From the Daily Caller
Irving Klinsky
Contributor
Hundreds of millions of Americans are at risk of power shortages this winter if weather conditions are severe, according to a new report from grid regulator North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC).
The NERC report states that nearly all residents in the Northeast, Texas and Midwest could face energy shortages if the winter is colder than normal. The main reason for the lack of grid reliability is growing demand for electricity and the replacement of coal-fired and older natural gas generators with energy-limited resources such as solar. (Related: ‘Overconsumption of animal protein’: UN climate conference attendees urge countries to tax meat)
“Foreseeable extreme cold temperatures have the potential to push existing natural gas supply infrastructure to capacity,” the report warns. “As coal-fired and older natural gas generators are retired and replaced by variable and energy-limited resources, services Winter loads become more challenging and complex.”
NERC's 2024-2025 WRA finds much of North America at elevated risk #vitality deficiencies under extreme conditions. No areas are designated as high risk and all areas are expected to have adequate resources under normal circumstances #winter Peak load conditions. https://t.co/TOPhkCZumt pic.twitter.com/kANLz4dasl
— NERC (@NERC_Official) November 14, 2024
The expansion of power-hungry data centers has led to a surge in power demand, and consultants Bain predict that utilities may have to increase their annual power generation by 26% by 2028, according to NERC research. , and finalized a rule in April that would require existing coal-fired power plants to use carbon capture and storage to control 90% of their carbon emissions by 2032 if they want to continue operating beyond 2039, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) According to the report, emissions from some new natural gas plants will be reduced by 90% by 2032.
Grid operators have asked the EPA to repeal a power plant rule to protect long-term energy reliability, and four major regional operators filed an amicus brief in support of red states' legal challenges to the rule, saying it would jeopardize the grid ability to reliably meet America’s energy needs.
Top grid regulator Mark Christie wrote to lawmakers in August claiming the EPA rules could be “catastrophic.”
“If the EPA's new power plant rule survives court challenges, it will force the retirement of nearly all remaining coal-fired power plants and will prevent the construction of much-needed new combined-cycle baseload natural gas generation facilities,” Christie wrote. “The loss of much-needed dispatchable generation resources would be catastrophic.”
The EPA and the Federal Electric Reliability Corporation did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
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