Don’t expect the Greens to have accurately costed their renewable energy scheme rolled out last month in preparation for election 2020. The idealistic just-turned-18s might love the green dream but in California, it’s a nightmare.
“The Green Party wants an immediate ban on new industrial coal boilers, as part of its plan to transition away from fossil-fuels.
Our Clean Energy Plan is the first part of our transformational plan to end the use of fossil-fuels in Aotearoa. It will help to ensure our grandchildren inherit a world where they can not only survive, but thrive,” Shaw said.”
Dream, dream, dream, dream is how the song goes. Shaw is dreaming. California dreamed too, but they haven’t pulled off their renewable energy dream. It’s an expensive failure.
California moved away from fossil fuels in 2006 when Arnold Schwarzenegger (who should have stuck to acting) led the United States into the green era sweeping the planet.
“All new long-term financial investment in “baseload” generation resources—those workhorse power plants that supply electricity around the clock—made on behalf of California customers must be in clean energy sources.”
Arnie kneecapped Californian utilities by effectively implementing a coal moratorium to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and combat climate change.
“Officials in cities across California and in state government have for years been implementing a hodgepodge of programs aligned with the principles of a Green New Deal and, many of them say, California could be a model for how such a program could work at the national level.”
The renewable energy model fell apart this week when Californian residents, during a heatwave while confined indoors during COVID lock down, were asked to voluntarily reduce their electricity consumption.
“But after power reserves fell to dangerous levels it declared a “Stage 3 emergency” cutting off power to people across the state at 6:30 pm.
Millions of Californians were denied electrical power and thus air conditioning during a heatwave, raising the risk of heatstroke and death, particularly among the elderly and sick.”
It’s the same insanity prevailing here during COVID lockdown. More people will die – not from COVID – but because of missed health checks and deferred medical treatment. In California, the heatwave will knock the elderly off their perches too.
“…the underlying reasons that California is experiencing rolling black-outs for the second time in less than a year stem from the state’s climate policies, which California policymakers have justified as necessary to prevent deaths from heatwaves.
In October, Pacific Gas and Electric cut off power to homes across California to avoid starting forest fires. The utility and California’s leaders had over the previous decade diverted billions meant for grid maintenance to renewables. “
Let’s get this straight. California dipped into maintenance funding to finance the implementation of renewable energy because they could not reasonably pass the costs onto consumers.
“And yesterday, California had to impose rolling blackouts because it had failed to maintain sufficient reliable power from natural gas and nuclear plants, or pay in advance for enough guaranteed electricity imports from other states.”
Even with nuclear power California could not create enough renewable energy to meet their needs, and neither could they afford to purchase it from other states. Gavin Newsom, spokesperson for government controlled CAISO said:
“[We], didn’t want to spend the extra money to guarantee the additional electricity out of fears of raising California’s electricity prices even more than they had already raised them.”
Renewable energy is expensive – more expensive than fossil fuel. Why would anyone let the NZ Greens anywhere near our energy planning given they arrogantly ignore our coal and gas reserves (there for the taking, and what a boon for the economy) while displaying a lack of appetite for nuclear power?
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