In a hilarious bit of irony:
California will allow PG&E Corp. to use diesel-powered mobile generators to keep some electricity flowing when the utility proactively cuts power to prevent live wires from sparking fires in high wind.
State regulators signed off Thursday on PG&E’s plan to use about 450 megawatts of diesel generation to power homes, businesses, hospitals and other critical facilities as part of the utility’s effort to reduce disruptions during the shutoffs.
After decades of neglect to both its electrical distribution and forest management, the tinderbox, known as California, continues to amuse.
Of course the virtue signaling must continue.
PG&E said it considered more environmentally-friendly options but they proved too costly or impractical to deploy in time this year. The company said its mobile generators can use fuel made from vegetable oil and that it will continue to explore cleaner alternatives for the coming years.
Full article can be found here.
HT/shrnfr
I am glad I never worked for poorly managed ENRON or PG&E because I am enjoying a pension from a well managed company. So while I am not defending those companies most of the blame for power problems in California belongs to the people of California who elect idiots.
I worked at a nuke plant in California that closed 30 years ago. Maybe California is not smart enough as a collective to have nuclear power.
Has PG&E thought about keeping Diablo Canyon, a well-maintained nuclear plant that generates ~10%of Califs electric, running after their ASTONISHINGLY DUMB shutdown date:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diablo_Canyon_Power_Plant#Closure_in_2024%E2%80%932025
Nah. Too easy!
Ok, but which regulator signed off on this, the Public Utilities Commission? Fine for them, but those diesel generators are going to require stationary permits from the local air districts, which means if they dont have the permit yet they’re not going to have it before the summer peak hits. Even a Tier 4 Final engine may not meet the BACT requirement, and if it does it will still take time to demonstrate that. Offsets are still a requirement in any non-attainment area, and public notice and comment periods are still a thing. You might try to argue for the 60-day maintenance and repair period allowed under the state portable equipment registration program, which bypasses stationary permitting, but that merely raises the question of what, exactly, is being maintained and repaired? And I very much doubt that 60 days is going to be long enough anyway. Ultimately, while PUC may be happy, I don’t see the air districts waving this one through.