Pray for wind… or freeze.
by Joseph Sacco
Minnesota residents faced a harsh reality of renewable energy when the wind didn’t blow. Are you ready for the Green New Deal?
Living green sounds great to the Left. That is, until reality hits that idea with a solid right hook. The current dream of AOC and her ilk that are pushing the Green New Deal is to move the U.S. power grid to only renewable energy sources.
What these pipe dreams usually fail to take into account is the times when whatever is powering said power grid, sun, water, or wind, doesn’t show up like it is supposed to. 100 percent renewable energy advocates usually wave this off as if it makes no difference.
However, Minnesota residents found out first hand just how difficult life can be when the power grid relies too heavily on renewables.
During the recent polar vortex, which featured brutally cold overnight temperatures and affected many in the Mid-West, residents in central Minnesota were urged by the power company to turn down thermostats and avoid the use of hot water.
As John Hinderaker of Powerline explained:
The wind wasn’t blowing. Utilities pair natural gas plants with wind farms, in order to burn gas, which can be ramped up and down more quickly than coal, when the wind isn’t blowing.
Minnesota, like several states, utilizes natural gas plants to put power on the grid. But when there isn’t wind to spin turbines, the natural gas power plants cannot supply enough power for both electricity and heating of residential homes.
This is the nightmare that the Green New Deal promises all Americans. The fanaticism of the Left to control all aspects of citizen’s lives will cause more problems such as the residents of central Minnesota experienced if left unchecked.
Green energy advocates also neglect to mention that renewable energies are wildly inefficient.
In Idaho there has been an effort to install windmills to augment the grid. But even in a state that is as windy as Idaho, there are still times when the wind refuses to blow. Thankfully, we rely much more on hydroelectric power for most of the state and it suits us well.
I do not want to pray that the wind blows enough every day just so I can heat my home in the middle of winter.
