Electricity’s Sobering Future as Demand Surges
— Llewellyn King
WASHINGTON DC, UNITED STATES, September 27, 2022 /EINPresswire.com/ — An assessment of the future electricity supply for the United States is sobering. The portents aren’t good.
Even as hurricanes Ian in Florida and Fiona in Atlantic Canada show us the vulnerability of electricity delivery systems — as weather events become more severe and less predictable — we are, as a nation, planning to ask much more of the electricity system.
The drive to electrify everything, from all ground transportation to some aviation, and to electrify heavy industry, from cement making to steel production, requires a substantial new, dependable electricity supply. Will it be there?
That is the big question before a group of experts, assembled by journalist Llewellyn King for the next United States Energy Association virtual press briefing on Friday, Sept. 30, at 11 a.m. Eastern Time.
In these briefings, a panel of senior journalists questions a panel of experts on an issue. This one is whether the electric utilities can deliver a doubling of demand by 2050 — as widely forecast — without major new transmission line additions and more power generation.
Also in play is the future of natural gas, according to King. The Biden administration and governments worldwide are anxious to phase out fossil fuels and to reach net-zero carbon emissions. Yet gas is still the workhorse of the utilities, generating 38 percent of U.S. electricity, while coal, a greater polluter, still accounts for 22 percent of generation.
King noted that Texas squeaked by with barely a megawatt to spare this summer, and California had to appeal to its consumers to get through it.
Looking to this troubled electricity future at the USEA press briefing, which will be held on Zoom, are these experts:
Jigar Shah, Director, Loan Programs Office, DOE
Robert Rowe, President, Northwestern Energy
Matthew Lind, Director, 1898 & Co., part of Burns and McDonnell
David Naylor, President, Rayburn Country Electric Cooperative
Jim Matheson, President, NRECA
They will be questioned by these distinguished journalists:
Jennifer Hiller, The Wall Street Journal
Matt Chester, Energy Central
Robert Walton, Utility Dive
Ken Silverstein, Forbes
Rod Kuckro, Freelance
Sheila Hollis, USEA acting executive director will launch the briefing, and King will moderate.
All are welcome: the press, USEA members, and the public. A recording will be available on the USEA website https://www.usea.org.
Register here: https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_Z5ZwlKkLSaqp_WSVPx6QtA
Llewellyn King
White House Media LLC
+1 2024412702
whchronicle@gmail.com
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