Push for green energy threatening U.S. electrical grid

Electric grid operators across the United States are sounding the alarm over potential electricity shortages as the push for renewable energy has many traditional coal and nuclear power plants being retired.

Push for green energy threatening U.S. electrical grid
AP Photo/David J. Phillip
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Electric grid operators across the country are warning of blackouts and a general shortage of electricity as many traditional and nuclear power plants are being retired in favour of renewable energy sources.

The dire warning from the electric grid operators comes amid the Biden administration’s push to extinguish America’s demand for fossil fuels and nuclear energy in favour of wind and solar.

Speaking to the Wall Street Journal on Sunday, MISO chief executive John Bear said, “As we move forward, we need to know that when you put a solar panel or a wind turbine up, it’s not the same as a thermal resource.”

California’s electric grid operator told the publication that extreme heat and wild fires over the summer could lead to a shortage of energy in the state. MISO similarly warned that states in the  Midwest could face similar capacity issues that could lead to blackouts.

As detailed by Fox News, the concern is on the rise throughout the United States as many coal and nuclear power plants are being retired to make way for renewable sources. The existing power plants, which provide the bulk of electricity to the United States are going offline faster than renewable sources can keep up with.

“Wind and solar farms are among the most popular forms of renewable power generation, but their lack of ability to generate power 24/7 means they have to store some of their energy in batteries for later use. But the development of better battery storage is underway, operators fear it isn't happening fast enough to replace the retiring plants,” Fox News reported. “The risk of outages is heightened this summer, with supply chain issues and inflation slowing the pace developers can get the components needed to build renewable energy farms.”

“Every market around the world is trying to deal with the same issue,” said Brad Jones, the interim chief executive of the Electric Reliability Council of Texas, in the WSJ article. “We’re all trying to find ways to utilize as much of our renewable resources as possible…and at the same time make sure that we have enough dispatchable generation to manage reliability.”

As reported by Rebel News in March, Tesla CEO and the leading manufacturer of electric vehicles in the world, Elon Musk, warned that cutting off traditional power supplies was a bad idea.

“Hate to say it, but we need to increase oil & gas output immediately,” wrote Musk on Twitter.

“Extraordinary times demand extraordinary measures,” said Musk, adding that while the move would “obviously” have negative effects on Tesla, “sustainable energy solutions simply cannot react instantaneously to make up for Russian oil and gas exports.”

Musk made his remarks in response to rising energy costs, which have been severely impacted by sanctions on Russian exports, which many countries depend on for their energy requirements.

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