Renewable energy dependence could lead to rolling blackouts in Michigan this summer

Electrical-grid operators are warning Michigan residents that blackouts could be needed during the hot summer months, with a hurried changeover to renewable energy sources at the forefront of the issue.

“Our leaders need to be real cognizant of the day-to-day impact,” Joe Trotter, the Energy, Environment, and Agriculture Task Force director for the American Legislative Exchange Council, said of switching to renewable energy when reached by Fox News. “It’s great to look at the future, but the present has a huge impact on their constituencies.”

Trotter’s concerns come after the Midcontinent Independent System Operator’s seasonal assessment found “capacity shortfalls in both the north and central regions of MISO… leaving those areas at increased risk of temporary, controlled outages to preserve the integrity of the bulk electric system,” JT Smith, the MISO executive director, told NPR earlier this week.

That reality could lead to controlled outages in Michigan this summer, a step MISO said has never been taken in the state before.

MISO said an unusually hot summer in the state will stress the grid, with MISO projecting a peak forecast of 124 gigawatts, higher than the current 119 GW of available power generation. – READ MORE