Energy Secretary Rick Perry isn’t sure about the solar industry; if they cannot prove- in the next 60 days- that they aren’t destroying the electric supply of the U.S., he plans to start dismantling their federal infrastructure. Oh. My.

From the article:

“Reports out of Washington say Perry, who oversaw enormous growth in the wind industry in the oil-producing state of Texas while governor, has initiated a 60-day review of federal policies that support renewable energy, with an eye toward bolstering the myth that solar produces an unstable grid.”

We here at Health Nut News are huge proponents of the solar industry. Taking a cue from a number of countries who are currently transitioning to renewable energy, Perry should be able to clearly see that using sources like solar could save taxpayers serious money. And, it’s much easier for grid operators to plan for shifts in wind and solar output (thanks to weather predictions) than to plan for large power plants (like nuclear plants) going down unexpectedly.

  • Denmark- they use the highest portion of wind and solar of any nation on earth. They also have the 2nd-most stable grid in Europe, behind Luxembourg.
  • Germany- this country is one of the most progressive in terms of renewable energy and are an early solar adopter. They also have a more stable grid than the US.

On Friday, Perry sent a memo to his chief of staff. Thanks to Bloomberg News, we have a copy of it:

“We are blessed as a nation to have an abundance of domestic energy resources, such as coal, natural gas, nuclear and hydroelectric, all of which provide affordable baseload power and contribute to a stable, reliable and resilient grid. But in recent years, grid experts have highlighted the diminishing diversity of our nation’s electric generation mix and what that could mean for baseload power and grid resilience.”

Also in the memo, Perry requests his chief of staff to figure out what “regulatory burdens, subsidies, and tax policies” are forcing what he calls the “premature” closing of coal plants across the country. (WHAT?)

At issue for Perry is the Trump Administrations new direction; they want to eliminate any and all regulations that might harm U.S. businesses or keep corporations from hiring more people.

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Regardless of what the study might find, “the portion of U.S. electricity from coal has been declining for over a decade, as the nation moves from coal to gas generation.” It really is long past time for us to move in the direction of renewable energy. There’s simply no way that an honest study will find that solar is eroding electricity production and creating grid instability. In fact, a recent report by SNL Energy found that most U.S. utilities “would still close coal-fired generation plants to the tune of 20.5 TWh in 2017 alone.”

Source: PV Magazine