California effectively answers, by keeping electricity service intact, the usual politically inspired attacks on it as well as kneejerk criticism that follows issuing of flex alerts during its 9-day brutal heatwave. Not every electric system would have done as well.
Let's be clear that the issuing of flex alerts is no horror. It is both comical and tragic to see the usual political suspects attack California, but not Texas, for asking consumers to think of themselves and others by voluntarily conserving electricity at moments of grid stress.
California kept its electricity service intact, because it has done a lot right. It has among the strongest energy efficiency standards in America, without which rolling blackouts would have happened. It's not an electricity island but regionally connected, able to import/export
California built rapidly about 3.8GWs of battery storage, all of it vital to keep service intact. It kept available and used some natural gas plants that had previously been scheduled for retirement. And Diablo Canyon nuclear plant proved its worth in California's days of need.
The California legislature and Governor Newsom were quickly proved right to pass legislation and to provide a $1.4 billion state loan to keep Diablo Canyon open. Indeed, it should remain open for longer than an additional five years, for global temperatures continue to climb.
Then the millions of Californians who voluntarily conserved energy are signs of strength, not weakness, The information shared by leaders of California and CAISO with the public credits them. The action of the public in response credits millions of Californians. Well done!
Lastly, California meets the challenge to adjust & learn. It's learning lessons and recognizes its electric system, like all power systems, must be improved continually. It needs another 5GWs of battery storage ASAP, transmission upgrades, and more. But well done @California_ISO
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Excellent study confirms major parts (not all) of electric industry, including cooperatives and public-owned utilities, engaged in climate denial and delay. Why? Its objection to climate action was as much "sociological" as profit driven. msn.com/en-us/money/ma…
Ten utilities, typically state-sanctioned, vertically integrated monopolies, led the climate denial:
Southern Company, AEP, Ameren, Duke, APS, DTE, FirstEnergy, Consumers Energy, Dominion, and Northern Indiana Public Service Company (NIPSCO). Their leadership was "conservative."
Instead of seeing climate action, Electrify Everything, as a path for revenue growth, these monopoly utilities and their conservative leadership allied themselves with fossil fuel suppliers and conservative organizations like ALEC to spread climate disinformation and to delay.
Your Biggest Energy/Climate Stories of 2021 are what? My Top Five are: 5. Texas Grid Meltdown: Government Matters. Electricity Reliability needs Market Rules, Oversight & Enforcement. 4. US LNG Exports skyrocket, structurally changing gas market, ending sustained $2/Mcf gas.
3. Renewable Energy capacity built in 2021 probably set a new record of about 270 GWs, after 260 GWs were added in 2020 and 171 GWs in 2018. Globally, the world will now have more than 3,000 GWs of renewable capacity in 2021, having ended 2020 with 2,802.
2. EVs breakout in 2021. Global auto industry went all-in on EVs and EV sales boomed. In China, EVs achieved 19% market share in November 2021, and 2021 sales will exceed 3 million or more than 2020 Global EV sales. 2021 global EV sales will likely more than double.