Because wind and solar power can’t provide electricity all of the time, they have to be backstopped by conventional energy sources. But as states around the nation require more renewables, the result is a grid that can’t always reliably keep the lights on. In 2022, the organization that monitors the grid warned that most of the country is going to be at an elevated risk for blackouts over the next five years.

Is America destined for a future of energy instability? The answer will depend on the choices we make going forward.

(via RCP)

[We can’t saw we haven’t been warned and haven’t already seen the effects of “green” policies. The Texas blackouts were caused by other issues, but greatly exacerbated by a lack of scalable energy production, thanks to regulations and incentives that pushed fossil fuel-sourced energy off the state’s grid. If we don’t use fossil fuel for the scalable needs that are required for grid stability, we’d better start building nuclear power plants PDQ. — Ed]