DOCKETED Docket Number: 19-BSTD-03

Project Title: 2022 Energy Code Pre-Rulemaking

TN #: 237613

Document Title: Rob Koslowsky Comments - Unreliable Renewable Energy

Supplies

Description: N/A

Filer: System

Organization: Rob Koslowsky

Submitter Role: Public

Submission Date: 5/3/2021 9:10:25 AM

Docketed Date: 5/3/2021

Comment Received From: Rob Koslowsky Submitted On: 5/3/2021

Docket Number: 19-BSTD-03

Unreliable Renewable Energy Supplies

To Whom It May Concern:

For Docket #: 19-BSTD-03 Project Title: 2022 Energy Code Pre-Rulemaking The power grid is becoming less reliable due to America’s growing dependence on

wind and solar, which, on their own, can’t provide power 24 hours a day, seven days a week, or even when outdoor temperatures change. Coupled with planned

reductions in backup generation capacity, elimination of coal plants, and the shuttering of nuclear power plants, America is becoming a third-world country, at least in terms of energy supply. And a continuous, non-interruptible supply of electricity is basic to the

running of a civil society.

Please repeal the 2019 Building Code making all-electric residential construction a mandate. Furthermore, all-electric mandates should not be made jointly with all-electric automobile (EV) mandates in order to force nighttime charging just to maintain the

state’s electric grid. Therefore, mandatory battery backup systems should not be included in the proposed 2022 Building Code.

Resiliency, choice, flexibility, and safety are best served by allowing residents to enjoy the services of natural gas, gasoline, and electric. The attached May 3, 2021

submission reflects some of the reasons to repeal the EV mandate, forestall any natural gas bans, and exclude mandates for both all-electric construction and proposed

residential battery systems – Unreliable Renewable Energy Supplies_RKK_May 2021.

Thank you for your consideration, ….Rob

Additional submitted attachment is included below.

R.K.KoslowskyUnreliable,IntermittentRenewableEnergySupplies,May2021 1

Unreliable,IntermittentRenewableEnergySupplies“BladesofsomeTexaswindturbinesdidfreezeinplace,butwindpowerisestimatedto

makeuponly7%orsoofthestate’stotalcapacitythistimeofyearinpartbecauseutilitieslowertheirexpectationsforwindgenerationinthewinteringeneral,[makingtheelectric

gridlessreliableinwinterandwheneverthewindscalm].”–BlamingRenewables,DionneSearcey,NewYorkTimes,Feb18,2021

RKKnote:WindtypicallyprovidesTexaswithupto25%ofitselectricsupply."But,afterthelightswentout,gasstovesallowedresidentstoboilwaterandcookfoodwhile

electricapplianceswereuseless."–Texasfreezeraisesquestionsaboutrisksofelectrifyingbuildings,PeterFabris,ContributingEditor,

CodesandStandards,March3,2021ThepowergridisbecominglessreliableduetoAmerica’sgrowingdependenceonwindandsolar,which,ontheirown,can’tprovidepower24hoursaday,sevendaysaweek,orevenwhenoutdoortemperatureschange.Coupledwithplannedreductionsinbackupgenerationcapacity,eliminationofcoalplants,andtheshutteringofnuclearpowerplants,Americaisbecomingathird-worldcountry,atleastintermsofenergysupply.Andacontinuous,non-interruptiblesupplyofelectricityisbasictotherunningofacivilsociety.ThelatestdisasterappearedinTexasasPresident’sDayweekendcametoanend.Itwasreportedlytriggeredby“frozen”turbinebladesnolongerabletoefficientlyspinonwindfarmsthatnormallyprovideupto25percentofthatState’selectricsupply[1].Withnobackupavailable,rotatingblackoutsbegan...

R.K.KoslowskyUnreliable,IntermittentRenewableEnergySupplies,May2021 2

TheextremecoldappearstohavecaughtTexas’shighlydecentralizedelectricitymarketbysurprise.Thisisareplayofthestoryoutwestthispastsummer:SimplyreplacethewordscoldwithheatandTexaswithCaliforniaandyouhavethesamehorrificstoryexperiencedduringmid-2020[2]intheGoldenState.Americaisbecomingthatdreadedthirdworldcountrybecauseofitsobsessionwithrenewableenergyandbadpublicpolicy,whichexcludesabalancedenergyportfoliowithintegratedbackupandcapitalinvestmenttomodernizethedistributiongrid.AsMichaelShellenbergerrecentlytestifiedinCongressandwroteinForbesonApril20,2021,“Californiawouldhaveavoideditsblackoutshaditnotshutdownalargenuclearplantandseveralnaturalgaspowerplantsoverthelastdecade.Texasmayhaveavoidedtheblackoutshadstateregulatorssimplyrequired,orcompensated,naturalgassupplierstowinterizetheirequipmentwhileverifyingthatworkhadbeencompleted.”WhileTexashascometoanover-relianceonwindenergy,Californiahascometoanover-relianceonsolarenergy.Bothtechnologiesarepart-timeprovidersofelectricity.Theyarealsointermittentandunpredictable,makingiteasyforchangesintheweathertocreatechaosontheelectricgrid.

Intermittencyofwindandsolarcanleadtopoweroutages.

R.K.KoslowskyUnreliable,IntermittentRenewableEnergySupplies,May2021 3

HeatPumpsNeedElectricStripstoWorkinColdWeatherTexashasarelativelylargeinstalledbaseofelectricheatpumpstokeepthemwarmwhentemperaturesdipbelow40degreesFahrenheit[3].UnlikeCalifornia,Texashasn’tmandatedtheuseofheatpumps.However,theiruseforspaceheating(orcoolinginthesummer)iscompromised[4]wheneverthebackupelectricheatingstripisactivatedastemperaturesapproachfreezing.Heatpumpsusealotofpowerinfrigidweatherbecauseoftheseheatingstrips.So,inTexas,whilewindturbineswerefreezingandnaturalgassupplieswerelimited[5],demandformoreelectricpowerwassurging.Rotatingblackoutsbegan,whichsoonledtomulti-day-longpoweroutagesandnoheatforresidentsexperiencingsingledigittemperatures.Unfortunately,toomanydiedinTexastryingtostaywarm.Naturalgasheating(fireplaces)would’vekepttheseresidentswarm.ItseemsthatattheFederalandCaliforniastatelevels,plans“tobanishfossilfuelsisagreaterexistentialthreattoAmericansthanclimatechange."Furthermore,Isupportenergydiversityandmakinglivingspacesmoreresilient.Naturalgasisanotherexampleofcleanenergy,whilepossessingthebenefitsofoperatingpredictablyandbeingabletobestoredforusewhendemandrises.Thebyproductsofcombustingnaturalgasforspaceheatingiscarbondioxideandwater,neitherofwhichisapollutantinanyway,shape,orform.Plantsusecarbondioxidetosurviveandweexhaleitasabyproductoflivingtoo.Problemsonlyarise,ashappenedlastsummerinCaliforniaandthiswinterinTexas,whenpressuretoeliminateallcarbon-basedfuelsandnuclearpowerwinsovercommonsense.Let’skeepthelightsonandtheheatblowing,evenifthewindturbinesaren’tspinningorthesunisn’tshining.---------------------“Everytimewehavechallengeswiththegrid,whetherit’sinCaliforniathispastsummerorTexasrightnow,peopletrytoweaponizethisfortheirpetproject,whichis[intermittentrenewableenergy],”saidLeahStokes,anassistantprofessorofpoliticalscienceatUCSanta

Barbara.“Ourinfrastructurecannothandleextremeweatherevents,whichthese[intermittentrenewableenergysources]areironicallycausing.”]

–BlamingRenewables,DionneSearcey,NewYorkTimes,Feb18,2021Fulldisclosure:Intheabovequote,IsimplyreplacedfossilfuelswithintermittentrenewableenergysourcesandthenStokes’commentmakesmoresense.Besides,whywouldaNewYorkTimesreporter

quoteapoliticalscientistinsteadofanengineerorgridoperator?“TheunderlyingstoryofwhathappenedinTexas[isthatthestate]chosenottoprovide

powercompanieswithincentivestoinstallreservecapacitytodealwithpossibleemergencies.Thismadepowercheaperinnormaltimes,butleftthesystemvulnerable

whenthingswentwrong.”

–PaulKrugman,NewYorkTimes,February21,2021[RKK:AverysimilarsituationexistsinCalifornia:littlereservecapacityandanover-relianceonsolar,whichisintermittent,unreliable,andcontributestomanybrownouts.Intermsoftheelectricgrid,it’s

evenworseinthesummerwhenCalifornianalsoexperienceblackoutsandinthefall,PSPSs.]

R.K.KoslowskyUnreliable,IntermittentRenewableEnergySupplies,May2021 4

“Wealthspentonweather-dependentrenewablesiswealthnotspentmakingthegridmorereliantorresilientbymaintainingandweatherizingreliablenuclearornaturalgasplants.Moneythatcouldhavegonetomakingelectricalgridsmorereliablethusinsteadwentto

payfortheequipmentthatmadethemmorefragile.”

–MichaelShellenberger,Forbes,April20,2021

-----------------[1]Theaccumulationoficeonwindturbinebladescandistorttheiraerodynamics,causingthemtogeneratemuchlesspower:“Turbinesincolderplacesaretypicallyequippedwithde-icingandothertools,suchasbuilt-inheating.InTexas,wheretheweatherisalmostneverthiscold,theyusuallyarenot.‘Coldweatherkitscankeep[windturbines]operatingwhentemperaturesplunge.ThisisthenormincolderstatesandinEurope,’saidSamuelBrock,aspokesmanfortheAmericanCleanPowerAssociation.‘HistoricallyinTexas,giventhewarmclimate,ithasn’tbeennecessary.’”WhyWindTurbinesInColdClimatesDon’tFreeze:De-IcingAndCarbonFiber,ScottCarpenter,Forbes,February16,2021.[2]AccordingtoSusanShelley,California“can’trunonjustsunshineandbreezes.”Sheadds,“AfewdaysbeforethelightswentoutinTexas,theCaliforniaPublicUtilitiesCommissionquietlyauthorizedthestate’slargestinvestor-ownedutilitiestopurchasemorepoweroverthenextfewmonthstoavoidrollingblackoutsthissummer.LastAugust,morethan800,000peoplewereleftwithoutelectricityduringaheatwave.We’recourtingdisasterinCalifornia,shuttingdownsteadyandreliablesourcesofelectricitysuchasnuclearplants,decommissioningcoal-burningplantsandmakingfrown-yfacesatnaturalgasandhydroelectricpower.Utilitieshavebeenmandatedbystatelawtopurchaseanever-greatershareofsolarandwindpower.Andjustwhendemandforpowerpeaks,thesungoesdown.”Source:ThePressDemocrat,February22,2021,p.A10.[3]ThepriceofelectricityinTexasisalmosthalfthepriceofelectricitypaidbyCalifornians,andthiswasbeforethelatest,almost10percent,increaseforSonomaCleanPowercustomers:https://www.thebalancesmb.com/most-expensive-and-cheapest-electricity-by-state-4177753.Thisisonereason,besidesthewarmerclimate,forsomeusersofelectricityinTexasandtheSouth,ingeneral,touseheat-pumpsforheatinginsteadofgasfurnaces.[4]Assumingthereisabackupelectricheatingstripinstalledinahome’sheatpump,theamountofpowerdrawndefeatsthepurposeofenergyefficiency.Theheatingstripsfeatureresistivecoils,thesameonesbannedforuseinCaliforniastovetopappliancesinfavorofinductionovensorinductioncooktops.Furthermore,iftheoptionalheatingstripisnotequippedduringinstallation,thelivingspacewillnotheatupduringthosecolddays.Thequestionremains,“HowmanyofthoseTexasheatpumpsareequippedwithheatingstrips?”[5]“ERCOTsaidthesupplyofnaturalgastopowerplantsisbeinglimitedandsomewindturbinesarefrozen.So,keepingupwiththeamountofpowerbeingusedacrossTexasisevenmoredifficult.”–ABCNews,Dallas,February17,2021However,bothnaturalgasandnuclearpowerplantsoutperformedtheirwindcounterparts:

R.K.KoslowskyUnreliable,IntermittentRenewableEnergySupplies,May2021 5

“SomeenergyexpertsnotedthatTexasregulatorshadnotexpectedtorelyuponwindenergytoprovidemuchelectricityduringthecoldsnap,”MichaelShellenbergerwrites,“buttheimplicationofthisobservationwasleftunsaid,whichisthatweather-dependentenergysourcesareuniquelyill-suitedtopowersocietiesduringextremeweatherevents.”Headds,“Noteverybodyisequallyvulnerabletoblackouts,extremeweather,andextremeelectricityprices.Theinvestorswhodevelopsolarandwindsuppliescanonlydosobecausethestateandfederallawsallowthemtosocializetherisksofunreliability.”