Earth Equity News

Electric Industry Report Says Renewable Energy Mandates Threaten Nation's Electrical Grid. By Matthew L. Wald, NYTimes, November 9, 2008. "Adding electricity from the wind and the sun could increase the frequency of blackouts and reduce the reliability of the nation's electrical grid, an industry report says. The North American Electric Reliability Corporation [NERC] says in a report scheduled for release Monday [Reliability Impacts of Climate-Change Initiatives, PDF, 23 pp] that unless appropriate measures are taken to improve transmission of electricity, rules reducing carbon dioxide emissions by utilities could impair the reliability of the power grid. The corporation is the industry body authorized by the federal government to enforce reliability rules for the interlocking system of electrical power generation and transmission. Such carbon-reduction rules are already in place in 27 states and four Canadian provinces, and new ones could be mandated nationally in both countries. They may force changes in the utility industry, the group said, including the shutting down of coal plants that are located near load centers, and substituting power from wind turbines or solar plants in remote areas. These actions would impose new demands on a transmission system that was never designed for large power transfers over extremely long distances. The group also said that the carbon emission rules could increase reliance on natural gas, making power generation vulnerable to supply interruptions."