Key factors for the success of a future energy system model
The recent heat storm in California, when everything that could go wrong did, caused prolonged and consecutive mandatory interruptions in electricity supply in the State. The heat wave caused the heavy use of air-conditioning, combined with the unavailability of some power plants to meet the demand (and a number of natural gas plants unexpectedly going offline), the insufficient generation of solar and wind and the inability to import energy from other States, inevitably pushed the grid operators to impose these blackouts. Solar generation plummeted in the evening, the winds slowed faster than expected and the same phenomenon happened in other States that California traditionally imports electricity from.
