! Sounds like Biden and friends are once again looking for an injection of money into their offshore bank accounts!!!
    Congress should act this this BS act by our fearless Dictator Xiden!!!

    • Frank stetson

      Lmb; can u say WPA, Trump and covid. Aluminum in the 50’s, Titanium too. TransAlasken pipeline, in the 80’s, all over the place. Fema benefited from it. CA energy crisis in the 90’s…..

      You really need to look before you leap. Yes, first time for heat pumps, but that’s more than just climate. Or maybe you like everything to come from China.

  5. Darren

    Nothing of fact or truth matters.
    This is still a payback for other groups who donated to Biden’s, dumb ass plans.
    FOLLOW THE MONEY, FOLLOW THE MONEY, FOLLOW THE MONEY!
    This is about power and control!
    When half of the country is made up of morons who only think ( Now the world is warming ) and this was not happening the last billion years or so believe this crap, this is what happens.
    A crooked President can use his powers to manipulate funds to who ever he wants!
    Why does half the people in this country act so so so STUPID!
    The only thing rising is the stupidity factor in Democrats & RINO Republicans!

    • frank stetson

      Darren is one of those guys who shits where he eats and then asks for more.

      If you can’t see that global warming real, is not totally natural, and is caused by our pollution, you believe in snake oil.

      We dented pollution in the 70’s and were better for it even though the same people made the same claims then. We are doing it again, would be faster if you helped instead of standing there looking stupid.

      The funny part is we can’t fix it anymore. We might change it, but we can’t fix it. Those days are gone forever.

      • Dan tyree

        I love my carbon footprint. May it increase

        • Frank stetson

          Dan, that’s good news you refuse to take use monetary incentives to make your life more affordable while reducing carbon too. Leaves more incentives for the rest of us while you just continue to spend more money, live in the cold/heat of both.

          Myself, I lower my carbon footprint, drive cheaper, am warmer in winter, cooler is summer and save money too. Thanks for the help.

          Myself, I look at the numbers and go green when it returns green to me. And I laugh as you waste you money!

          I probably pay half what you do for gas, lowered my heating oil by 70%, but am sitting here at 23 degrees in my boxers at 75 degrees. Today, I will work hard and then soak in a sun fueled jacuzzi tub. Even though it’s going to 40 today, I will turn the heat off, open the solar powered sun shades, and get 4 hours of heat from passive solar hitting my solar tiled floor.

          And a lot of Dan’s tax dollars supported me to do that. Plus, I like to think that God also smiles on those who don’t shit where they eat.

          Folks: seriously, do the math, sometimes it just flat out pays in the long run to invest in green. Look at the programs, they can sweeten the deal. Or be like Dan, head in sand IF it just makes dollars and sense.

    • frank stetson

      Darren, Actually I agree with Darren on this one: FOLLOW THE MONEY. They were made in China, soon they will be made here.
      Follow the money. See the mfg’s listed above. At one level, who cares about what caused the warming, This is about manufacturing things in the US that serve the national defense — like heat in the winter. You ask: “Why does half the people in this country act so so so STUPID!.” That’s a question best left to experts in practice like you.

      IF you can’t see global warming, and that’s it’s accelerating, you are smoking something and should share with the rest of us soon to go down the shitter with too much heat, massive storms, and who knows what GOD has in store next due to our rampant shitting where we eat.

  6. Q

    You are nothing more than a lady cleansing tool & a long winded blow hole!!

    • Jim lucas

      Frank I have a high efficiency heat pump and keep it maintained. I spent years selling and installing HVAC systems. I loved my Trane system and then replaced it with a Lennox when the compressor went bad after about 18 years. Speaking of a iacuzzi 5 queers were soaking in one. A condom floated up. One of the fags said “. Okay. Who farted?”

      • frank stetson

        Figures Jim Lucas would be pulling a train. (gotcha smart ass :>)

  7. frank stetson

    Folks, a number of you seem to believe the Dumpster. I am pretty sure that is a mistake. Yes, Biden is paying off his constituents and the green lobby as he campaigned on and his voters say YEAH. But, he is also bringing manufacturing back to the US for this product, HEAT, that’s in our national defense to control. Currently most are built in China. He is also incenting you via all sorts of credits, programs and the like to be greener. I can prove to you that often it saves money while giving you more heat, cold, driving farther (and now faster too), for less. It is not always the case, but often. If may take years to turn you a profit —– that’s a rub for sure, but knowable. And today, I doubt you can sell your house or car for more because of it but someday, you will have to have it be able to sell at a decent price.

    An example: my hot water solar would probably never pay off for you unless you had a half dozen kids for hot water. However, my is home built so cheaper, and after 40 years, probably has paid itself off. Maintenance has been some glycol, one sensor, and one tank —- OMG the first one was lined in cement, what a bear to get out of here. Basically I get one tank of free hot water every sunny day, more if I use hot water during the sunshine.

    Another example: I got my hybrid on sale with no uplift over a normal car price. I traded my clunker for cash from Obama’s program, even kept the tires to use on my truck, so drove off the lot basically saving 50% on gas for the next 100K miles, you do the math. Maintenance has been tires and tuneups, knock on wood. Now since I don’t commute, I am looking at the Ford Lightning, think next year might be it. Hoping since sales are down, Spring will bring better prices and I will trade in the old 1990 for an uplift, probably paid for itself. Not sure whether to sell the hybrid or not.

    My heat in oil fired, hot water baseboard so don’t think the heat pump can slip in to that affair. I went reusable pellets with a high efficiency stove and have a hard time getting below 75 degrees until it’s under 20 out there. Funny thing is I run both oil and pellets under 20 degrees to keep the warms warm, so the colder it gets, the more comfortable we get. Weird. But point is, the heat pump is not for me until it can power baseboard.

    AC is the tough one, it’s my largest electricity draw. For passive solar I have 32 square feet of sunlight that beams down on my solar tile floor generating a few degrees of heat. For summer, I put solar powered shades on them which reflect the sun out too, and the effect was amazing. Was the hottest room, now the coolest.

    Because of the more extreme weather, I needed to take down the trees west of the house and that wall generates a lot of heat now. New 70’s construction, so I guess they suck. This year I am thinking a using a solar sail to block the sun on that wall and am configuring a method to be able to lower in a nanosecond when the thunderbumpers roll in. Seems like a low tech way to get results and only need 4 hours a day to cover. Sometimes low tech is best.

    I have lived here close to 40 years and that has some advantages. If I was moving every five years, could have never done it. Payback is sometimes a year or two but the big ones have been 7 years. And the pellets can be replaced about that time too, so not the biggest money saver, but I burn 6-7 tons a year which is pretty extreme. But each year, I look at the programs from the fed, the state, and the utility companies — especially the electric. That helps to determine my spending program for the year.

    Do I feel that I am being led by the nose? Absolutely. But remember, I voted for it. I like the Federal incentives because they can spur what will not move and as long as we agree it’s for the common good, it’s a good thing to merge funds in a common pool to make it so. Agree it’s for the common good is where the rub is. And those who don’t agree often end up lying about it, just like Ernest Dempsey, which is not even his real name I think. But we will never know because unlike Horist and Gilbertson, he does not step up and respond.

    • Jim lucas

      Quit playing in the jacuzzi with your neighbors kids and you can save more hot water

      • Dan tyree

        The north part of the country ain’t suitable for heat pumps unless you’re using geothermal or water source. New England states would not be a good fit for air over style heat pumps

        • frank stetson

          Damn you Dan, now I looked and you created work…….

          Did you look? Heat pumps can operate at 100% efficiency at -5 degrees, not sure of the efficiency fall off lower than that. Also don’t know how much more that would be that the “standard” heat pump. They use them in Alaska.

          But in looking, I discovered over the past 10 years, they have ones that work with hot water baseboard. Plus, I might combo one with my oil furnace so shit, Dan, now I need to investigate more. Maybe Mr. HVAC Lucas can offer some guidance.

          One issue I would have is they deliver about 150-degrees. My house is old, and it gets cold in these NJ “mountains.” In the old days, pre insulation improvements (thank you Obama tax credits, thank you JCPL discounts), I have run over 200 degrees. I think now I only rachet up to 180-185. I also run glycol to avoid any potential freeze zones — I have one that I think I fixed, has not acted up in over a decade, but this place if so old, so big, that I am still chasing down cold spots. But 150 will cover about 80%A of my winter, so just not sure. Gonna look at using both simultaneously. Figure the incentive will be there in 2024 too.

          • Dan tyree

            Well hell Frank. I know about hybrid systems. They used to be called piggy back systems or add on heat pumps in the 1980’s. Like Lucas.’ I also have some background in HVAC. When temperatures get below 20 degrees that’s when second stage heat kicks in. And that depends on the balance point of the house. Such as how well the house is built and installed.

          • frank stetson

            Thanks Dan, will keep that in mind. I think an EV may be first. Not sure, but I will be buying something on Biden next year if I can save money with it.

            My house is 1860’s with a modern touch. I have balloon construction, but new great room is 1970’s solar built on a slab. And the previous owner was an asshole (everyone said it, I never met the guy), and I have found many places where it seems construction guys dicked him. Like caulking three sides of a window leaving the top clear. That’s just mean.

            Right now I do what you mention, but manually. Oil baseboard down to 40, then switchover to pellet to 20, then put oil baseboard as a “kicker’ to the pellet. So, I run pellet at a constant feed, determine temperature and set oil to 1 degree above that. Oil runs 3 times a hour for a 7 minute or thereabouts. If cycle time lengthens or runs/hour increases, I adjust pellet stove. Hate the manual part, but love the quality of the heat with the pellet blasting hot and the oil heating the perimeter walls to limit any drafts.

            Great if I can put a heat pump on that, I would love the resiliency and redundancy aspects. Thanks,

  8. Americafirst

    There’s a traitor on the loose.

  9. frank stetson

    My last thoughts:

    Biden is trying to move production from overseas to the US, bringing manufacturing to the US. Something that Dempsey does not like apparently…

    You can argue the defense aspect, take it to court, it’s legal for now. IMO, US manufacturing of critical energy and environmental protections is national defense —- especially the manufacturing which seems to be a curtain that Dempsy, in his hate for all things Biden, wants you to overlook.

    Oh, yeah, Dempsey’s sources include:

    The Washington Examiner — far right wing rag with mixed factual reporting

    Steve Gruber of Real America’s Voice — extreme right mixed factual reporting including covid lies.

    Critics on Twitter/X —- oh come on, grow a pair.

    Karen Harbert, CEO of American Gas Association – no bias here

    Then he dribbles on about Ford where the truth is: “Ford said it was scaling back its original plans to spend $3.5 billion to make the Blue Oval Battery Park Michigan big enough to produce 35 gigawatt hours of batteries annually and employ about 2,500 people. Ford now plans to cut the Michigan battery plant’s capacity to 20 gigawatt hours and reduce hiring to 1,700 jobs.” The reason is a demand drop due to higher interest rates on loans due to Fed moves to reduce inflation. They are still building the plant, when demand increases, the plant will expand. And Dempsey missed the plant’s Chinese affiliation — dumb shit. But does Dempsey hate US manufacturing or does he just hate it when BIDEN does it?

    Once again, in his hatred of all things Biden, this time Dempsey has come out against bringing manufacturing to the US in lieu of making things in China and other non-US countries. In this case, technology that can improve our global warming standing, uses the IRA funds intended for that vision, and is legal. He argues his point, supported by biased, untrustworthy, and often unprofessional sources as he loads 12 pounds of shit in a 9-pound story.

    He even goes off the heat pump reservation to talk about FORD on a completely different topic.

    He is unprofessional and incompetent.

  1. Frank did your wife really want $10.000 for a boob job? She should rub toilet paper between her breast to…

  2. The author is very timely on this right in line with many others. It is the mindless trend-talk of the…