
California’s Blackout Warning. Renewable mandates cause electricity shortages - Bostonian
https://www.wsj.com/articles/californias-blackout-warning-11597606724
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Bostonian
Excerpt:

[O]ther states are managing to keep power flowing. Why can’t California?

California last experienced rolling blackouts in 2001 amid energy market
manipulation by speculators. This time the cause is energy market manipulation
by anti-fossil fuel politicians. Democrats have mandated that renewables
account for 60% of state electricity by 2030, which has forced power providers
to invest in renewable energy sources now to meet the deadline. The result is
something of a Rube Goldberg physics experiment.

During peak daylight hours, California produces a surplus of solar energy, and
power generators may be ordered or paid to cut back their production so the
grid isn’t overloaded. On Friday and Saturday Caiso reported about 1,000 mega-
watt hours (MWh) were curtailed—enough to power 30,000 homes. This year 1.3
million MWh of power have been curtailed.

But this means supply shortages can occur in the evening when solar energy
plunges but demand for power remains high. That’s what happened this weekend.
Many natural gas and nuclear plants that can generate power 24/7 have shut
down in recent years because they can’t compete with heavily subsidized green
energy. A 10-year-old natural gas power plant in California’s Inland Empire is
being decommissioned this year—20 to 30 years earlier than its planned
lifespan.

State water regulations are also forcing the shutdown of “peaker” plants along
the coast that can quickly ramp up generation when the sun goes down. This is
why the Public Utilities Commission last year warned the state could face an
energy shortage as early as 2021 on hot summer evenings. That day has arrived
a year early.

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raxxorrax
This certainly sounds it is more about bad planning than viability of
renewables. Maybe a gas plant isn't economically viable if it just runs on
peak hours, but the can be quickly brought to a state where energy is
produced. Nuclear plants have more difficulties here, coal plants are dirtier.

Every form of energy production has advantages and disadvantages...

