Electrical-grid operators are warning Michigan residents that blackouts could be needed during the hot summer months, with a hurried changeover to renewable energy sources at the forefront of the issue.
“Our leaders need to be real cognizant of the day-to-day impact,” Joe Trotter, the Energy, Environment, and Agriculture Task Force director for the American Legislative Exchange Council, said of switching to renewable energy when reached by Fox News. “It’s great to look at the future, but the present has a huge impact on their constituencies.”
Trotter’s concerns come after the Midcontinent Independent System Operator’s seasonal assessment found “capacity shortfalls in both the north and central regions of MISO… leaving those areas at increased risk of temporary, controlled outages to preserve the integrity of the bulk electric system,” JT Smith, the MISO executive director, told NPR earlier this week.
That reality could lead to controlled outages in Michigan this summer, a step MISO said has never been taken in the state before.
MISO said an unusually hot summer in the state will stress the grid, with MISO projecting a peak forecast of 124 gigawatts, higher than the current 119 GW of available power generation.
But hot weather isn’t the only reason Michigan could face an electrical shortfall this summer, with Trotter telling Fox News that too many traditional power plants are being shut down as grid operators attempt to switch over to renewable sources of energy.
“With the rise of solar and wind, it’s highly dependent on external factors that are not controllable,” Trotter said.
Solar and wind power, favorites of those hoping to switch the country over to greener sources of energy, don’t have the capability to generate power 24 hours a day. To alleviate this issue, batteries that can store energy for later use are being developed. But Trotter noted technology does not currently have the capacity to meet demand, while prices for the batteries are far outpacing traditional power generation sources such as natural gas.