Written by Joey Brasil
California has overlooked the significant reasons for last summers’ blackouts by focusing on the relation between fossil fuel failure and climate change. Three environmental lobbyists blame “industry voices” for referring to renewable energy sources as the culprit behind the blackouts.
According to the California Independent System Operator (Cal-ISO), the lack of action to implement a completely renewable energy system was the cause of these blackouts. They claim that the blackouts were a “perfect storm of software errors that caused California to export power during the blackouts, gas plant failures, and unprecedented heat that left demand vastly outstripping supply in California.”
The U.S. Energy Information Agency (EIA) ended up not supporting the claims of the lobbyists due to natural gas and coal power helping Los Angeles and Arizona avoid the blackouts that California faced. The Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (LADWP) shares the break down of energy sources
- Natural gas – 34% (Three gas power plants in Los Angeles)
- Green power – 33% (Wind far in Tehachapi and solar power from Kern county)
- Coal Power – 19% (From Utah and Arizona)
- Nuclear Power – 9% (From Arizona)
- Hydropower – 5% (Hoover Dam, Castaic Lake)
However, the Arizona Power Company avoids blackouts completely by implementing a reliance on a diverse variety of energy sources. They rely on 18% coal power, 50% natural gas, and only 10% of their power comes from solar.
In California, the problem with blackouts can be traced to PG&E which operates in Northern and Central California. On August 18, 2020, 99 power outages flooded the areas, meaning there was one outage for every 51,515 customers. In comparison, San Diego Gas and Electric (SDG&E) only experienced 3 blackouts within San Diego.
The heatwave in 2020 left several power institutions fighting for the same power while the supply was small. The shift to solar power in other states left California competing for power while having a lack of alternatives. PG&E relies on 39% green power while SDG&E relies on 43%. The difference between these two power companies lies in imported power. the ISO Energy Balancing Market could not find enough alternative sources of imported power to server PG&E during the heatwave because of other states shifting to intermittent solar power and prioritized their customers.
Despite the claims of the lobbyists, the lack of alternative sources of energy in certain parts of California leaves citizens with an unreliable source of power for this upcoming summer.
Photo via Jamey Stillings/Time
