Re: California's grid leaning heavily on natural gas to survive energy crisis, despite green push

[Fred J McCall]

In article <t2f2nl$3ivp5$1...@news.freedyn.de>
governo...@gmail.com wrote:
>
> Democrats are full of shit and gas. Should be plenty.
>

California's power crisis is 'nothing less than pure insanity,'
says the director of energy group Power The Future

Natural gas-fired power plants are generating the bulk of
California's electricity amid an ongoing energy crisis despite
the state's aggressive push to phase out fossil fuels.

California has leaned heavily on natural gas this week even as
the state continues to invest in and push renewable power
sources like solar. The California Independent System Operator
(CAISO), the state's grid operator, has issued several "flex
alerts" to consumers in recent days, warning that high
temperatures will lead to increased demand and likely cause
rotating outages.

"This is a man-made energy failure and the blame lies squarely
with President Biden, Gov. Newsom and every other proponent of
this green failure," Daniel Turner, the founder and executive
director of energy group Power The Future, said Wednesday.
"California is the poster child of the green movement and the
state’s struggling families are paying the price."

"Make no mistake, the lights will stay on in the governor’s
mansion, Silicon Valley and Hollywood, but not in working-class
neighborhoods because those who pushed this failure always
unplug from the consequences," he continued.

"California’s power failures are nothing less than pure insanity
that should be shunned, instead President Biden wants to export
them to every state."

On Monday, about 47% of California's electricity was generated
by natural gas while 19% was produced by imports. Just 21% of
electricity generated was produced by renewables, including
solar and wind power.

On Tuesday, more than half of the state's electricity was
provided by natural gas. Imports and renewables each generated
another 18-19% of the power produced.

The trend continued Wednesday with natural gas power far
outpacing other power sources.

Meanwhile, CAISO issued a level three emergency alert Tuesday,
saying the next step to stabilize the grid would be to trigger
controlled power outages. The grid operator also extended its
ongoing flex alert for Wednesday, the eighth consecutive day
with such an alert.

"If needed, ISO could order utilities to begin rotating power
outages to maintain stability of the electric grid," CAISO said
in a press release Tuesday.

"Rotating power outages, or small-scale, contained, controlled
interruptions in power, can help maintain reliability and avoid
cascading blackouts," the release added. "When the ISO
determines that supplies are not sufficient to meet demand, it
can issue an EEA 3, and then if reserves are exhausted, it would
order utilities to begin outages to bring demand back in line
with available supplies."

The last time California utility providers were forced to
implement outages came in August 2020, the first time outages
were ordered in two decades, according to CAISO. The 2020
outages impacted 800,000 homes and businesses.

https://www.foxbusiness.com/politics/california-grid-leaning-
heavily-natural-gas-survive-energy-crisis-despite-green-push