Posted on 02/23/2024 10:42:15 AM PST by george76
NEW ENGLAND GRID NEEDS: New England’s grid operator warned that the region will need to invest nearly $1 billion in its electric transmission infrastructure per year through 2050 to avoid capacity shortfalls and handle the rising power demand—especially as wind and solar make up a rising share of its energy mix.
Takeaways: The report modeled for several different demand scenarios through 2050. The low end of 51 GW could be achieved only if the region kept online some stored fuels like natural gas and oil—which is almost a certain impossibility, given the emissions reduction targets passed by several of the six states in the New England ISO. The high end is around 57 GW peak demand, which is almost 150% higher than New England’s highest-ever winter peak load amount.
The 57 GW peak-demand scenario would necessitate an additional $26 billion in investments by 2050, according to the report.
Where the money is going: The report says that further investment is necessary in the New England grid, stressing that the funds should be directed toward battery storage and other “demand-shifting technology” that can help consumers reduce consumption during the time of day when the grid is most strained.
Why it matters: The report comes as New England states have moved to embrace renewable energy and clean power generation. Both Maine and Massacusetts are targeting 100% renewable energy by 2050, and Massachusetts, seeks to reduce emissions from its power grid by 53% compared to 1990 levels by 2025, and 70% by the end of the decade.
Imports from other nearby grids will also be more difficult to obtain: New York, for example, which is part of a separate power grid but often supplies New England’s grid in the event of capacity shortages, is separately targeting 70% renewable energy by 2030—largely through an embrace of offshore wind projects which have been mired by supply chain setbacks and rising costs.
Broader grid threats: The report comes at a time when grids across the country are under heightened strain from extreme weather, which has placed record-high demand on power grids—increasing the need for further investments and more reliable sources of power nationwide.
The North American Electric Reliability Corporation, or NERC, said in its most recent Winter Reliability Assessment that more than two-thirds of the U.S. is at risk of power outages during winter storms. Reliability concerns are also on the rise during summer months as well.
More recent data has underscored these concerns: A study prepared this week for the group America’s Power, a trade group representing U.S coal interests, found that PJM, the nation’s largest grid operator that services 13 states and the District of Columbia, is at heightened risk of blackouts due to the retirement of coal- and fossil fueled-generation by 2028.
It boils down to legislative interference driven by the "green energy" lobby to allow wind and solar to rake up huge profits while providing zero or negative value to the consumer.
This is why we have wood stoves here.
We may lose power but we will not be cold.
The major culprit of our grid and electricity supply woes will be the bottomless pit of energy consumption known as crypto mining.
Strangely, the (unregulated) beast that devours electricity is largely…invisible and unackknowledged.
I see no reason the “green energy” lobby should be making ANY money if they can’t supply what’s needed & people are freezing in the winter or melting in the summer. Or...they can admit that alternative energy sources jut don’t make it either on cost or needed availability. If a high school student can understand this, why can’t these “experts” do it?
One reason might be that the so-called “expert” is the one who stands to make the money even if their “product” doesn’t cut the mustard. The average student who understands the problem will be the one experiencing the blackouts.
Have the Illegals turned UK’s power lines into Spaghetti power lines already ?
Speaking as one born and raised in New England, I’m very happy with my retirement BOL in southeastern Ohio. We very rarely have grid outages at all, thanks to our well-managed power co-op, and we’re right on top of the Marcellus Shale, so natgas is abundant and local. Not the mention coal, although all the small mines have closed up and the big ones are under great pressure.
But I have a wood furnace for backup anyway. Can’t break the habit.
“The major culprit of our grid and electricity supply woes will be the bottomless pit of energy consumption known as crypto mining.”
A lot of big miners are diversifying into AI services.
$ 26 BILLION PLUS
New England is renowned for it’s solar generation potential.
I've read that crypto is now consuming 2% of all the power dispatched on some grids. More than a primary steel mill.
We’ll take the blackouts, thanks.
An Nvidia H100 AI chip uses about 700W. Given a usage ratio of 60-70%, that equals the power consumption of an average US 3 bedroom home in year.
Yearly demand for their chips is now into the millions.
Its estimated this will add a Phoenix or even Houston-size city electricity demand to US grids - every year.
the voters are not going to wake up until the power goes off and/or their power bills go up by a factor of 5 ... so, the sooner that happens, the better ...
“An Nvidia H100 AI chip uses about 700W.”
Yes.
“Given a usage ratio of 60-70%, that equals the power consumption of an average US 3 bedroom home in year.”
700w x 24hr x .65 = 11 kwhrs per day.
The average 3 br home uses about 32 kwhrs per day. 3x the H100.
Cold winters make power outages life threatening in a hurry (especially for city and suburb folks without wood stoves) so the fools can only lie to each other for so long....
This article points out a very real problem with solar and wind resources. They are often distributed in little clusters in remote places and getting that power to consumers is impossible without transmission lines in place. Sure, go ahead an plop that wind turbine up on your 40 acre country home, but good luck getting the power to customers.
Another Joe Biden “Build Back Better” success story.
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