Cfact by David Wojick June 15th, 2021
Seems like every big policy gun wants to take a shot at fantasizing the decarbonization and electrification of the energy system. No doubt that is where the government policy analysis money is going. Sadly I am on the wrong side of the issue, money-wise, but it sure is fun flogging the fallacies in these so-called studies.
A few weeks ago we looked at the hilarious effort by the International Energy Agency. They were growing the global economy, and electrifying everything in sight, but had the need for juice going down in the process. Clearly impossible.
Two other recent reports are also worth laughing at. Which one is worse is hard to say, they are that bad. The titles begin to give the flavor of fantasy.
One is “The Future of Electric Power in the United States” by the collective National Academies of Science, Engineering and Medicine (NASEM). The role of medicine is unclear.
The other is this mouthful:”Electrification Futures Study: Operational Analysis of U.S. Power Systems with Increased Electrification and Demand-Side Flexibility” from the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL).
Each of these massive reports is several hundred pages long, so I am merely going to point out the biggest and silliest features. Given the green focus it is preordained that the biggest is also the silliest.
From NREL let’s start with Demand-Side Flexibility. What does this mean? It means that you serve the grid, rather than the grid serving you. I am not making this up. Their primary example is that electric vehicles will be charged during midday, when solar power is at full strength. You arrange your life around when power is available. Is this third world or what? It is the opposite of flexibility, a form of control. You are working on the grid’s schedule.
More:
https://www.cfact.org/2021/06/15/electric-power-fantasies-are-lining-up/
