Cuomo’s anti-fossil fuel policies might be causing blackouts

Cuomo’s Power Outage Portent: Heat-wave blackouts are more likely thanks to his war on fossil fuels. WSJ editorial. Excerpts: 

"Earlier this year the utility warned that Mr. Cuomo’s regulatory blockade on new gas pipelines would require it to halt natural-gas hook-ups and development in the suburbs north of New York City. Doesn’t the utility know better than to expose the consequences of its overseers’ destructive policies to the public? Now Mr. Cuomo is teeing up Con Edison for the blame when his energy policies cause more catastrophic failures.

A new state law the Governor signed last week requires 70% of state electricity to come from renewables by 2030 and 100% from “carbon-free” sources by 2040. Meantime, the Governor has blocked three natural gas pipelines and mandated the premature shutdown of the Indian Point nuclear plant that supplies a quarter of New York City’s power.

Last year the Independent System Operator New England, a nonprofit that manages the transmission grid for New England, warned that due to pipeline constraints the power system would be unable “to meet electricity demand and maintain reliability without some degree of emergency actions.” As a result, it could have to impose “rolling blackouts or controlled outages that disconnect blocks of customers sequentially.” New York is next.

Renewables made up about 25% of New York electricity last year, though only 5% came from wind and solar while most of the rest was generated by dams. The left proclaims that solar and wind prices have fallen and are now competitive with fossil fuels, but only thanks to federal subsidies that reduce costs by 15% to 30%.

Wholesale prices also don’t take into account that solar and wind are intermittent and therefore require backup power. To ensure reliable power upstate, Mr. Cuomo has put New Yorkers on the hook for $7.6 billion to rescue three nuclear plants upstate that were struggling against subsidized renewables and cheaper natural gas.

The bigger power problem is in New York City and its suburbs. Mr. Cuomo is pushing more offshore wind, which even with federal subsidies is 2.5 times more expensive than natural gas. Last week the Governor announced deals with two offshore wind developers for turbines off Long Island, but who knows if they will ever be completed."

"Nuclear and natural gas can be ramped up during periods of high demand such as storms and heat waves. Wind and solar can’t. They also put more strain on the grid."