A report by the operations monitor of the North American electricity grid, issued today, raises a large yellow caution flag over climate policy initiatives that would require a massive change in the nation's power and transmission infrastructure. A task force on climate change formed by North American Electric Reliability Corp. urges that policymakers not count on large amounts of renewable energy, demand reduction from smart grid systems or new storage technologies before they prove they can be worked onto the grid without endangering the system's reliability. Deep cuts in generators' greenhouse gas emissions require an unprecedented transformation from current generation, says Mark Lauby, NERC's director of reliability assessment and performance analysis. "One of our main concerns is looking at the technology and realizing this is a 1-million-megawatt system. What kind of time is required to integrate new technologies?" Lauby said in an interview.

See the New York Times story

No comments.