What do you think of this cartoon by UK illustrator Chris Madden?

I love it for its simplicity and the truth that lies behind the words and symbolism. Yes, solar and wind offer vast potential for harnessing clean energy, and we must embrace that opportunity.

However, more and more I am seeing first-hand the problems being caused by renewables, mainly because the grid is unable to manage the changes to harmonics and voltage required by large-scale, and modern equipment. It can be an operations nightmare for:
-a plant manager at an assembly facility
-a veteran contractor at a large industrial plant
-an operations officer at a plastics extrusion facility
-a GC trying to pinpoint troubles with a data centre or sensitive pharma equipment

The power quality within our grid is getting worse. And frankly, the myriad solar, wind, and battery storage facilities would be unable to provide the power required to start up heavy machinery, an essential requirement for large manufacturers who sometimes need to reboot their systems. This requires up to five times the juice, so to speak. Renewable sources excel at providing power for ongoing operational needs, but if a big plant, or even a smaller country needed to power-up from zero for some reason, the renewables could not provide enough of a kick. Then what?

I’m attaching a link here to a revealing article out of Australia ( https://lnkd.in/ediuZwE4 ) that outlines grid troubles that are similar to those I articulated here months ago in an article entitled “The Matrix is Broken.” ( https://lnkd.in/eGUBf5j6 )

My article got a lot of traction because it outlines the degradation of our power quality as reliable, base load sources of electricity are replaced by green alternatives that do not rely upon fossil fuels. Australia is experiencing similar challenges stemming from this forward-thinking integration of environmentally friendly power supplies.

The message is, we are vulnerable, and government leaders need to heed the warnings from industry leaders and power experts who, while supporting green initiatives, raise critical question about our existing electricity infrastructure’s ability to support the extensive network of changes needed, especially in the face of ultra-aggressive timelines for the installation electric vehicle (EV) charging stations.

So, have a laugh at the cartoon and appreciate that what’s old is new again. And while the cartoon is cute, it’s not so funny if you replace the people in the sketch with a plant manager staring at a frozen assembly line, wondering why solar and wind aren’t exactly the promised panacea for everyone. We need to have more conversations about how to realistically and sustainably integrate renewables into our energy future.

Contact Encompass Power Solutions to guide you through the challenges and optimize your energy infrastructure.