Electrical grids under pressure: demand surge and climate change push them to the brink
Matt Chester of Chester Energy and Policy was quoted as a utility expert in this article, previewed below.
Climate change and the rising demand for electricity is placing immense pressure on vulnerable power grids. Some regions such as the United States, already appear at times to be on the brink of a power apocalypse.
The most recent Texas blackouts when the state experienced its coldest temperatures in 30 years last winter, have provided governments with a valuable, albeit costly, insight into the future of our decades’ old power grids if appropriate action is not taken to stem the atrophy.
Energy, utility and sustainability expert, Matt Chester notes that power grids are heaving under the repeated blows of adverse weather conditions - extreme heat and cold, as well as constant stress tests from hurricanes, flooding and wildfires- and the strain of the steadily growing global demand for electricity.
Chester notes that according to a recent McKinsey report entitled ‘Transformation of Europe’s power system until 2050,’ demand for electricity is expected to surge by 40% in the European Union between 2020 and 2050 as growing populations and technology, such as the burgeoning market for electric vehicles, fuel demand.