The Last Chance Of Freedom: Ambitious renewables mandates by local governments are eroding the electric grid’s reliability, with alarming consequences.

Tuesday, January 31, 2023

The power grid is one of humanity's greatest achievements, helping to boost prosperity and cut mortality rates

Now, those benefits are at risk.
Dozens of states have enacted renewable-energy standards, despite the massive technological and infrastructure challenges that presents
When citizens have looked at the scale and type of projects necessary to retrofit the American power grid, though, resistance has exploded
Public campaigns have now held up hundreds of green projects around the country
Some states, the pushback is so fierce that legislatures are enacting laws that make it easier for communities to opt out of the projects

The U.S. is now the world's largest natural-gas producer, extracting nearly 1-third more than the next most productive country-Russia
America's new stores of energy have also helped the country significantly lower its greenhouse gas emissions, as power provision shifts from coal to cleaner natural gas
American emissions today are back to 1985 levels, though the country now uses about 42 percent more energy annually
Green-energy mandates affect the cost and availability of energy
Some differences have to do with geographical factors, but state regulatory policies also play a part

Another seven plants, with 7.1 gigawatts, are scheduled to enter decommissioning by 2025
Natural-gas plants in some states have been closing, and utilities are finding it hard to gain approvals for new stations
An energy grid based solely on renewable power is virtually a scientific impossibility
To account for the intermittent nature of wind and solar energy, green-energy advocates bank on utilities building massive storage facilities, deploying huge numbers of lithium-ion batteries, and building high-speed transmission systems and battery-storage facilities

The Last Chance Of Freedom