Install the Sina Finance client to receive the most comprehensive market information at the first time →[download link]
Original title: The crisis of “power shortage” in the United States during the critical period of energy transition sounded the alarm!
Source: Wall Street News
Recently, power grid operators in many places in the United States have successively warned that this summer, especially during the peak period of high temperature power consumption, some areas in the United States may experience power outages again because the power generation cannot meet the demand.
According to the “Wall Street Journal”, a California power grid operator expected on Friday that the state’s power supply will face a shortage this summer, and factors such as extreme heat, forest fires, and new energy power delays may further exacerbate the power shortage; in Texas State, where many power plants have recently been taken offline for maintenance, and local operators have warned that power could be very tight during the heatwave; in late April, the Midwest Independent System Operators (MISO), which covers much of the U.S. Midwest, warned that, Capacity shortages could force it to take emergency measures to meet summer demand, potentially risking power outages.
Why does this happen?
The Wall Street Journal quoted the analysis of the relevant person of the US power grid operator as saying that in the United States from the traditional power plants represented by coal and natural gas to the renewable energy power plants represented by wind and solar energy,The current rate of “retirement” of traditional power plants is outpacing the growth of renewables and storage, leading to a rising risk of power shortages across the United States.
In the United States, where GDP is far ahead in the world all the year round, the phenomenon of “blackout” is not uncommon. In addition to the traditional “power failure factors” such as extreme weather and “isolated grids” in the power grid, “excessive enthusiasm” for renewable energy is also one of the reasons for the decline in the stability of energy security in the United States. It is worth mentioning that after the California blackout in 2020, then-California Governor Newsom already blamed the negative impact of clean energy.
In short, in the short term, an excessively high proportion of renewable energy and energy security and stability are “incompatible.” There are two reasons:
One, as mentioned above,The growth rate of renewable energy power supply is not as fast as the “retirement” of traditional energy power plants.With the trend of anti-globalization, supply chain crisis and inflation intensifying, accelerating the construction of renewable energy power plants and energy storage equipment is undoubtedly more “difficult”. As much as 3,800 megawatts of new supply could face delays by 2025, California regulators said on Friday.
Second,The nature of renewable energy has led to a “duck curve” situation in the electricity net load during the day in places such as California——Since solar power generation reaches its peak at noon and gradually decreases as the sun goes down, other thermal power plants in the grid are basically idle during the day, and in the evening, power generation must be rapidly increased to meet energy demand. The excessive peak-to-valley difference of the load curve makes it more difficult to dispatch electricity in the state.
Therefore, in the context of the transition to electrification of household heating and cooking in the United States and the wave of new energy vehicles driving up electricity demand, coal-fired power plants, nuclear power plants, etc. are aging and insufficient investment affects the power supply. The higher the proportion of renewable energy in the short term, the more The result is the worse the stability of energy security. Especially under the blow of extreme weather, the energy dilemma of the United States may be further highlighted. (The weather is too hot and the demand increases, and if there is a drought, it may lead to the loss of hydropower; in extremely cold weather, the wind turbines are at risk of freezing, and the old coal-fired power plants are aging and difficult to maintain)
Some analysts pointed out that at this stage, it has become “less radical”,Keeping coal, nuclear energy and hydropower used for base load power generation, gradually developing new energy power facilities such as wind energy, solar energy, energy storage equipment, and supplementing natural gas to meet peak loads may be the best way to achieve both “development” and “stability”. Law.
The call was also echoed by some officials. Earlier, California Governor Gavin Newsom announced his support for extending the use of the state’s last nuclear power plant before switching to “cheaper” clean energy to provide protection for this summer’s peak electricity consumption; Mark Rothleder, chief operating officer of the California Independent System Operator, also said :
“We need to make sure we have enough new resources in place and operational before we can let some of those ‘retirees’ go. Otherwise, we risk running out of power.”
Massive information, accurate interpretation, all in Sina Finance APP
Responsible editor: Liu Xuanyi