California's reliance on solar energy leads to shortages
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The state's grid is powered, in part, by renewable energy, including solar power and hydropower.
The solar supply decreases toward the end of the day, prompting the calls to reduce energy use after 3 p.m. or 4 p.m. There can also be uncertainty with solar supply due to factors such as cloud cover and smoke from wildfires, as the state battles several blazes.
"We've seen situations where smoke and cloud cover can have an effect. If it's over a populated area, it could have more effect of reducing demand, where if the smoke and cloud cover is over the solar fields, it can have an effect on the availability of supply," Mark Rothleder, the ISO's senior vice president and chief operating officer, told reporters during a press briefing Thursday.
Prolonged drought and wildfires, which are becoming more prevalent and severe due to climate change, can also cut into power supplies. The U.S. Energy Information Administration had forecast that California could lose half its normal hydroelectric generation this summer due to drought. Wildfires can also trip off transmission lines, limiting the flow of electricity.
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Solar energy is not a reliable source of energy. It is subject to the whims of the weather and other factors that block the sun. It is as best a supplemental energy source in much the same way wind is. California's reliance on energy from other states is also a problem in times of a heat wave that affects those states' need for additional power. California needs to increase its conventional power plant capacity to deal with the current extreme conditions.
See, also:
Much like any other Democrat-initiated disaster, America’s legacy media has largely opted to ignore California’s brush with rolling blackouts last week after a heat wave hit the state and much of the west coast.
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