The Briefing Room
General Category => Science, Technology and Knowledge => Topic started by: rangerrebew on May 23, 2023, 05:45:01 pm
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Majority of United States Faces 'Elevated Risk' of Summer Power Blackouts Amid Green Energy Push
'The system is closer to the edge,' America's grid reliability watchdog warns
An electric charging parking spot / Getty Images
Collin Anderson
May 22, 2023
America's increased reliance on green energy in favor of coal and gas has a majority of the United States facing an "elevated risk" of summer power blackouts, according to a leading grid reliability watchdog.
The North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC) last week published its 2023 summer reliability assessment, which found that two-thirds of North America could face power shortages this summer during periods of extreme heat. That vulnerability, the watchdog group said, stems from America's increase in green power generation and decrease in fossil fuel power plants. While coal and natural gas plants can be turned on and off at the flip of a switch, green alternatives such as wind and solar rely on favorable weather conditions to operate at full capacity. If those conditions aren't met, power demand can outpace supply.
https://freebeacon.com/energy/majority-of-united-states-faces-elevated-risk-of-summer-power-blackouts-amid-green-energy-push/
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In the past, summer blackouts on very hot days in urban areas lead to a spike in crime, sometimes rioting.
In rural areas, not so much--people are more worried about the freezer having a meltdown.
The question is one of whether the rural areas (often where the power is generated) will be cut off to serve the cities, which will make it somewhat of a red v blue issue.
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... blacking out rural areas to provide power to the cities is dependent upon there being sufficient available transmission capacity.
Early 2000's in California, Enron created a power crisis (for profit) by monopolizing the only transmission line connecting Southern California and Northern California grids.
This time around, there may not be a transmission line to be monopolized.
All this Global Climate Change / Green New Deal nonsense is discouraging long-term investment in reliable energy infrastructure.
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... blacking out rural areas to provide power to the cities is dependent upon there being sufficient available transmission capacity.
Early 2000's in California, Enron created a power crisis (for profit) by monopolizing the only transmission line connecting Southern California and Northern California grids.
This time around, there may not be a transmission line to be monopolized.
All this Global Climate Change / Green New Deal nonsense is discouraging long-term investment in reliable energy infrastructure.
With ESG invading the banking industry, even someone willing to take that risk may be having trouble procuring funding.