Will the Green New Deal work? Ask California.
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Sen. Ed Markey just outlined their estimated $93 trillion plan for a Green New Deal. It aims to achieve net-zero greenhouse gas emissions in only a decade by transitioning to renewable energy sources.
While it has a catchy name, the Green New Deal isn't much of a "deal" at all. Here in California, aspects of the Green New Deal have substantially slowed housing construction, robbing California's lower- and middle-class families of the wealth accumulation they might achieve through homeownership and forcing many state residents to live farther from work while simultaneously increasing the price they pay for gas and increasing GHG emissions.
According to data compiled by the California Center for Jobs and the Economy, average annual electricity bills for California residents are up $236 since 2010, when the Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006 was fully implemented. While costs are up, we haven't seen the types of job growth promised by the deal's proponents. In fact, most "green jobs" are the result of simply reclassifying existing jobs.
This makes it especially ironic that state regulators are doing their best to take natural-gas power plants offline across the state. Last year, state leaders committed California to a 60-percent renewable energy target by 2030 -- and zero emissions by 2045.
We must have an affordable and reliable energy supply. Keeping California's lights on requires a grid that can ramp-up electricity generation at high-demand times, and quickly supply energy to those who need it.
That is why a diversified energy portfolio, including natural gas, is so important to the state's energy future. Natural gas creates electricity that can be dispatched quickly by plant operators.
The same can't be said about wind and solar -- as both rely on natural elements that are impossible to predict.
Consider last summer's heatwave. On July 6, energy demand peaked from about 5pm to 7pm at 45,000 megawatts, according to a Manhattan Institute scholar.
However, wind-energy production had peaked at around 12am that morning and solar was at its highest around 1:25pm. By 10pm, when electricity demand was still abnormally high at 40,000 megawatts, solar production and wind generation stood at zero and 2,700 megawatts, respectively.
This is why many Californians are now subject to Time-of-Day rates, paying more for electricity during peak hours, when solar and wind production is non-existent. As California officials continue to push for more gas-fired plant closures, which used to provide power during these demand spikes, costs will continue to increase for working Californians across the state.
Between 2017 and 2018, California's natural-gas power-generation capacity decreased. This drop-off put the state and our economy at "increased risk" of power shortages, according to California's grid operator.
Of course, proponents of California's move toward renewables maintain that batteries are the key to making wind and solar more reliable. But the mass energy-storage technologies they have in mind simply don't exist.
Here's a better idea: provide residents with the lowest-cost choices for power they need to keep their homes livable and their costs affordable.
Stop talking about the unrealistic Green New Deal and let's start talking about a realistic energy future that harnesses everything we have -- sun, wind, and fuels like natural gas -- to provide the most reliable and lowest-cost energy for not just California, but the entire nation.
Robert C. Lapsley is president of the California Business Roundtable, a non-partisan organization comprised of the senior executive leadership of the major employers throughout the state – with a combined workforce of more than half a million employees. Visit CBRT's website at www.cbrt.org. This piece originally ran in the San Francisco Chronicle.
