California Dreamin’: Unreliable Wind & Solar Force Californians to Rely On Diesel Generators
California ‘dreaming’ ….
Let renewable energy zealots and rent seekers anywhere near your power system and prepare for deadly chaos.
Wind and solar ‘powered’ South Australians know what it is to do without power for days on end. Having experienced plenty of load shedding lasting for 5 hours or more, South Australians got a real taste of the dark ages in September 2016, when the whole State went black.
A sudden collapse in wind power output during a vigourous spring storm (wind turbines automatically shut down in high winds) delivered what’s known as a ‘system black’.
The response was to set up 276 MW worth of diesel-fuelled jet engines that cost taxpayers a cool $550m. When the sun sets and calm weather sets in, that part of SA’s ‘inevitable transition’ to wind and solar chew up 80,000 litres of diesel every hour, pumping out an extra 216 tonnes of the dreaded CO2 gas, along with a host of real environmental nasties, as this article – ‘Estimation of carbon footprints from diesel generator emissions’ – points out:
[D]iesel engines release many hazardous air contaminants and greenhouse gases (GHG) including particulate matter (diesel soot and aerosols), carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide and oxides of nitrogen. Particulate matters are largely elemental and organic carbon soot, coated by gaseous organic substances such as formaldehyde and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) which are highly toxic. In 2001, the mortality due to diesel soot exposure was at least 14,400 people out of 82 million people living in Germany.
Like South Australia, California has been transfixed with a ludicrous attempt to run on sunshine and breezes. Like South Australia, Californians will end up running on diesel generators when demand crunches hit this summer.
California Will Use Diesel This Summer to Help Keep Lights On
Watts Up With That
Charles Rotter
13 June 2020
In a hilarious bit of irony:
California will allow PG&E Corp. to use diesel-powered mobile generators to keep some electricity flowing when the utility proactively cuts power to prevent live wires from sparking fires in high wind.
State regulators signed off Thursday on PG&E’s plan to use about 450 megawatts of diesel generation to power homes, businesses, hospitals and other critical facilities as part of the utility’s effort to reduce disruptions during the shutoffs.
After decades of neglect to both its electrical distribution and forest management, the tinderbox, known as California, continues to amuse.
Of course, the virtue-signaling must continue.
PG&E said it considered more environmentally-friendly options but they proved too costly or impractical to deploy in time this year. The company said its mobile generators can use fuel made from vegetable oil and that it will continue to explore cleaner alternatives for the coming years.
Full article can be found here.
Watts Up With That?
Californian reality!
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July 17, 2020 at 02:30AM