Energy shortages and blackouts are on the horizon, warns one of America’s largest power grid operators. The cause? The Biden administration’s green energy policies, which will retire traditional fossil fuel sources and unable to meet the growing demand for electricity.
The Warning from PJM Interconnection
PJM Interconnection is a regional transmission organization that serves 65 million people across 13 states in the Midwest and Northeast, including the District of Columbia. Its latest report warns that the power supply and demand in the next decade is destabilizing as more traditional fossil fuel sources are retired to transition to renewable energy. The report states that power generator retirements are outpacing new additions, putting at risk the power supply for millions of Americans.
Biden’s Green Energy Policies are Destabilizing the Power Grid
The Biden administration aims to make 100 percent of America’s electricity carbon-free by 2035, which will require the retirement of fossil fuel power generators. Coal retirements alone will account for over half of all planned generation retirements in 2023, amounting to 8.9 gigawatts of energy. PJM’s report highlights that most of these power plant retirements are policy-driven, forcing the shutdown of 10.5 gigawatts worth of fossil fuel generation due to the high cost of compliance with the Environmental Protection Agency’s new regulations.
The Consequence of Biden’s Policies
The loss of traditional fossil fuel sources will result in a decline in power reserves, warns PJM. Furthermore, the construction of renewable energy projects is not keeping pace with the retirements of fossil fuel plants, despite taxpayer-funded subsidies for wind and solar projects. The historical rate of completion for renewable projects is only 5 percent, in part due to permitting challenges. In the most optimistic scenario, there could be an additional 21 gigawatts of wind added to the grid by 2030, which is slightly over half the amount of power lost due to fossil fuel retirements.
The Possibility of More Blackouts
The potential consequences of the Biden administration’s green energy policies are dire, warns PJM. The loss of power reserves and the slow construction of renewable energy projects could lead to more blackouts and energy shortages in the future. The editorial board of the Wall Street Journal notes that, without Biden’s green policies, PJM would typically generate a massive surplus of energy, which would then be exported to neighboring regional grids to keep their energy supplies stable.
America’s power grid infrastructure is in crisis, with energy shortages and blackouts looming on the horizon. The Biden administration’s green energy policies, which will retire traditional fossil fuel sources, are destabilizing the power grid and putting the energy supply for millions of Americans at risk. The consequences of these policies could be dire, leading to more blackouts and energy shortages in the future.