Energy expert Jonathan Lesser warned that the Texas power crisis highlights broader problems with green energy, in an interview Tuesday with Fox News Digital. Lesser — an adjunct fellow at the Manhattan Institute who has more than 30 years of experience in the energy industry — argued that due to the intermittent quality of renewables and the lack of reliable utility-scale battery storage infrastructure, the forced green transition will lead to more power outages. DOZENS OF PEOPLE DEMAND ADMINISTRATOR BIDEN’S PLAN FOR PAN-HELLIC POWER CRISIS “The reality is: we’re going to have to get used to more blackouts as we continue down this green energy path,” Lesser told Fox News Digital. “The technology just isn’t there. You’re either going to have more blackouts or more demands to save energy.” Transmission towers are seen at the CenterPoint Energy power plant on June 9 in Houston, Texas. (Brandon Bell/Getty Images/Getty Images) The Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT), Texas’ grid operator, issued a conservation appeal on Monday, urging consumers and businesses to voluntarily conserve electricity. The announcement, which took effect on Monday, explained that high demand and lower-than-expected wind power production contributed to a supply shortage. Between 2-3pm on Monday, the “peak hour”, wind power in Texas produced a meager 8% of its total capacity, according to ERCOT. WHITE HOUSE GUARDS FOR ANOTHER UGLY INFLATION REPORT “The least windy time of year is in the summer, when electricity demand in Texas peaks,” Lesser said. “So you have a resource that’s at its highest in the spring and fall when demand for electricity is lower. That means wind as a resource has low economic value because you want something that’s available when demand is higher.” “So it’s no surprise that Texas, which has the most wind capacity of any state in the country, is facing this problem,” he continued. Former Acting Deputy Treasury Secretary Greg Zerzan discusses how Biden and his administration continue to push clean energy at the G7 as natural gas prices continue to soar on “Fox Business Tonight.” Utility energy demand historically peaks in July and August in the U.S. with fossil fuel generation accounting for the vast majority of supply, according to the Energy Information Administration. As of July 2021, about 68% of total national generation was produced by traditional fossil fuel sources while just 10% was produced by wind and solar sources. GREEN ENERGY POLICIES WILL PUSH PRICES UP THIS SUMMER, FERC COMMISSIONERS WARN However, Texas has made an aggressive green energy push over the past several years. The state has produced the most wind energy of any state for 16 consecutive years. But while Texas has built more than 35,000 megawatts of wind capacity, about 25% of its total generating capacity, wind power accounted for just 12% of Texas’ electricity generation in July 2021, according to EIA data . Copenhagen Consensus Chair Bjorn Lomborg Reacts to Biden’s Climate Pledges on ‘FOX Business Tonight’ “If you build 500 megawatts of wind power, that doesn’t mean you’re getting 500 megawatt hours of power every hour of the day,” Lesser said, noting the intermittent quality of the wind. “Onshore, wind capacity is probably around 30-40% depending on what part of the country you are in.” He also said that the U.S. utility-scale battery storage infrastructure, which is needed to provide power during periods without high wind production, is currently inadequate. The US had about 4,605 megawatts of total battery storage by the end of 2021, but regularly consumes more than 400,000 megawatts continuously per day. CLICK HERE TO READ MORE ABOUT FOX BUSINESS “Battery storage is, at this point, a pipe dream,” Lesser told Fox News Digital. “There is very little battery storage in the entire country.” “It’s just pure fantasy that we’ll have enough battery storage to meet the demand,” he added.
