California sacrificed reliable electrical power to fight global warming. Even though one state will have virtually no effect on the global average temperature. CA, however, is setting a good example ... of what NOT to do.
CA does not have enough reliable backup power for their intermittent wind and solar power. Science illiterate leftist politicians in CA also lack common sense, so they destroy everything they touch.
DETAILS:
Over one million CA people suffered rolling power blackouts on Friday at 6:30 pm, just over one week ago. High temperatures caused electricity demand to exceed the available power. Electrical utilities used rotating "greenouts" to reduce demand. The CA electric grid is the least relaible in the nation.
Pacific Gas and Electric began shutting off power in rolling outages to force a reduction in demand. Southern California Edison did the same starting just before 7 pm. Electricity shutoffs impacted a rotating group of up to two million customers until 11 pm.
The California Independent System Operator (CAISO) had declared a Stage 3 Electrical Emergency. The first since 2001. Spot electricity prices soared to over $1,000 per megawatt-hour, over 10 times the usual price.
Blackouts resumed at 6:30 pm on Saturday! Power officials blamed the loss of 1,000 megawatts of wind power when the wind died, and the unexpected shutdown of a 470-megawatt power plant.
19% of CA electricity came from roof-top and utility-scale solar installations in 2019. The highest percentage in the nation. That solar output declines as the sun sets. But people want to run air conditioners during hot summer evenings.
The causes are claimed to be weather, downed trees, faulty equipment, human errors, unknowns, and vehicle accidents. How about CA closing coal and nuclear power plants for over a decade ? CA Senate Bill 1368 created the Emissions Performance Standard in 2006 to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Eleven coal-fired plants have been closed since 2007. Three were converted to burning wood. The Argus Cogen plant in Trona is the last CA coal plant. CA also slashed imports of electricity generated by out of state coal plants.
CA nuclear plants are being phased out too. The second and third units of the San Onofre nuclear plant closed in 2013. The last CA nuclear plant, Diablo Canyon, is planned to close in 2025.
Gas-fired plants are being closed too. Natural gas electricity generating capacity fell over 10% since 2013. More reductions are planned.
Governor Jerry Brown signed CA Senate Bill 100 in September 2018, mandating 100% of CA electricity from “clean energy sources” by 2045. Replacement of reliable coal, nuclear, and natural gas generators with intermittent wind and solar energy reduces grid reliability.
More than 30 CA cities banned natural gas appliances for new residential construction, including San Francisco and San Jose. They must use electric appliances. This affects almost 10% of the state's population. CA politicians also wants residents to transition to plug-in electric vehicles.