About community choice energy aggregators: They are nothing more than a middleman for your electric power. The costs can increase and already have in some locations.
Unless there are transmission lines connected to distribution lines connected directly to your house, you receive the same combination of energy sources as I do in SLO County, which does not subscribe to the community choice energy aggregator. Renewables are not as useful as most believe. Think about it; when the sun doesn’t shine and the wind doesn’t blow, the power is interrupted. When this occurs, sources of reliable power need to be available and increased. There is no way renewables could ever provide 100 percent of our power. It’s not the hope for the future. There is no way the aggregators can guarantee how much renewable energy you are receiving.
What isn’t generally known by the public is that only 15 to 20 percent of solar power is actually efficient. The remaining 80 to 85 percent rises and increases the heat in the atmosphere as infrared light. There is no perfect solution. No source of energy has zero drawbacks.
CALISO, the California Independent System Operator, constantly monitors the demand and availability of power. The ever-changing availability of wind and solar creates a challenge to fill the gap to avoid blackouts. California experienced occasional blackouts in 2020 due to a lack of instant availability of replaceable power. No wind, no sun, no power. To fill the gap created by the loss of the intermittent power, a source or sources of sustainable power needs to be available to take over. It’s a huge challenge for CALISO to juggle the power sources to keep the grid steady and able to deliver the ever-changing demand for electricity.
At the onset of community choice aggregators, each City Council was given the authority to choose yes or no. The residents were not given a choice, except in the very beginning to reject. If anyone wants to opt out after a certain amount of time, they are finding it very difficult, which includes a sizable fee. Atascadero realized all the downsides in the beginning.
Do the math. If wind and solar are only intermittent, it can’t possibly be expected to provide more than what is available, which at best it is just now and then. The huge $50 million battery storage facility in Tehachapi is equipped to provide only four hours of backup energy before it needs recharging.
As mentioned above, there is no perfect solution to the challenges we face with the ongoing concerns for clean energy.
Ellie Ripley
Arroyo Grande
This article appears in Mar 11-21, 2021.
OK, nice try Ellie…Respectfully, I disagree. Right now energy storage systems are being developed that will store renewable energy from solar, wind, etc. Read about Vanadium based battery flow systems and SSBT’s that will change the face of how we produce and store electricity…Ironically, the former PGE plant in Morro Bay may become a huge battery system to store electricity. The future is now and let’s get on board. Community Choice is just the beginning of the end of fossil fuel and nuclear based energy.
No Eric. Fossil fuels and nuclear FOREVER! The misleading narrative that nuclear and fossil fuel power is detrimental and limited is crap fed to us by folks who want POWER, not to turn on their lights but to tell you and I what to do. ALL power generating sources should be utilized in sync with each other, not in lieu of one another. Quit being led by the nose-ring by the fear mongering eco-leftists seeking to control our world with their BS. Maybe get a GAS powered generator of your own and fire it up next time there is a power outage near you and sell access to an extension cord, OR buy 5 of them and start your own emergency power supply source. Hell I’m going to do that myself! And I will donate a portion of my earnings to KEEP DIABLO OPEN!!!!
Fossil fuel and nuclear are a thing of the past. Even PG&E understands that, which is why they decided to shut down Diablo Canyon. Why are so many resisting change to a better system? These nay-sayers are what is preventing California (and the rest of the US) to go 100% renewable. Incidentally, our tiny solar power system with 3 Powerwalls provides electricity to the 4 residences on our ranch, our well pump AND still has excess power to give to PG&E.