Op/Ed: Following Biden's EV plan means we should get ready for frequent blackouts
President Biden is pushing Americans toward EVs, but our renewable energy infrastructure isn't as reliable as it should be for the switch. President Joe Biden has proposed a plan to dramatically increase the number of electric vehicles (EVs) on the road, deploying subsidies and EPA regulations to rapidly electrify the automotive landscape in the next 10 years. The Department of Energy estimates that energy consumption will rise 38% by 2050, and many state-level utilities have been closing down perfectly functioning power plants of traditional means, primarily coal, in a bid to prop up renewable energy sources. Suzanne Jaworowski, former chief of staff in the U.S. Department of Nuclear Energy, argues that the Biden administration's approach is effectively a double whammy on America’s energy reliability infrastructure. She argues that market forces should work naturally and support an “all of the above” approach that ensures future reliability.
发表 : 2年前 经过 Suzanne Jaworowski 在 Politics Auto
President Joe Biden has moved to dramatically increase the number of electric vehicles (EVs) on the road, deploying a slew of subsidies and EPA regulations since taking office that are designed to rapidly electrify the automotive landscape in the next 10 years. At the same time, the administration is pushing to close traditional power generation facilities, like coal plants, in favor of renewable energy like wind and solar. While the goal of reducing emissions is worthy, this combination of policies doesn’t pass the smell test.
Put simply, if President Biden gets his wish of making EVs the new standard for personal transportation within the decade and makes our power grid entirely renewable, then regular blackouts may be coming our way.
The problem with the president’s EV push is that it will require a massive amount of accessible electricity to be successful. The average EV requires about 30 kilowatt-hours (kWh) of charge to drive 100 miles, a figure roughly equal to the energy consumption of the average American household. Essentially, if you were taking a road trip in your EV, every 100th mile would be an entire day’s worth of electricity in your house. As President Biden’s policies create a massive expansion in EVs, the Department of Energy estimates that energy consumption will rise 38% by 2050.
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Such a dramatic increase in demand means that our local power grids will be under greater and greater stress each year. Yet quixotically, the Biden administration and many state-level utilities have been closing down perfectly functioning power plants of traditional means, primarily coal, in a bid to prop up renewable energy sources. In Indiana, for example, two of the state’s utilities announced plans to go fully coal-free by 2025 and 2035 respectively, even as experts warn that grid reliability issues are already putting the region at risk of blackouts this summer. We absolutely need to maintain reliable baseload energy infrastructure to ensure energy security.
Proponents claim that renewable energy sources are up to the task of replacing traditional electricity-generating sources and providing reliable energy moving forward, but this claim doesn’t hold up under the facts.
More:Op/Ed: How can Indiana have clean energy and meet future electricity needs? Nuclear power.
There are numerous examples across the world of renewable energy sources failing to meet growing demand and producing reliability crises. In the UK, solar panels saw dramatically reduced efficiency because it was too hot outside, forcing the country to reactivate previously shuttered coal plants to continue providing electricity to customers. In China, the government is reinvesting in coal-powered energy because the rise of EV use is putting their power grid under tremendous strain.
The Biden administration’s approach is effectively a double whammy on America’s energy reliability infrastructure. They are increasing demand for electricity usage, while at the same time eliminating reliable sources of energy in favor of renewable technologies that are not yet equipped to meet demand — and won’t be for many years. If we stay on this course, blackouts and brownouts will become a regular disturbance for many Americans.
There is a better way forward that balances innovation and new technologies with maintaining a steady, reliable energy grid. We should continue supporting development of EVs and renewable technologies, but that doesn’t mean they are ready to fully replace traditional power-generating methods like coal.
Instead of reshaping our energy and transportation economies from the top down, the Biden administration should let market forces work naturally, and support an “all of the above” approach that ensures future reliability.
Suzanne Jaworowski is a global energy consultant based in Fishers. She is the former chief of staff in the U.S. Department of Energy's Office of Nuclear Energy and served as an advisor to the director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency in Vienna, Austria.
话题: Joe Biden