Kneeling to Radical Environmentalism Leaves California Residents Sweating Out Rolling Blackouts
At Resource Erectors we’re always right upfront when it comes to exciting new sustainable technology and eco-friendly advancements that lead to a better, healthier ecosystem on this little blue marble we all live and work on. We’ve even got a specially designated blog category for green construction.
When it comes to making a seamless transition with critical infrastructure such as a statewide power grid, any competent civil engineer will tell you that redundancy is the key to avoid catastrophic disruption. In California, redundant power sources have been tossed out the window in deference to the false green gurus of climate worship, none of whom apparently are competent civil engineers, and all most certainly lacking the qualifications to “chart the energy future” based on recent past performance that has the California grid on the brink of collapse.
Golden State Rich But Green State Poor California
Wrapping your head around the California power grid conundrum can be quite puzzling considering that the Golden State is rich with natural energy resources. The August 2020 article, “California’s Electric Grid Is Near Collapse” at the California Globe by Katy Grimes exposes the high price paid by sweaty Californians chained to radical “green energy” policies that have no chance of meeting the energy demands of the state’s 41 million citizens.
That’s 41 million Californians for now.
California residents in droves are fleeing the power-starved state, also plagued with some of the highest taxes, unaffordable cost of living, and now this year’s draconian COVID 19 shutdown measures. One of the most resource-rich states in the country is losing residents at a record-breaking pace. And who can blame them, especially when the essential infrastructure such as the power grid is crumbling around them.
So how did California end up literally stewing in it’s own juices? Malfeasance of leadership at all levels is the root cause, starting right at the top of the Golden State government where the green governor and his climate-worshiping colleagues are all too eager to make every citizen sweating in the dark a Green State warrior. Whether they’ve enlisted in the misguided cause or not.
When asked what he was doing to resolve the power grid problem, California governor Gavin Newsome deflected the question with a non-responsive answer, quipping that the solution to power-deprived overheated homes in his state is to “keep a warm climate from getting warmer”. That’s no comfort at all for property owners paying some of the highest taxes in the nation, all of whom are being asked to suffer for the sake of a world climate, for which they bear no personal responsibility at all.
California green lobbyists have appointed the state and drafted its citizens as the models for green consciousness whether they like it or not. And while California attempts to achieve “climate justice” with its disastrous energy policies, China happily cranks out more of the dreaded carbon dioxide than the US and EU combined.
Photo by Martin Adams on Unsplash
Moving the Green Energy Goal Posts Right Off the Field of Responsible Power Grid Management
Californians at the time of this writing are facing rolling blackouts in the middle of an end-of-summer heatwave that refuses to let up. This completely avoidable disruption is happening in a state sitting on an incredible mother lode of energy wealth to easily support power demands including:
- Abundant natural gas deposits in the Monterey Shale formation
- Bountiful geothermal energy sources
- Hydroelectric dams on rivers and waterways such as the San Joaquin River Delta
- 17 million acres of commercial timberland, mines, and mineral resources
- Fully operational nuclear energy plants that produced 9.38% of the state’s energy in 2018, according to the California Energy Commission.
A quick crunch of the 2018 energy supply numbers from the California Energy Commission in the table below shows how the high-demand grid should be supported by the full spectrum of resources found in abundance in the state. With this sensible allocation spreading the load across all available energy sources, there was never a need for rolling blackouts.
And there was never a risk of grid collapse before radical environmentalists lobbied for the “all-electric grid”. That’s green-speak for “solar and wind exclusively” as the only “green political machine” approved “sustainable” energy sources. In their infinite lack of logic, California’s green gurus picked the two most limited energy producers, solar which is completely unavailable every night and on cloudy days, and the fickle wind which may or may not blow enough to crank out the paltry 7.23% of overall energy demand it provides yearly.
| Fuel Type | In-State Generated (GWh) | Percent of California In-State Generation |
| Coal | 294 | 0.15% |
| Large Hydro | 22,096 | 11.34% |
| Natural Gas | 90,691 | 46.54% |
| Nuclear | 18,268 | 9.38% |
| Oil | 35 | 0.02% |
| Petroleum, Coke-Waste Heat | 430 | 0.22% |
| Renewables | 63,028 | 32.35% |
| Biomass | 5,909 | 3.03% |
| Geothermal | 11,528 | 5.92% |
| Small Hydro | 4,248 | 2.18% |
| Solar | 27,265 | 13.99% |
| Wind | 14,078 | 7.23% |
Source: CEC-1304 Power Plant Owners Reporting Form and SB 1305 Reporting form
Solar sources and wind combined produced just over 21% of the 2018 power supply. And the green gurus aren’t done purging all sources except for 2 of the least productive energy suppliers from the California power grid. Unabashed regulators have unanimously voted to shut down the last operating nuclear power plant at Diablo Canyon, unless the green-doctrinated state comes to its senses before the scheduled scrapping of the plant in 2024. Pacific Gas and Electric stated that “the facility will soon become an economic liability for the company because of dramatic changes in the state’s energy landscape”.
In other words, they were regulated out of business.
But there is a chance that California business and industry leaders can reign in the green madness that puts the residents and economy both at risk by setting green goals based on dubious solar and wind energy exclusively.
Lance Hastings, president of the California Manufacturers and Technology Association, offered some hope for a return to common sense in California when he made a statement in an interview at Politico saying:
“Hot weather and a cloudy day should not be able to shut down the fifth-largest economy in the world. While we support California’s renewable energy goals, we absolutely need system redundancy that allows us to continue to operate and manufacture products for our residents and the world.”
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