Houston storm shows the downsides of forced electrification

We live in a world where more and more devices require charging, and nothing shows this better than the recent storm that hit Houston, where thousands of residents are still without power.

Houstonians with electric stoves cannot cook, residents with electric water heaters lack hot water, and those with electric cars cannot charge it.

The range of an electric vehicle without electricity is zero. However, President Joe Biden’s Environmental Protection Agency and Department of Transportation require that 70% of new cars and 25% of new trucks sold in 2032 be electric. Imagine what state Houston would be in if the number of electric vehicles on the road today met these standards.

Biden’s Department of Energy has issued final rules stating that by 2028, most furnaces sold must be electric, and by 2029, most water heaters. Had these policies been fully implemented, Houstonians would be worse off today. Not only are these devices more expensive, but they do not operate without electricity, unlike natural gas stoves and water heaters.

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The latest report from the Energy Research Institute, released earlier this month, shows that the United States has 4 trillion cubic feet of natural gas, enough to last 130 years; 1.7 trillion barrels of oil, more than five times Saudi Arabia’s reserves, will last for 227 years; and 470 billion short tons of coal, enough to last 485 years, or 50% more than Russia. All of this can be recovered using current technology, and as technology advances, America’s resources will increase.

Even though America has centuries of reserves, the Biden administration wants to use wind turbines and solar panels to generate electricity. Electricity generated from wind and solar power is intermittent and less resilient and reliable than continuous power from nuclear, coal and natural gas. Wind farms require backup natural gas power plants that kick in when the wind stops blowing, and solar panels require battery storage when the sun isn’t shining.

The Houston crisis dramatically demonstrates that forced electrification will not only lead to higher energy prices, but also reduce economic resilience. Natural gas pipelines are buried underground, but electric transmission cables and towers are exposed. Therefore, severe storms lead to power outages but not natural gas outages.

The Biden administration’s goal is forced electrification using wind and solar power to lower global temperatures. But even if America didn’t use fossil fuels at all starting now, government models show the difference would be just 0.2 degrees Celsius by 2100.

The costs of integrating renewable energy sources into the U.S. power grid underestimate the resilience of renewable infrastructure to storms, tornadoes and hurricanes. Resilience analysis does not fully take into account the significant costs of strengthening and repairing vulnerable wind turbines and solar panels.

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The Houston crisis is further evidence that sound energy policy would overhaul America’s transmission and distribution systems, including burying power lines. Renewable energy sources strain the existing transmission system, leading to power outages, which are becoming more common in California. Environmental siting regulations restrict the construction of new transmission lines.

Biden’s transition to renewable energy would require a fundamental overhaul of the U.S. power grid. High levels of distributed solar power would require replacing existing transmission and distribution equipment with expensive grid-forming inverters and controllable capacitors. The costs of mass implementation are not fully taken into account.

Low-income households are disproportionately vulnerable to power outages. It takes longer to restore electricity supplies and they cannot purchase stand-alone generators that would enable some to maintain power during disruptions.

Through numerous regulations, the Biden administration is trying to force electrification on Americans and end the use of fossil fuels. However, electric vehicles, electric water heaters and electric stoves do not operate during power outages. Houstonians, like all Americans today, need a resilient power grid that will continue to provide electricity during storms.