The Double Disaster We Must Avoid — Blackouts During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Developed countries have traditionally built their power grids and production assets with a certain amount of spare capacity in mind. The reason was simple. Extraordinary circumstances require extraordinary capacities and it was their job to calculate how extraordinary certain scenarios were. They built overcapacity according to their results. Now, we have degraded our built-up overcapacity and used it up as a hidden subsidy to cover up renewable intermittency. The flicker factor brought in strains the grid and other assets to the breaking point in normal times. We started to pretend that extraordinary times cannot happen again. Until they – CAN. Welcome to renewable wonderland. It’s a cold, dark place – especially when you are alone.

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