Tesla’s Ca Battery Fire & Renewable Risks

Where there’s smoke, there’s fire? A big blow to the progressives’ EV transition hype is seen in California’s Tesla battery fire & resulting energy grid wipe out. It reminds us again that solar & wind power aren’t cost or risk free …

The WSJ’s op ed put it this way: “As if California doesn’t have enough wildfire hazards, its drive to banish fossil fuels from the electric grid is creating another. On Tuesday a Tesla battery at a utility storage site in Monterey County caught fire, triggering the shutdown of the state’s scenic coastal highway and shelter-in-place warnings for local residents.” It seems California utilities have been rushing to install large-scale batteries to back up those renewables and provide power when the sun goes down. But, the editors can’t help but note, “now we’re learning that batteries have their own reliability problems.” No one can yet figure out what went wrong with PG&E’s enormous 182.5 megawatt Tesla battery caught fire … but the site had to be disconnected from the grid.” There were two other similar meltdowns at nearby storage facilities in recent months, hence, the county’s call for residents to “Please shut your windows and turn off your ventilation systems.”

Concluded the WSJ: “The larger point is that there is no free lunch in producing energy. All sources have costs and carry risks. The difference is that while climate lobbyists and the media fret about oil spills, gas leaks and nuclear meltdowns, they ignore the very real costs and risks of renewables.”

Davd Soul