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Analysis | The Energy 202: This California mayor wants to decrease dependence on PG&E amid planned b
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Analysis | The Energy 202: This California mayor wants to decrease dependence on PG&E amid planned blackouts:
rjzimmerman:
These expressions of frustration from California and talk about taking over private utilities and development of microgrids is the beginning of a national discussion that will develop over time. Our system of delivering electrical power is based upon a decades-old model which itself is based upon burning carbon and delivering electricity over hundreds of miles of wires over a grid. That grid isn’t compatible with a energy system based upon renewable sources or one which minimizes the risk of power losses over large areas.
Excerpt from this Washington Post story:
Take your pick: Blackouts or wildfires.
That’s the grim choice many in California are fearing as the state’s largest utility, Pacific Gas & Electric, says the effort to proactively shut off power to prevent wildfires could continue for a decade.
But as fires roar across the state, some local leaders are eyeing ways they can become less reliant on PG&E’s vulnerable grid system that’s to blame for igniting some of the deadliest blazes in state history.
San Jose Mayor Sam Liccardo (D) is proposing numerous alternatives that include building “microgrids” — smaller grid systems that can collect, store and supply power locally — and expanding the use of solar power. These are measures that could help California residents keep the power on during outages as the state simultaneously moves toward climate goals by reducing contributions to climate-warming emissions that can help fuel these very wildfires.
Microgrids can provide power to communities when the larger systems — PG&E’s power lines in this case — cannot. These power islands can get their energy from a variety of sources, including solar power, which can also make them an environmentally friendly solution. Liccardo wrote a memo last month in part pitching a city-owned utility that would develop microgrids and expand the use of solar power as the city assesses ways to become less dependent on PG&E.
“The current model of energy generation and delivery looks pretty bleak. We just heard from the CEO of PG&E who said power shut-offs [will continue] for ten years,” Liccardo said in an interview. “We don’t have any choice but to innovate. The existing infrastructure and technology will fail us.”
Analysis | The Energy 202: This California mayor wants to decrease dependence on PG&E amid planned blackouts:
rjzimmerman:
These expressions of frustration from California and talk about taking over private utilities and development of microgrids is the beginning of a national discussion that will develop over time. Our system of delivering electrical power is based upon a decades-old model which itself is based upon burning carbon and delivering electricity over hundreds of miles of wires over a grid. That grid isn’t compatible with a energy system based upon renewable sources or one which minimizes the risk of power losses over large areas.
Excerpt from this Washington Post story:
Take your pick: Blackouts or wildfires.
That’s the grim choice many in California are fearing as the state’s largest utility, Pacific Gas & Electric, says the effort to proactively shut off power to prevent wildfires could continue for a decade.
But as fires roar across the state, some local leaders are eyeing ways they can become less reliant on PG&E’s vulnerable grid system that’s to blame for igniting some of the deadliest blazes in state history.
San Jose Mayor Sam Liccardo (D) is proposing numerous alternatives that include building “microgrids” — smaller grid systems that can collect, store and supply power locally — and expanding the use of solar power. These are measures that could help California residents keep the power on during outages as the state simultaneously moves toward climate goals by reducing contributions to climate-warming emissions that can help fuel these very wildfires.
Microgrids can provide power to communities when the larger systems — PG&E’s power lines in this case — cannot. These power islands can get their energy from a variety of sources, including solar power, which can also make them an environmentally friendly solution. Liccardo wrote a memo last month in part pitching a city-owned utility that would develop microgrids and expand the use of solar power as the city assesses ways to become less dependent on PG&E.
“The current model of energy generation and delivery looks pretty bleak. We just heard from the CEO of PG&E who said power shut-offs [will continue] for ten years,” Liccardo said in an interview. “We don’t have any choice but to innovate. The existing infrastructure and technology will fail us.”