No, Renewables Did Not Cause California’s Blackouts

(Nexus Media News, 21 Aug 2020) California’s grid operator has called for building more clean power, not less.

Record heat across California last weekend spurred Golden Staters to blast their air conditioners. The strain on the power grid was so great that California’s grid operator started rationing electricity. For the first time since the 2001 electricity crisis, it imposed rolling blackouts, shutting down power to hundreds of thousands of homes and businesses up and down the state.

The Wall Street Journal editorial board, among others, was quick to blamerenewables for the blackouts. Because wind and solar plants only turn out power when the sun shines and the breeze blows, they wrote, they leave the state vulnerable to shortages. Even the president took time from his busy schedule to tweet about it.

While that line of reasoning may sound sensible, wind and solar aren’t really the problem. In a letter to California Gov. Gavin Newsom Wednesday, the heads of California’s energy agencies exonerated clean power in the most unambiguous terms.

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Nexus Media News, 21 Aug 2020: No, Renewables Did Not Cause California’s Blackouts