The U.S. endured the two warmest months ever recorded, but the system held because of renewable energy, according to a new report.
The energy grid was pushed to its limits while cleaner and more reliable renewable energy stepped in to save the day.
The report into energy use said Dallas, Texas recorded record-high heat for three consecutive days. “From June 27 to August 12, Texas set 10 all-time peak power demand records, according to data from ERCOT (Electric Reliability Council of Texas), which manages 90 percent of the state’s electric load,” the report found
However, apart from some outages due to wildfires in Hawaii and a hurricane in the Southeast, the energy grid held up with the increase in demand, due to a mix in energy use.
It’s clear now that wind, solar, and battery storage proved their reliability, the report said.
Despite some blaming renewables for grid issues, this summer showed how beneficial they can be all across the country, the report said.
The report also attributed the lack of blackouts to an energy demand response where authorities called on customers to reduce their energy use.
“We need to accelerate efforts to integrate more renewable energy and storage resources into the grid, encourage energy efficiency and demand response, and upgrade and expand the transmission grid, and to do it all while protecting communities and ecosystems that have historically — and disproportionately — been negatively impacted by energy development,” the report said.
