Electricity Shortage Warnings Across U.S. and Iran revolt
Short one.
I hope the readers had a very good Mother’s Day today! And happy Mother’s Day to the mothers that read me. Now, today's post is a short one, the first part is directly correlated to the below. It is also corroboration towards my analysis for the energy sector for the last 6 months.
Electricity Shortage Warnings Grow Across U.S.
Power-grid operators caution that electricity supplies aren’t keeping up with demand amid transition to cleaner forms of energy
From California to Texas to Indiana, electric-grid operators are warning that power-generating capacity is struggling to keep up with demand, a gap that could lead to rolling blackouts during heat waves or other peak periods as soon as this year.
California’s grid operator said Friday that it anticipates a shortfall in supplies this summer, especially if extreme heat, wildfires or delays in bringing new power sources online exacerbate the constraints. The Midcontinent Independent System Operator, or MISO, which oversees a large regional grid spanning much of the Midwest, said late last month that capacity shortages may force it to take emergency measures to meet summer demand and flagged the risk of outages. In Texas, where a number of power plants lately went offline for maintenance, the grid operator warned of tight conditions during a heat wave expected to last into the next week.
The risk of electricity shortages is rising throughout the U.S. as traditional power plants are being retired more quickly than they can be replaced by renewable energy and battery storage. Power grids are feeling the strain as the U.S. makes a historic transition from conventional power plants fueled by coal and natural gas to cleaner forms of energy such as wind and solar power, and aging nuclear plants are slated for retirement in many parts of the country.
The challenge is that wind and solar farms—which are among the cheapest forms of power generation—don’t produce electricity at all times and need large batteries to store their output for later use. While a large amount of battery storage is under development, regional grid operators have lately warned that the pace may not be fast enough to offset the closures of traditional power plants that can work around the clock.
Speeding the build-out of renewable energy and batteries has become an especially difficult proposition amid supply-chain challenges and inflation. Most recently, a probe by the Commerce Department into whether Chinese solar manufacturers are circumventing trade tariffs on solar panels has halted imports of key components needed to build new solar farms and effectively brought the U.S. solar industry to a standstill.
The risk of outages resulting from supply constraints comes amid other challenges straining the reliability of the grid. Large, sustained outages have occurred with greater frequency over the past two decades, in part because the grid has become more vulnerable to failure with age and an uptick in severe weather events exacerbated by climate change. A push to electrify home heating and cooking, and the expected growth of electric vehicles, may increase power demand in coming years, putting further pressure on the system.
“I am concerned about it,” Mr. Bear said. “As we move forward, we need to know that when you put a solar panel or a wind turbine up, it’s not the same as a thermal resource,” such as gas or coal.
I will refrain from criticizing the original author's for the insertion of stupid opinions and politics in this piece, alas parts of these are extremely valuable, and I have covered them for months. There were intense shortages of the necessary raw materials developing for months, ever since mid-2021, with China playing quite a heavy hand and government regulations as a trade tool player another. This leads me to my next point.
No matter the reality of the energy market, and the grid right now, the Biden Administration offers leeway towards the fossil fuel industry or companies that rely on the same, which are basically the entire industry, and the vital parts of the economy. Make no mistake, when regional, localized blackouts hit the American territory, the fault will be entirely on the current administration. They are making matters that should be “yeah, kinda sucks but we can fix it”, to “go F* yourself.
You should REALLY look into ways to keep your lights on towards the foreseeable future, because these problems will take months to solve, and by the current scenario we find ourselves, I don’t see the global energy markets being stable at all. There is a global shortage of diesel, ship distillate, jet fuel, and coal will keep increasing in price as Europe, Asia and Japan go into a bidding war for LNG (gas) to replenish the stocks for the next winter.
Planning being prepared right now will save you money when the time comes, especially when there aren’t renewable sources (solar panels especially) for everyone, and the market can’t keep the demand.
To my second point. A few days ago a piece was published titled As Bread Costs Skyrocket In Iran, So Does The Risk Of Social Unrest.
A dramatic rise in the price of flour in Iran is leading to concerns that the authorities' recent decision to end subsidies for imported wheat could come at the cost of social unrest.
Since the Iranian government ended subsidies for imported wheat on May 1, the cost of flour has soared by around 500 percent and is expected to increase further. With the rising cost of flour, so too has the cost of staple foods like bread and pasta as well as confectioneries and other flour-based products, leading to images of empty shelves at bakeries and groceries.
It spreads. "Kennedy #اینترنت in Khuzestan; Following the protests against the increase in bread prices Mobile and home internet in some cities and villages of the province #خوزستان have been severely slowed down since" (Source)
This will be a good reminder of previous pieces where I covered the price of grain, and popular unrest, leading to outright revolts, and my next non-virus piece, focused on grain.
My next post tomorrow will be a longer one about Omicron and the possible road to the future that the virus might take.
Hope you all have a very good night!
Good work. I have a dozen or more links to substack folk writing about the issues of the day, most of them critical of Covid Policy, but none so focused on "bread and butter" realities.
I sold my house in the city and see about going off grid.
Lost credibility at the climate change bit. Oops, my bad, you were quoting someone, and you also pointed out the political BS.