Posted on 11/16/2024 6:35:33 AM PST by george76
Hundreds of millions of Americans risk experiencing power shortages this winter if weather conditions are harsh, according to a new report published by the North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC), a power grid watchdog.
Nearly all residents of the Northeast, Texas and Midwest could face energy shortfalls in the event of a colder-than-usual winter, the NERC report states. The lack of grid reliability is driven largely by growing electricity demand as well as the replacement of coal-fired and older natural gas-fired generators with energy-limited resources such as solar power.
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“Foreseeable extreme cold temperatures have the potential to push the existing natural gas supply infrastructure to maximum capacity,” the report warns. “Serving winter load is becoming more challenging and complex as coal-fired and older natural gas-fired generators retire and are replaced by variable and energy-limited resources.”
The expansion of power-hungry data centers has led to a surge in electricity demand, according to the NERC study, with consulting firm Bain projecting utilities could have to increase their annual power generation by as much as 26% by 2028. Meanwhile, the Biden-Harris administration has sought to reduce natural gas and coal-fired power generation, finalizing a rule in April requiring that existing coal plants use carbon capture and storage to control 90% of their carbon emissions by 2032 if they want to stay running past 2039, and that certain new natural gas plants cut their emissions 90% by 2032, according to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
Grid operators have requested the EPA nix the power plant rule in order to protect long-term energy dependability, with four major regional operators filing an amicus brief in support of red states’ legal challenge against the rule, stating it would jeopardize the grid’s ability to reliably meet American energy needs.
Mark Christie — a top power grid regulator — wrote a letter to lawmakers in August claiming the EPA rule could be “catastrophic.”
“If the EPA’s new power plant rule survives court challenge, it will force the retirements of nearly all remaining coal generation plants and will prevent the construction of vitally needed new combined-cycle baseload gas generation,” Christie wrote. “This loss of vitally needed dispatchable generation resources will be catastrophic.”
Liberals: we need more EV’s!
Idiots.
Do not charge your EV as the windmills can not keep up.
Woodstove and generator. Never worry again.
Now who could have foreseen this? /s
Shut down more coal powered power plants! Go Green! More EVs! All fossil fuels bad!No more refineries! More power to the unregulated EPA to control every aspect of our life. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . why is my electricity off? Everything is dark. No gas at the gas pumps. Businesses are closing. How did this happen?
As I'm sure you know, there's a one-word answer: Democrats.
But, but, but I thought global warming was here and we only have a few years left to live.
Yes, the “multi-sourse smart grid” (that qaushes old fashion sources and demands more “renewables be used) is unreliable. Just ask folks in California.
100lb blocks of Dry Ice in your living room should do the trick, as the CO2 dissipates it should create a nice toasty greenhouse effect in your homes...
If if were 5ths we’d all be drunk...
During the runup to the election, Trump was talking about a tax break for whole house generators. Does anyone know whether that’s still in the works? I have plenty of propane, but just a gasoline powered portable generator available now. At 80 years old, I could go for a hard wired propane whole house generator if I could get a tax break on one before Trump does away with the income tax.
Growing demand from legal residents? I wonder.
This needs to be a priority for DOGE - redirecting Federal dollars from worthless programs to shore up and harden the electrical grid.
Christie wrote. “This loss of vitally needed dispatchable generation resources will be catastrophic.”
That’s the intent.
L
I dunno. The only whole house generators I’m aware of that get tax breaks are the solar systems that can power your home. But those are good only in the deep south.
19 here this Am in N Nevada.
Chain controls over I-80 between Reno & Sacramento yesterday-—with snow.
You would think such an organization would pay attention to the basics. Hello, La Niña!
I'm not even going to put my shorts away this winter.
Yup. One source of information about unreliable power is those of us who have to put up with it on an all too regular basis. They aren't listening.
The ploy activists are so fond of, of forcing societal change through inflicting pain, is about to scoop up those same activists who didn't think it would apply to them. Go nuke or freeze to death isn't quite what they had in mind.
Send Winter to forgiveness therapy so it’s less bitter.
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