Electricity Shortage Warnings Grow Across U.S.

[NickB79]

Source: Wall Street Journal

From California to Texas to Indiana, electric-grid operators are warning that power-generating capacity is struggling to keep up with demand, a gap that could lead to rolling blackouts during heat waves or other peak periods as soon as this year.

California’s grid operator said Friday that it anticipates a shortfall in supplies this summer, especially if extreme heat, wildfires or delays in bringing new power sources online exacerbate the constraints. The Midcontinent Independent System Operator, or MISO, which oversees a large regional grid spanning much of the Midwest, said late last month that capacity shortages may force it to take emergency measures to meet summer demand and flagged the risk of outages. In Texas, where a number of power plants lately went offline for maintenance, the grid operator warned of tight conditions during a heat wave expected to last into the next week.

The risk of electricity shortages is rising throughout the U.S. as traditional power plants are being retired more quickly than they can be replaced by renewable energy and battery storage. Power grids are feeling the strain as the U.S. makes a historic transition from conventional power plants fueled by coal and natural gas to cleaner forms of energy such as wind and solar power, and aging nuclear plants are slated for retirement in many parts of the country.

Read more: https://www.wsj.com/articles/electricity-shortage-warnings-grow-across-u-s-11652002380?st=6nniaknufctzxnc&reflink=desktopwebshare_twitter&mod=e2fb

[Gilbert Moore]

1. 10 nuclear plants are offline right now

10 nuclear plants are offline right now and 1 plant is at 20% power, likely ramping up to full power soon.

The rest of these plants are probably undergoing scheduled maintenance or as it is called, an outage. The shut the plant down, get into areas where radiation is too high to do work when the plant is running and change out 1/3 of the the old fuel rods and replace with new. All rods are offloaded and resorted when reinstalled. . . think arranging charcoal briquets in a BBQ grill. . .

ALL nuclear plants run during the summer months as that is what they do. Full power day and night to provide juice to A/C units. These plants will be up and running soon, proving the grid with lots of power.

The article is a bit misleading and I wouldn't sweat this one unless you live in a god forsaken state that has it's own grid. (read: TX)

Millstone unit 3
Salem 1
McGuire 1
Vogtle 1 = 20% power
Byron 2
D.C. Cook 1
Fermi 2
Callaway
Comanche Peak 1
Palo Verde 1
Waterford 3

[NickB79]

2. The article says it's a lot more than just reactors down

For example, the permanent loss of hydroelectric power from the Southwest climate shift (it's not a drought) will be enormous when those dams hit dead pool height.

And at the same time, increased demand for AC from increasingly common heat waves will require more electricity production.

[cstanleytech]

12. Never understood why a more common sense approach to construction for housing was not done such

as building most homes partly if not all the way underground where it can actually be rather cool.

[Coventina]

24. Here in the Phoenix area, much of our "soil" is the consistency of concrete

once you are a foot or so down.

It makes excavating extremely expensive. That's why we don't have basements around here.

[cstanleytech]

26. Back in the 1800s that would make sense but there have been a number of advancements in

excavation machinery.
Look at Australia and the towns where they mined opals and have converted a number of the shafts that were dug into homes.

[Coventina]

27. Believe me, I'd be all for it! I hate the heat here, but I can't move away

until I retire.

Therefore, I have a tiny house to keep my footprint as small as possible.

I'd absolutely LOVE a Hobbit Hole.

[hueymahl]

8. We need more nuclear

A LOT more nuclear. It is the base layer that makes all the renewables possible.

Hopefully one day we can replace it, but now the only other option is dirty electricity.

[Rural_Progressive]

11. So the industry has figured out a safe way to sequester the waste it generates?

I assume it must have and I've missed the news otherwise why would you be touting it.

[NickB79]

13. All the nuclear waste created in the past 50 years

Pales in comparison to the environmental damage we cause from ONE year of burning fossil fuels currently.

Nuclear waste isn't causing a mass extinction event as we speak. Carbon emissions are.

[hueymahl]

14. Nuclear is the safest energy the planet has available to it

Other than renewables. One day renewables will be able to supply all our power. Until then I’d rather deal with the minute amount of waste it generates compared to what fossil fuels are doing to our planet.

[Rural_Progressive]

16. I suspect it won't change your mind since you've been sucked in by the nuclear lobby

but if you want to read about the reality of nuclear power generation I'll provide you with this link.

https://www.forbes.com/sites/amorylovins/2019/11/18/does-nuclear-power-slow-or-speed-climate-change/?sh=3c05056f506b

[hueymahl]

17. Thanks for the article

I love reading well thought-out and supported arguments.

Here are a couple for you to consider:

https://e360.yale.edu/features/why-nuclear-power-must-be-part-of-the-energy-solution-environmentalists-climate

https://bostonreview.net/articles/is-nuclear-power-our-best-bet-against-climate-change/

[Rural_Progressive]

18. I also appreciate links to good articles

Since the Yale article completely ignored the situation at Hanford, that pretty much invalidates its objectivity in my mind.

The Boston Review article does indeed mention Hanford and the disaster that it has been and continues to be. I think the most important statement in this article is this one:

"Nuclear energy—with its dependence on heavily militarized and organized states—relies on one kind of civilization. Renewable energy—with its capacity to be owned and managed at local levels, cooperatively—opens the potential for radically different ones."

I've never understood anyone thinking that problems caused by a certain approach can be solved by using the same approach. As far as I'm concerned that statement all by itself invalidates becoming even more dependent on nuclear energy.

[hueymahl]

22. Localized, decentralized energy is the future

Maybe you are right that it is worth the disruption in society to just get there now before it is possible to provide reliable base power.

I view the risk of environmental harm caused by fossil fuels to be greater (far greater) than that posed by nuclear. And I also believe it is a faster way to eliminate carbon (as a blended part of a renewable future in addition to its present benefits). But I definitely see your point.

[hunter]

3. Looks like someone is gaming the system again.

Bamboozle them with empty promises and bleed them dry.

It's how you turn a "Can Do!" nation into one that can't keep the lights on.

[speak easy]

9. ENRON anyone?

[hunter]

10. Yep.

Enron loved their wind turbines.

Great advertising.

[Baked Potato]

4. According to this article and others, much of the anticipated problem is

planning. I think the conventional power plant industry will scapegoat the renewable energy industry when the blackouts come.

[oldsoftie]

5. And we STILL get critical power grid parts from CHINA. Put a STOP to it Congress

We should no longer tie ourselves to China & send them our money to use against us. Imagine sanctions against china like we've imposed against Russia; how successful would they be? Not very. Nobody buys anything from russia except gas & oil. But the EU & US buy EVERYTHING from the damn Chinese.
We cannot trust corporations to do what's RIGHT on their own, so we're simply going to have to figure out a way to FORCE them to do it.

[progree]

6. NOT PAYWALLED - a pleasant surprise, I thought for sure all WSJ articles were locked down

At least not on my system (Chrome browser on Windows 10 system)

[erronis]

7. And we are supposed to rely on EV for our cars?

What drain will this add to the network in 10-20 years? My state is "pledging" to be 100% EV in 10 years (new state vehicles.)

There's a lot of backroom collusion going on in the energy industry. And since it involves regulations the influence is spreading to state and federal governments.

[Samrob]

15. Dems..if this happens, get out and tell people to thank their GOP governors for this failure. nt

[former9thward]

20. One of the main states mentioned is California.

Who are they going to blame?

[rockfordfile]

19. More than enough reason to build up our infrastructure.

Idiots using bitcoin takes a toll on our grid.

[intrepidity]

21. Shocking what happens when massive corporate profits are not reinvested in the company

instead of as dividends to shareholders.

[RussBLib]

23. don't mess with dividends

we are retired and dividends are a huge % of our income. Stocks have plummeted (the bubble seems to have burst.... no more zero interest!) and if dividends start to get cut (again) we will be in a bad place.

War, Covid, T****, Christian Nationalists, climate change, nothing but bad news. It's ugly out there.

[OverBurn]

25. Just having a whole home gas generator installed, I've seen this coming far awhile.

Just bought a Generac 24Kw whole home generator at Menards, on sell, saved 700 bucks. Should be up and running real soon. My next think is to look into Solar panels. I want the kind that replaces your shingles.