Grid monitor warns of blackout risks as coal plants retire

[mahatmakanejeeves]

Grid monitor warns of blackout risks as coal plants retire

By Peter Behr | 12/14/2023 06:37 AM EST

Rolling blackouts are a rising threat across the U.S. as aging power grids collide with extreme weather, rising electricity demand and a shift to cleaner fuels, the nation’s top grid monitor warned Wednesday.

In a report, the North American Electric Reliability Corp. said most regions of the country face growing risks of inadequate electricity supplies during periods of extreme cold and heat over the coming decade. Major wind and solar power projects that could serve metropolitan areas aren’t being built fast enough as power companies shut down old coal plants.

The findings are stirring up a debate about whether state regulators — and the Department of Energy — should slow down retirements of fossil fuel generation. ... The projected power shortfall is being exacerbated by a technology-driven U.S. economy.

NERC noted a sharp ramp-up in power demand from the spread of data centers and crypto mining and sales of electric vehicles. All of those segments of the economy are growing faster than electricity generation and transmission that could serve them, according to NERC.

{snip}

[Voltaire2]

1. We spend 1T a year on war.

Meanwhile our infrastructure is frequently obsolete, in disrepair, an overpriced privatized mess, or non-existent.

[hunter]

2. Wind and solar power won't do a damn thing to increase the reliability of the electric grid...

... as implied in this article.

It's utter bullshit to claim "Major wind and solar power projects that could serve metropolitan areas aren’t being built fast enough as power companies shut down old coal plants."

What's actually happening is that coal plants are being replaced by gas power plants, with a side helping of wind and solar greenwash. These systems are inherently less stable than stodgy old coal power plants running 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

Gas power plants are also vulnerable to pipeline disruptions, as we saw in the Texas winter disaster of 2021.

Unlike coal power plants, which can store large quantities of fuel on site, enough to last weeks or months, gas power plants do not store fuel on site. Gas is delivered on demand. If deliveries fail, the plant has to shut down.

[Mickju]

3. The answer is nuclear for the time being.

[Think. Again.]

4. Reducing and eliminating...

CO2 emissions is a must.

So, what do we do about supplying enough electricity for our needs while we make those CO2 reductions?

The article suggests that:

"Major wind and solar power projects that could serve metropolitan areas aren’t being built fast enough as power companies shut down old coal plants."

That's one approach, build more non-CO2 sources as quickly as possible.

Another approach might be to re-evaluate what our actual electricity needs ARE in the first place.

A lot of power is just wasted, maybe we should be talking about how to keep a comfortable society going on far less electrical consumption, while we begin getting busy building out the new energy industry.