Editor,
Green energy is a very costly proposition for California because we still have to maintain an entire fossil fuel backup system to ensure always on power for when there is no sun or wind. As the Moss Landing Power Plant demonstrated, lithium batteries can’t store utility scale power without catching fire.
Estimates are in the hundreds of billions to build out green energy in California which will be paid for by already overtaxed Californians. But if California can “hold its horses” there are some green energy projects that promise to deliver less costly always on green energy. One is the ACES power plant project finishing up development in Utah. It would make and store green hydrogen in the summer made from solar energy to generate always on power without carbon dioxide emissions.
Ed Kahl
Woodside
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(2) comments
Thanks for your letter, Mr. Kahl, and for highlighting the alternative energy source development in Utah. Ultimately, though, these projects only operate as an additional source but will never scale to replace fossil fuels to any significant degree. Any fossil fuel usage reduction in the US would result in other countries taking up the slack, happily. If greenies were really serious about so-called “green” energy, we would be building nuclear power plants, perhaps 100s. But then the money greenies are siphoning from taxpayers would decrease, perhaps completely. The only green they’re interested in is in cash money.
TBot is correct in one area here. Some 20 years ago, when the US and Canada became two of the biggest fossil fuel producers thanks to Fracking, other countries did jump in and used the available capacity replacing their coal and wood burning with oil and gas instead.
Since we are clearly not the smartest species, humans will not stop burning fossil fuels until it's all gone.
The big issue for the US now is that it is falling behind in all these new future technologies that will matter. Whereas other countries are planning on a full electric future, the GOP wants us back in a time when we burned goat fat and coal.
Renewables have been the cheapest form of energy since 2013. Coal has become way more expensive, but the current administration wants to subsidize coal (cough, cough, Fossil Fuel Socialism).
And California Democrats might disagree with Washington DC, but they can't even build one simple high-speed train route or walkable neighborhoods.
PS: Batteries btw. are NOT part of green energy - they turn green energy "grey". That's why EVs - other than eBikes - can never be considered Zero Emission Vehicles.
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