Washington Post Blasted Online For Story Claiming Wind And Solar Would Solve Blackouts
Against the background of the Texas blackouts, the Post article went on to cite an October 2021 study from the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at Stanford University, which claimed that a complete switch to 100% renewable energy would cut end-use energy demand by more than half, approximately 57%, and decrease private energy costs by approximately 63%, compared with a “business-as-usual” scenario. Extreme weather events, like the Texas blackouts or the rolling blackouts that affected California throughout the summer of 2020, could be “avoided at a low cost,” The Washington Post wrote. Per the Post, the study claimed that building more alternative energy sources would lower energy demand by 60% in California and 56% in Texas. The study also determined that its predictive model would have enough energy supply to meet demand every 30 seconds.
But the study was conducted based on a model of 2050 and 2051, and the authors make several assumptions about energy infrastructure. First, the researchers imagined that all vehicles by 2050 would be powered either by electricity or by hydrogen fuel cells. Fossil fuel power generators and home heating systems were also replaced by wind turbines, solar panels, and electric heat pumps and hot water heaters. The researchers also added some new geothermal energy sources, but no new hydroelectric power plants. Mark Jacobson, the lead researcher, told the Post that in the team’s prediction, “many homes would also have their own storage and wouldn’t need to rely on the grid as much.” The team also relied on a nationwide, interconnected energy grid to make up for deficiencies in the energy supply, such as less wind or low sunlight during the winter, or in case of a severe weather event like in Texas.