(RepublicanNews.org) – While more states are pushing so-called “green” and “renewable” energy from windmills and solar farms, an industry group published a new report warning that two-thirds of the country is at risk of power outages during the peak summer months this year.
Consumers turn up the air conditioning to battle summer temperatures, but the North American Electric Reliability Corporation’s (NERC) 2023 report on summer grid reliability warns that the electric grid in many states is not up to the task.
The move to “green” energy has put the majority of the country at risk for blackouts, the group warns, because wind and solar power are transient. Some days, the sun does not shine and the wind does not blow.
Fossil fuel-powered plants do not suffer from this problem. Plants powered by coal or natural gas can be activated or deactivated at will to respond to fluctuating demand, but nature cannot be.
NERC’s director of reliability assessment, John Moura, said, “The system is close to the edge” and much work is needed to improve grid reliability.
Moura is not a lone voice. State and federal officials have also been warning about the potential for blackouts this summer in an electrical system that increasingly relies on precarious and inconsistent power generation technologies. While public perception of wind and solar power is positive, it is not clear whether Americans understand the limitations of these systems or the likely outcome of relying on them heavily.
Federal Energy Regulatory Commission member Mark Christie told the Senate this month that he worries the United States is heading toward an energy disaster.
These problems seem to have done little to dissuade the Biden administration from its aggressive plans to “retire” U.S. coal plants. Almost half the country’s energy today comes from coal-fired plants, which President Joe Biden wants to see mothballed by 2030. It is unclear where the energy will come from to make up this deficit, or how much it will cost.
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