(RightWing.org) – President Biden’s green agenda threatens to push up energy prices and force Americans to buy expensive electric vehicles (EVs) that lack range, lose value quickly, and have a habit of catching fire. None of this is good for the average person. However, experts are warning that it could actually be a lot worse. The president’s obsession with building a futuristic green energy network is putting the electricity system we do have in danger of collapse.
Biden’s Green Plans “Too Ambitious”
For decades, governments have failed to invest in the US electricity grid despite growing demand for electricity. That’s exposed us to various risks, including the possibility of a solar flare burning out large parts of the network. Biden’s green plans have turbocharged the danger. A large-scale switch from fossil fuels to electric power — especially replacing all our cars and trucks with EVs — will increase demand for electricity far above what it is now, and we simply don’t have the infrastructure to cope with that.
PJM, the largest power grid operator in the US, has been warning for well over a year that demand for electricity is growing faster than it would be able to expand its generating capacity — and, even worse, that capacity is actually falling as older power stations are retired. A PJM report dated February 2023 warns that by 2030 the company is likely to have shut down 40 GW of fossil-fueled power plants. Over the same period, it will add a maximum of 31 GW of new generation. That isn’t enough to maintain existing capacity; meanwhile, demand is growing at 1.4% per year.
Biden seems determined to transform the US energy system at breakneck speed. Even members of his own administration are worried that the planned pace is unrealistic. Power and energy companies are adamant that if they retire old plants on Biden’s schedule there’s no way they can replace them fast enough to break even. The president, ignoring the warnings, has now signed legislation that commits power companies to retire 60% of current US generation capacity.
One problem is that most renewable energy is dependent on the weather, in ways that don’t mesh with power demand. Electricity consumption goes up when it’s cold and dark — just when renewables are at their lowest output. If Biden pushes ahead with shutting down old power plants while continuing to push EVs as replacements for gas-powered cars, experts warn we’re going to end up facing brownouts and blackouts along with sharp rises in electricity prices.
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