Electrifying California

Letter to Editor 12 14 2020

Several recent editorials have addressed the presumed benefits of converting California to fully electric homes and businesses, as well as converting all motor vehicles to all electric. As a long-term owner of an extended range electric vehicle, I will enjoy charge parking equity when the state installs 500,000 charging stations. Unaddressed in these utopian discussions is true accounting of the infrastructure costs and tradeoffs.

California cannot currently supply enough electricity for routine needs under weather extremes with frequent brownouts. Power company distribution needs vast replacements to avoid fire related blackouts. Future electric demand for all home/business heating and cooling as well as supporting our huge auto mileage easily exceeds power availability from current green and carbon sources. Large swaths of California and the West will be covered by windmills and solar panels to replace carbon power production, assuming nuclear power remains forbidden. 100% gre…