Lest we forget the 2021 heatwave – GWC Mag

Scrolling through my newsfeed this morning, I came across this summary of a new report by Schatz Energy Research Center at Cal Poly Humboldt that analyzes transmission options to connect the rural Nor Cal and Oregon coasts to wind power. Here are some notable excerpts:

“This report estimates that transmission infrastructure costs could range from $7.5 billion for a 7.2 gigawatt wind farm to as much as $41.3 billion for a 25.8 gigawatt buildout. For the 7.2 gigawatt scenario, annual system-wide benefits are estimated to be roughly $1.2 billion, when compared to a base case without offshore wind generation.”

“The analysis indicated that coastal communities near wind farms could be connected to the new transmission infrastructure, thereby increasing the reliability and available capacity of electricity in those areas, for only 0.4% to 2.4% of the overall cost of the transmission upgrades.”

Reading this article took me back to the heatwave that struck America’s North West back in the summer of 2021. A big part of the electric problems then could have been avoided by a transmission system that was both more interconnected and hardy (heat resistant lines, for example). I hope that legislators and their constituents will remember the lessons of 2021 when calculating the true costs of these projects, while keeping in mind that the heat wave of 2021 will almost certainly prove to be unexceptional in our new climate.