Peter Walks for Democracy

If we want to decarbonize our communities, one of our best pathways is to decarbonize the electricity generation sector. But who gets to plug in and in what order? That’s why we have grid operators who regulate which sources of power–solar farms, wind farms, natural gas power plants, nuclear power plants, battery facilities, hydropower plants–get to hook up and supply our power. They have rules and regulations. In the northeast, the biggest grid operator is PJM which includes the District of Columbia and parts or all of 13 states. Pennsylvania is the largest state in PJM and the largest source of electricity generation. In fact, Pennsylvania is the nation’s second biggest electricity exporter.

The American Clean Power Association (ACP), Solar Energy Industries Association, Advanced Energy United, & MAREC Action have penned a joint letter to PJM, the northeast’s largest grid operator, questioning the Reliability Resource Initiative.

In short, they argue the RRI would let dispatchable natural gas & nuclear plants jump the queue, violating principles and rules of fairness and not favoring one fuel or power source over another. The RRI has the potential to increase carbon lock-in & kill solar & wind projects through finance & other delays. Both impacts would harm state & community GHG reduction goals, running in the opposite direction of what we need right now. As they add, delaying renewable energy projects in favor of notoriously difficult-to-complete nuclear projects adds another layer of counter-productivity. Are data centers worth this?

I have to wonder about the RRI in light of the Pennsylvania communities we work with in Penn State’s Local Climate Action Program. Now in our third year, we have served the governments of about 2 million Pennsylvanians. They have concerns about their contribution to climate change. Public opinion overall favors the development of renewable energy. While I cannot speak for these communities, impinging on the decarbonization of the grid runs contrary to the goals they have articulated in climate action plans, efforts to educate their residents about how to draw down greenhouse gases, policies they have passed and programs they have funded, and ways to support business through green power.

A carbon emissions analysis of the deployment of 50 new natural gas & nuclear power plants ahead of in-the-queue solar & wind projects would be welcome.

Inside Climate News has written a good story on this issue.

Read the letter.