The main reason ‘efforts to add electricity generation have fallen short’ as noted here is the insistence by many climate-obsessed US states, and the government itself, on pursuing ‘net zero’ methods i.e. renewables that are unable to replicate the reliable power lost through ongoing closure of big fuel-powered generation sites. Demand rising, supply shrinking is a risky path to say the least.
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NEW YORK, Dec 17 (Reuters.) – About half of the United States is at increased risk of power supply shortfalls in the next decade that could lead to outages and electricity conservation measures, the North American Electric Reliability Corporation said on Tuesday.
As U.S. power consumption rises from AI data centers and the electrification of buildings and transportation, efforts to add electricity generation have fallen short, creating an intensifying supply-demand imbalance, NERC said in its annual Long-Term Reliability Assessment.
“We are seeing demand growth like we haven’t seen in decades,” said John Moura, director of NERC’s Reliability Assessment and Performance Analysis. “Our infrastructure is not being built fast enough to keep up with the rising demand.”
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Accelerated electricity demand contributed to the high-risk and elevated-risk areas, along with planned fossil-fired power plant retirements, which may exit service before new supply comes online.
NERC found that there are 78 gigawatts of confirmed generator retirements, and another 37 gigawatts with announced plans for retirement, through 2034.
Full report here.
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Image credit: energyoptusa.com
via Tallbloke’s Talkshop
December 18, 2024 at 09:00AM
Iowa Climate Science Education 