Millions of Californians have suffered blackouts in recent days with more predicted in the future. This is all a result of California's government mandating green energy. Former Gov. Gray Davis admitted the culprit is the state’s anti-fossil fuel policies.
Batteries are not the answer either.
Batteries are also expensive and present their own environmental hazards. Caiso has warned that the PUC isn’t accounting for battery recycling and replacement costs or how several days of cloudy weather could reduce solar energy storage. Batteries need to be replaced after 10 or so years, and disposing of their toxic metals is expensive.
According to the Energy Information Administration, the capital costs for a solar plant with an attached battery system run between 50% and 150% higher than for a new natural-gas plant. Natural-gas plants are still much less expensive after accounting for fuel costs, and they generally have a lifespan of 30 or more years.
Texas needs to keep a lid on the renewables in the state for two reasons. One,the oil and gas industry provides thousands of well paying jobs and helps provide energy independence for the United States. Secondly, high costs, blackouts and unreliability of our electric system is avoided.
No comments:
Post a Comment