California: A Case Study on How Unreliable Green Energy Truly Is

September 17, 2020

With only 47 days left until election day, candidates have buckled down on larger issues such as climate change and the future of the energy sector. President Trump and vice presidential candidate Kamala Harris visited California this past week to observe the damage done by the recent wildfires.

According to the Los Angeles Times, California Governor Gavin Newsom touted extreme energy goals while the President was there, telling reporters:

“While we’re leading the nation in low-carbon green growth, as we’ve led the nation in our efforts to decarbonize our economy, we’re going to have to do more, and we’re going to have to fast-track our efforts,” Newsom told reporters as he stood among charred trees in Oroville. “While it’s nice to have goals to get to 100% clean energy by 2045, that’s inadequate.

Gov. Newsom’s “inadequate” goal is even more extreme than Biden’s goal of a completely clean energy economy by 2050. It’s a little ironic, considering just a few short weeks ago California was experiencing its first intentional rolling blackouts since the state’s 2001 energy crisis.

California is ill-prepared to provide its citizens reliable – let alone affordable – energy during the highest temperatures of the summer. Why would the state create the highly aspirational goal of relying on 100% green energy 5 years sooner than Biden’s unrealistic energy transition proposal, when they can’t even rely on the current green energy they use now?

Governor Newsom, who states an even sooner timeline is necessary for a 100% clean energy future, has also seemingly acknowledged how unreliable green energy can be.

Newsom, meanwhile, is defending the state water board’s decision to extend the shutdown deadline for four gas-fired power plants that were supposed to close this year. The plants are still needed to keep the lights on, he told reporters last week.

Instead of relying completely on green energy, California needs to expand their use of the oil and gas industry to make sure they are able to provide a reliable energy supply essential to the daily activities of households across the state.

This is a great example of the chaos that would be inflicted on a national scale if a President who does not understand the importance of the oil and gas industry to the energy mix were elected. California and its rolling blackouts should serve as a warning for the rest of the country.