Incipient Clean Energy Grid Problems
Power for USA: January 17, 2014
It will start with small annoyances, and progress to real
shortages. Is that the future of clean energy on the grid? Or, is it
very expensive electricity because of the investments needed to back-up
clean energy? Or, both?
The PJM, responsible for the grid across the northern tier of states,
including Illinois and Pennsylvania, asked consumers to turn down their
thermostats during the recent cold snap to prevent the possibility of
blackouts. Commercial and industrial customers were asked to switch to
back-up generators and other sources for several hours.
PJM had threatened mandatory blackouts, according to news reports.
PJM also asked residents to avoid using appliances like stoves,
dishwashers and washers and dryers during peak periods of demand.
While summer-time peaks are typically higher than the peak reached
during the cold snap, one must wonder why there would be a problem
during winter.
Actually, wind and solar generated electricity are problematic in
both summer and winter. And now there is also a potential problem with
natural gas power plants as the result of coal-fired power plants being
closed.
This is a message that people must pay attention to, since wind and solar are unreliable.
Wind, for example can’t generate electricity when the wind doesn’t
blow. This is what happened during the cold snap across the northern
United States, stretching as far south as Virginia, West Virginia and
North Carolina.
It has also happened in the summer during heat waves. Heat waves are often accompanied by periods where the wind doesn’t blow.
As mentioned previously, wind is unreliable.
Here is how the New York Times reported the issue in 2011 during the heat wave when the grid was put in danger:
“Peak supply is also becoming a vexing problem because so much of the
generating capacity added around the country lately is wind power, which is almost useless on the hot, still days when air-conditioning drives up demand.”
PV solar can’t generate electricity when it’s snowing, and the sun
doesn’t shine. The more PV solar installations there are, the greater
the possibility of grid failure.
Homeowners with PV solar installations create a double whammy when
they must not only turn to the grid for electricity, but also can’t
supply the grid with surplus electricity.
Adding wind and solar to the grid will require adding additional
back-up power, in the form of gas turbines or coal-fired power plants.
This is the exact opposite of what environmental supporters of wind and solar claim.
It should be noted that natural gas power plants were also shut down
during the cold snap because homeowners have priority when there are
limited supplies of natural gas, in this instance due to inadequate
natural gas pipeline capacity.
To some extent, the closing of coal-fired power plants is having a
negative effect on grid reliability and the price of electricity.
There was very limited solar on the grid, so its impact was minimal,
but that doesn’t detract from the fact that solar can’t be relied upon,
especially as more solar capacity is installed.
Wind and solar are expensive and unreliable; raising the question of
why so much taxpayer money is being spent to support wind and solar
installations.
Why are we putting the grid at risk by requiring more wind and solar
while also preventing the building of modern ultra-supercritical
coal-fired power plants?
The recent flirtation with blackouts is a yellow-flag, warning of
possible danger, a cautionary indicator, with which we should all be
concerned.
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