At the end of August the California, the US state with the largest number of inhabitants, was forced to build a series of scheduled blackouts that have deprived millions of people of electricity. The goal was reduce pressure on the network, which due to the record heat recorded in recent days – and therefore the massive use of air conditioners – had reached the limit of its load capacity. Second Head grain, president of Fise Assoambiente and Sorgenia (former PDS deputy and president of Enel), at the origin of the emergency is the fact that California has relied on an intermittent generation system from renewable energy sources (mainly photovoltaic, but also wind) which covers a third of the total needs but it is not assisted by adequate reserve capacity. The mistake, therefore, was to reduce the availability of nuclear energy and natural gas over the years.
For these reasons, in an article published on energy magazine. itTesta writes that California is “experiencing what that means the religion of renewables in the absence of common sense”. In 2006, the US state's generation capacity was higher than it is today, and over the years the Californian electricity grid has weakened, causing various malfunctions, the most sensational of which is certainly the great blackout of 2011.
Testa also points out that the criticisms of some observers focus on the decision of shut down nuclear power plants of California. A particular case is that of the plant Diablo Canyon, which has not yet been shut down and supplies about 10% of the electricity needed by the entire state. Many wonder what the current situation would be if the plant had already been closed, as requested by various groups.
“Now California will have to put its hand to a different regulation that favors investments in reserve capacity – concludes Testa – This will naturally mean higher bills. Something not appreciated by Californian consumers”.
