The secondary effect of all this cheap/free solar power going to neighboring states is that it cuts into the viability of their fossil plants which can't compete with free. If Arizona closes fossil plants because they aren't viable, where will California get the 30% of its power that it imports? Not very well thought out.
They must think that they can install enough batteries, someday, to store all that extra power they don't need. It won't be soon. If you want to connect a battery to the CA grid, it won't happen for at least 5 years.
The entire scheme is a house of cards constructed with lobbying dollars. The problem is that real people will die from low outdoors temperatures when part of the California power grid fails because it has become so fragile. Winter storm Uri (February 13-17, 2021) was a "wake up" call for ERCOT. About 1,000 Texans died as a result of this storm.
Thank you for this article. California now has the most expensive power in the continental U.S. This expensive California energy policy is being driven by subsidy-seekers that have installed far too much California solar and wind generation capacity for the purpose of their economic enrichment. As of December 10, 2024, California had 20,093 MW of solar generation capacity and 8,345 MW of wind generation capacity. https://www.caiso.com/documents/key-statistics-nov-2024.pdf Even with 13,391 MW of expensive 4-hour batteries, these wasteful solar and wind curtailments persist. https://www.gov.ca.gov/2024/10/15/california-exceeds-another-clean-energy-milestone/ The subsidy-seekers need to be exposed and shut down.
Ah California, home of the Skunkworks, the Berkeley Lab, homelessness and brownouts. But at least they make decisions because climate boiling.
The secondary effect of all this cheap/free solar power going to neighboring states is that it cuts into the viability of their fossil plants which can't compete with free. If Arizona closes fossil plants because they aren't viable, where will California get the 30% of its power that it imports? Not very well thought out.
They must think that they can install enough batteries, someday, to store all that extra power they don't need. It won't be soon. If you want to connect a battery to the CA grid, it won't happen for at least 5 years.
The entire scheme is a house of cards constructed with lobbying dollars. The problem is that real people will die from low outdoors temperatures when part of the California power grid fails because it has become so fragile. Winter storm Uri (February 13-17, 2021) was a "wake up" call for ERCOT. About 1,000 Texans died as a result of this storm.
Thank you for this article. California now has the most expensive power in the continental U.S. This expensive California energy policy is being driven by subsidy-seekers that have installed far too much California solar and wind generation capacity for the purpose of their economic enrichment. As of December 10, 2024, California had 20,093 MW of solar generation capacity and 8,345 MW of wind generation capacity. https://www.caiso.com/documents/key-statistics-nov-2024.pdf Even with 13,391 MW of expensive 4-hour batteries, these wasteful solar and wind curtailments persist. https://www.gov.ca.gov/2024/10/15/california-exceeds-another-clean-energy-milestone/ The subsidy-seekers need to be exposed and shut down.
And another 200,000 MW or so in the CAISO interconnection queue... some of which may actually come on line next decade