"California Gov. Gavin Newsom said Monday that the state’s transition away from fossil fuels is a contributing factor to the state’s rolling blackouts.

The elimination of fossil fuel products as a major form of energy production and the shift to solar power and other forms of green energy has led to what Newsom called “gaps” in the energy grid’s reliability, the Democratic governor said during a press conference Monday.

Newsom addressed the sudden loss of power many Californians experienced Saturday and Sunday during high temperatures.

“We are not backing off on that commitment,” Newsom said, referring to California’s push to transition away from oil and gas.

“In the process of the transition, in the process of shutting down, understandably, the desire and need to shut down polluting gas plants … comes the need to have more insurance, comes the need to recognize that there have been — by definition, demonstrably, in the last few days and what we expect over the next few days — gaps in terms of that reliability,” Newsom said.

"“Collectively, energy regulators failed to anticipate this event and to take necessary actions to ensure reliable power to Californians,” Newsom wrote in a letter Monday to CAISO, CNN reported. “This cannot stand.”

"CAISO attributed the blackouts to the unexpected loss of a 470 megawatt power plant, as well as a loss of nearly 1,000 megawatts from wind power. The nonprofit’s emergency order allowed utilities to use backup energy to relieve pressure on a grid that relies primarily on a mixture of wind and solar power, along with hydro power.

“Near certain we’ll be forced to ask the utilities to cut off power to millions today to balance supply and demand. Today and tomorrow and perhaps beyond,” Steve Berberich, president and CEO of CAISO, said in a statement Monday before noting that the nonprofit corporation has repeatedly warned of a reliability gap and that the state will have to increase energy production.

Newsom said Monday that the transition from fossil fuels is a “moral and ethical imperative as it relates to the kind of world we’re going to leave, the kind of state and nation we’re going to leave for our kids and grandkids.” "

https://dailycaller.com/2020/08/17/california-blackouts-renewable-energy-califor...

So it was an unexpected loss of one power plant and the wind failed. The governor blamed the operator for not supplying more. But it is going to continue for 2 to 3 days? I wonder where that will come from? Is the wind still failed? How about solar until about 3PM? What happens after?

Prime Minister for Canyons wrote on Aug 19^th, 2020 at 2:53pm:


Because it is there. You want something else?

"The California Independent System Operator (ISO) declared a Stage 3 Electrical Emergency at 6:28 p.m. on Saturday, Aug. 15, due to increased electricity demand, the unexpected loss of a 470-megawatt (MW) power plant, and loss of nearly 1,000 MW of wind power."

www.caiso.com/Documents/ISORequestedPowerOutagesFollowingStage3EmergencyDeclarat...

"Grid Edge
California’s Shift From Natural Gas to Solar Is Playing a Role in Rolling Blackouts

California’s grid operator warns that the state has become overly reliant on power imports: “The rest of the West is hot too.”

"But the blackouts were also a side effect of the state’s increasing shift to solar power and away from natural-gas-fired generators, according to state grid operator CAISO and Wood Mackenzie analysts. This shift pushed back the moment of “net peak” demand on the state’s grid — a measure of total demand minus renewable energy's contribution — into later in the evening, leaving CAISO with less dispatchable generation to fill in shortfalls between supply and demand.

With high heat and peak electricity demand expected to continue throughout the week, California may be forced to rely on rolling blackouts for the immediate future, CAISO President Stephen Berberich said in a Monday meeting. Gov. Gavin Newsom declared a state of emergency on Monday allowing backup generators, including those deployed to customers facing wildfire prevention blackouts, to be used to combat outages, and demanded an investigation into the causes of the grid shortages.

"But without changes to how the state manages its grid capacity needs, the same shortfalls could plague the state for years to come, Berberich said, in a scathing attack on what he called California policymakers’ failure to prepare for this eventuality. “The situation we are in could have been avoided,” he said in Monday's meeting. CAISO has told regulators for years that “there is inadequate power available during the net peak, the hours when the solar [generation] has left the system.”

Friday and Saturday’s rolling blackouts, or “Stage 3 Electrical Emergencies” in CAISO parlance, forced utilities to cut off power to hundreds of thousands of customers between the hours of 6 p.m. and 8 p.m. Those are the hours when solar generation drops to zero, leaving CAISO with a “net peak” that comes one to two hours after its peak demand hour on the system. "

https://www.greentechmedia.com/articles/read/how-californias-shift-from-natural-...

Perhaps GreenTech Media is more to your taste?

Robot wrote on Aug 22^nd, 2020 at 3:08pm:


So both sources left it out and out of a combined total of 1470 only 1/3 of the outage. So tell us about the 2/3 windpower bit. Funny how you don't want to mention that. 🙃😚😚🙃


Sent from my tablet.