Alex Gonzalez
Arizona is cited in a new report that says to avoid an energy crisis, the U.S. needs to have a shared vision of what a resilient power grid looks like, and that multiple sources - such as renewables - should play a significant role. States like Arizona and electric grids with renewables and energy storage have fared well in recent years.
The nonpartisan think tank Energy Innovation claims these resources have helped bring balance to the grid during heightened usage. But demand is increasing with data centers hoping online and increased electricity use inside homes. The report suggests not all stakeholders are on the same page to ensure there's enough power to go around.
Sara Baldwin, senior director for electrification says there is still time to act.
"We are not in an energy emergency. We actually have time to do this in a very pragmatic and thoughtful way and avoid some of the fearmongering that we're seeing right now," she explained.
She said there's still too much misinformation, such as renewables not being reliable enough to keep the lights on. The authors say they've proved to be capable but acknowledge it'll take more than wind and solar to meet future demand. They say policymakers shouldn't be tempted to pursue options like building new gas plants for short-term needs. They say that's more costly in the long run.
Instead, these researchers say there should be incentives for management strategies that complement renewables, such as consumers adjusting their energy use during peak times. They do recognize, though, that it might be hard to motivate enough folks to sign on. Meanwhile, Baldwin says policymakers need to remove barriers that make it hard to plug clean energy into the grid.
"One of the biggest threats to grid reliability is speed. We have over two terawatts of new wind, solar and batteries in various interconnection queues across the country waiting to connect, and that is nearly double the current capacity of our entire grid," she continued.
The batteries are storage sites for electricity generated from renewables when the sun isn't shining, or the wind isn't blowing. The report said that storage should be spread out among various locations, as opposed to a centralized power plant, and added that these approaches help the grid withstand extreme weather conditions amid heightened demand, without having to lean on carbon-intensive sources.
Some of the broader rhetoric about energy production might make it seem renewables are "fringe" electricity sources, but Baldwin says that's not the case.
"At the end of the day, we've been working towards a carbon-free grid for now over a quarter century, so this is not a new transition," she contended.