[ad_1]
SACRAMENTO – Governor Gavin Newsom on Friday signed an emergency proclamation aimed at accelerating clean energy production and reducing stress on the state’s electricity grid as the effects of climate change threaten to strain electricity supply.
The governor declared a state of emergency caused by climate change, including extreme heat waves, wildfires, drought and shrinking winter snowpack, and warned that California could face severe energy shortages in the coming months.
Newsom’s proclamation directs state agencies to speed up clean power generation projects to mitigate the risk of power shortages. The ordinance also authorizes a new temporary program that will pay large industrial energy consumers to reduce their demand when power supply constraints lead to a grid emergency that threatens to cause continued blackouts. The program will remain in place until October 31.
“As we build a secure, affordable and reliable energy future that benefits all of our communities, we are also taking action to address the challenges caused by climate change that are already upon us,” Newsom said in a statement.
Record-breaking heat waves scorched the western United States this summer, and Newsom has warned that wildfires or an extreme heat wave could severely cripple power transmission systems. The drought has exacerbated the problem as low reservoir levels have caused hydropower plant operations to be reduced or stopped.
In August last year, California suffered two days of blackouts as extreme heat hit the western United States, significantly reducing the state’s ability to import power from its neighbors. Heads of state later admitted that they had not properly planned such a limited supply and high demand, especially in the evenings when the solar panels were offline. The heat has also put a strain on California’s electricity grid this year, although no blackouts have occurred.
Newsom and other state officials have acknowledged that when large energy users switch to uninterruptible power supply due to strain on the grid, some of them will switch to generators powered by electricity. fossil fuels, thus producing more greenhouse gas emissions. The governor’s proclamation directs air quality officials to develop a plan to mitigate the effects of such emissions, especially in underprivileged communities that are likely to be most affected.
Newsom’s proclamation further urges the California Public Utilities Commission and other agencies to speed up construction of clean energy production and storage projects.
“As we have all experienced firsthand, the climate crisis has created extreme and unpredictable heat episodes, droughts and wildfires across the West, all of which are more frequent and intense and cause stress. extra on our electricity grid, especially during critical hours of the day, ”CPUC President Marybel Batjer said at a press conference on Friday afternoon.
Batjer said the state was making rapid progress towards its goal of getting 100% of its energy from carbon-free sources, and that work would accelerate in the years to come. While the state has already taken many steps to strengthen its electricity grid, the real-time impacts of climate change require further action, she said.
“The record heat we have seen in the West this summer is unprecedented,” said Batjer. “Climate change is happening to us quickly and furiously. It is fierce and it requires a fierce response. “
Officials at the California Independent System Operator, the nonprofit that manages most of the state’s electricity grid, were cautiously optimistic that the state is better prepared to meet the high demand for electricity. during the heat waves this year. But worsening drought conditions and the Bootleg fire in Oregon, which threatened critical transmission lines, made the situation more alarming, said Elliot Mainzer, CEO of the system operator.
“It became clear that we have entered a new normal and that extraordinary action is needed,” Mainzer said at the press conference.
JD Morris and Dustin Gardiner are the editors of the San Francisco Chronicle. Email: [email protected], [email protected] Twitter: @thejdmorris, @dustingardiner
[ad_2]
Source link