Two new reports argue that renewable energy and battery storage can make so-called peaker plants obsolete.
Excerpt from this story from Grist:
As the U.S. approaches another scorching summer, the power grid will be tested once again. Energy use typically spikes during heat waves due to the massive amount of electricity required by widespread air conditioning. This extra demand is met by so-called peaker plants, power plants that typically only run during these periods of peak demand. These plants can emit harmful pollutants like fine particulate matter, nitrogen oxides, and sulfur dioxide into nearby communities — which are often low-income neighborhoods of color.
A new report has found that New Yorkers over the last decade have paid more than $4.5 billion in electricity bills to the private owners of the city’s peaker plants, just to keep those plants online in case they’re needed — even though they only operate between 90 and 500 hours a year. Even at the upper limit, that’s less than three weeks. This all means that the price tag for peak electricity in the Big Apple is 1300 percent higher than the average cost of electricity in the state.
The new report, entitled “Dirty Energy, Big Money,” was published by the PEAK Coalition, which consists of New York City environmental justice groups NYC-EJA, UPROSE, and The Point CDC, as well as New York Lawyers for the Public Interest and Clean Energy Group.....These polluting plants are located in low-income neighborhoods of color, such as Brooklyn’s Sunset Park, a predominantly Chinese and Latino neighborhood, and the South Bronx, the country’s poorest congressional district and a predominantly black and brown neighborhood.
It’s not just New York City. A similar analysis released this month by Physicians, Scientists, and Engineers for Healthy Energy (PSE) shows that half of California’s 80 gas-fired peaker plants are located in what the state itself calls “disadvantaged communities,” based on socioeconomic, environmental, and health outcomes. California peaker plants disproportionately operate on days when smog levels already exceed federal standards, exacerbating local air quality and public health risks, according to the report. PSE said that it plans to release more results and data from other states such as Massachusetts, New Jersey, Texas, Florida, Nevada, New Mexico, and Arizona this month.
The reports argue that renewable energy and battery storage are the best alternatives to replace fossil fuel-fired peaker plants.
