{"id":31482,"date":"2022-06-01T02:59:39","date_gmt":"2022-06-01T02:59:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/energy-experts-sound-alarm-about-us-electric-grid-its-not-designed-to-withstand-the-impacts-of-climate-change\/"},"modified":"2022-06-01T02:59:39","modified_gmt":"2022-06-01T02:59:39","slug":"energy-experts-sound-alarm-about-us-electric-grid-its-not-designed-to-withstand-the-impacts-of-climate-change","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/energy-experts-sound-alarm-about-us-electric-grid-its-not-designed-to-withstand-the-impacts-of-climate-change\/","title":{"rendered":"Energy experts sound alarm about US electric grid: ‘It’s not designed to withstand the impacts of climate change’"},"content":{"rendered":"

All of this suggests that more power outages are on the way, not only this summer but in the coming years as well.<\/p>\n

Power operators in the Central US, in their summer readiness report, have already predicted “insufficient firm resources to cover summer peak forecasts.” That assessment accounted for historical weather and the latest NOAA outlook that projects for more extreme weather this summer. <\/div>\n
But energy experts tell CNN that some power grid operators are not considering how the climate crisis is changing our weather – including more frequent extreme events – and that is a problem if the intent is to build a reliable power grid.<\/div>\n

“The reality is the electricity system is old and a lot of the infrastructure was built before we started thinking about climate change,” said Romany Webb, a researcher at Columbia University’s Sabin Center for Climate Change Law. “It’s not designed to withstand the impacts of climate change.”<\/p>\n

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Webb says many power grid operators use historical weather to make investment decisions, rather than the more dire climate projections, simply because they want to avoid the possibility of financial loss for investing in what might happen versus what has already happened. She said it’s the wrong approach and it makes the grid vulnerable.<\/p>\n

“We have seen a reluctance on the part of many utilities to factor climate change into their planning processes because they say the science around climate change is too uncertain,” Webb said. “The reality is we know climate change is happening, we know the impact it has in terms of more severe heatwaves, hurricanes, drought, and we know that all of those things affect the electricity system so ignoring those impacts just makes the problems worse. “<\/p>\n

An early heatwave knocked six power plants offline in Texas earlier this month. Residents were asked to limit electricity use, keeping thermostats at 78 degrees or higher and avoid using large appliances at peak times. The Electric Reliability Council of Texas, or ERCOT, in its seasonal reliability report, said the state’s power grid is prepared for the summer and has “sufficient” power for “normal” summer conditions, based on average weather from 2006 to 2020. <\/div>\n
But NOAA’s recently released summer outlook forecasts above average temperatures for every county in the nation. <\/div>\n

“We are continuing to design and site facilities based on historical weather patterns that we know in the age of climate change are not a good proxy for future conditions,” Webb told CNN. <\/p>\n

When asked if the agency is creating a blind spot for itself by not accounting for extreme weather predictions, an ERCOT spokesperson told CNN the report “uses a scenario approach to illustrate a range of resource adequacy outcomes based on extreme system conditions, including some extreme weather scenarios. “<\/p>\n

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