Insiders warn shifting to green energy could disrupt power grid reliability

12/06/2023 / By Belle Carter

A major power grid operator that supplies energy to millions in the mid-Atlantic region has raised concerns about the impending shutdown of the Brandon Shores coal power plant near Baltimore, Maryland.

PJM Interconnection, which coordinates the movement of wholesale electricity and ensures power supplies for 65 million people in all or parts of 13 states and the District of Columbia, said that the shutdown could severely disrupt the reliability of the region’s power grid.

Regional transmission organization spokesman Jeff Shields direly alerted further that the stoppage of the coal plant’s operations would create an imbalance in the grid. There could be a severe voltage drop and thermal violations across seven PJM zones that could result from the plant’s deactivation and could lead to widespread reliability risks in Baltimore and surrounding areas, he added. What can be done, according to Shields, is to get an ” urgent upgrade of the transmission system in order to maintain reliability and the flow of power to the 65 million people we serve.” Otherwise, the resulting scenario will be catastrophic.

This closure, which was planned for June 2025 by the coal plant’s operator, Texas-based Talen Energy, is part of a settlement with the American environmental organization Sierra Club. Talen Energy Corp. former President and CEO Ralph Alexander said that the firm agreed with the nonprofit to close Brandon Shores and two other major coal plants in the region as part of the company’s transition to green energy and its broader environmental, social and governance (ESG)-focused future. However, reports indicated that the move is to attempt to avoid any future litigation.

Moreover, Republican Representative Andy Harris (R-MD) cautioned of the closure: “Closing an efficient, low-cost energy producing plant like Brandon Shores is just one more way America is surrendering our energy advantage to China and Russia. He added: “It is foolish to think that anything will come of this short-sighted energy policy, cooked up by the out-of-touch liberals who run Maryland, other than even more expensive electricity bills for hard-working, over-taxed Maryland families.”

“The loss of power poses a real danger to the well-being and livelihoods of Maryland families and businesses,” Christopher Summers, president of the Maryland Public Policy Institute, said. “Until these current risks to our grid are fully dealt with, it’s a mistake to close reliable, baseload power plants too soon. That should be a concern to consumers in Maryland and businesses in Maryland that rely on dependable power.”

The narrative of shifting to only “green energy” sources by President Joe Biden’s administration has been on full roll-out. In fact, the government has been reported to be quietly working on a settlement with groups in the State of Washington who are seeking to tear down a key power source there, which includes four different hydroelectric dams. This move is also a long-running project of the Sierra Club, which has outright stated that its goal is the protection of “wild salmon” in the Columbia Basin.

“Damn the human beings who might suffer or die due to such premature shutdowns with filings jointly submitted by the federal government and eco groups requesting a multiyear pause on the litigation to allow for the implementation of the package as soon as Dec. 15, 2023,” Stefan Stanford of All News Pipeline commented as he pointed out how the Big Government collude with all agencies to shut down America’s power supplies “in a mad rush towards appeasing environmental groups without first getting the proper replacements in place.” (Related: BLINDED by MONEY: Wind farms are KILLING eagles and whales, but the green cult ignores reality as it pockets millions in donations.)

Maryland sticks to its Green Deal narrative

Maryland’s local government maintains its stance that the state’s power grid should be entirely powered by green energy by 2035 through reducing energy consumption and “supercharging investments” in wind and solar developments.

Democratic Gov. Wes Moore, who entered office in January, remains committed to a vision for Maryland’s future that includes 100 percent clean energy. “[This is] a commitment that will bring countless jobs and hundreds of millions in economic investment across the state,” Carter Elliott, a spokesperson for Moore, told Fox News Digital. “Earlier this year, the governor was proud to sign the POWER Act and partner with Orsted to announce Maryland’s First Offshore Wind Turbine Component Center at Tradepoint Atlantic.”

Elliott added that Orsted’s projects will support the creation of thousands of jobs in Maryland, power nearly 300,000 homes with renewable energy and help the state achieve its goals of 8.5 gigawatts of offshore wind energy by 2031. “At every opportunity, the governor has worked aggressively to help Maryland meet its energy goals and he will continue to lead the state with that goal at the top of his mind while maintaining grid reliability and protecting ratepayers,” the spokesman further stated.

Maryland has pursued some of the nation’s most aggressive clean energy goals. The state last year also enacted the Climate Solutions Now Act, which requires the Old Line State to achieve a state-level “net zero” greenhouse emissions mandate by 2045.

Check out GreenDeal.news for more stories on Biden’s aggressive campaign to go green.