We must move fast to avert a national electricity crisis
Years of misguided climate policy have pushed America to the brink of an electricity crisis.
Fossil fuel plants are retiring faster than renewable sources can replace them, at the same time as electricity demand is soaring from AI data centers and the push to electrify everything from vehicles to appliances. Congress and the new administration will have to move fast to avert what could be years of soaring prices and dangerous blackouts.
The scale of the looming capacity shortfall is staggering. Coal plants representing more than 15 percent of America’s electrical generation are expected to close by 2032, just as demand is expected to climb by at least 15 percent. That’s a potential shortfall of 30 percent of the 1,200 Gigawatts of generation capacity that could be needed by 2030, the equivalent of 400 average-sized nuclear plants.
Nonsense, say environmentalists. Despite the retirement of 8.5 GW of coal capacity last year, the nation’s grid grew by 8.4 GW because of the addition of 13.3 GW of solar and 4.3 GW of battery capacity. Shouldn't that solve the problem?
Unfortunately, no. The new........
© The Hill
