Is California’s Flex Alert the future of energy policy? It could be if the rest of the nation follows California’s lead and adopts misguided, unworkable energy strategies.
For at least 10 days in a row beginning in late August, the Alert asked Californians to voluntarily reduce their energy consumption, even requesting that electric vehicle owners limit charging to protect the state’s electric grid from power outages. It was not the first time, nor will it be the last.
Is California’s Flex Alert the future of energy policy? It could be if the rest of the nation follows California’s lead and adopts misguided, unworkable energy strategies.
For at least 10 days in a row beginning in late August, the Alert asked Californians to voluntarily reduce their energy consumption, even requesting that electric vehicle owners limit charging to protect the state’s electric grid from power outages. It was not the first time, nor will it be the last.
Impartial grid operators and regulators have warned for years that the pace of the grid transition from coal and other traditional fuels to wind and solar is too rapid. In its 2021 Long- Term Reliability Assessment, the North American Electric Reliability Corporation warned that large sections of the country might face electricity shortfalls for the next 10 years. The fault lies, in part, to the retirement of generating capacity that can run almost continuously and provide essential reliability services that wind and solar cannot.
To make matters worse, NERC’s warning did not consider the massive number of coal power plants expected to retire by the end of the decade. In fact, our analysis found that number to be almost four times greater than what NERC reported. In addition, new Environmental Protection Agency regulations are likely to increase coal retirements even more.
While the retirement of conventional resources might be inevitable, we must allow time for retiring power plants to be replaced with equally dependable electricity sources. Otherwise, the U.S. will have a less reliable and resilient grid. As NERC CEO Jim Robb has said about electricity, “It’s seven percent of the economy, but it’s the first seven percent because without it, nothing else works.”
Some point to the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) as the answer to delivering the renewable technology and infrastructure necessary to complete the grid transition. But while the IRA provides billions of dollars to incentivize the adoption of wind and solar, history shows that the obstacle of time is not easily overcome.
For example, the U.S. currently has more than 200,000 miles of transmission lines, but research from Princeton University concludes we will need 60% more by 2030 — and possibly even as much as 200% more — to achieve President Biden’s goal of net-zero emissions by 2050. Yet over the last decade, we have added only 1,800 miles of new transmission lines each year. Permitting is part of the problem with federal authorization of large transmission projects because in many cases it takes more than a decade for approval.
Yes, the grid is transitioning, but the integrity of the electric system requires a diverse energy mix. Coal helps provide the reliable and resilient power necessary to meet consumer demand during the transition to zero-emissions generation. But if we continue the headlong pace to prematurely abandon thermal resources like coal, then California’s Flex Alerts will be our nation’s future.
Michelle Bloodworth is president and CEO of America’s Power, a partnership of industries involved in producing electricity from coal.
This piece originally appeared in The Washington Examiner