Comment by MBCook

9 hours ago

The problem with that is one of the best things we have to control pollution at power plants is the rules that go into place when connecting to the US grid (I know TX is different).

I really don’t want to incentivize private power plants that aren’t on grid. Or just running tons of industrial sized generators instead.

If we’re going to allow enough of this stuff to be built that it can destabilize things why not require they behave and don’t stop off like that? Some sort of organized draw down?

And if they don’t? Mandatory cutoff for X amount of time. Weeks/months.

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MBCook

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toomuchtodo  9 hours ago

Ban private fossil generators above a certain size without a license. You can just do things. They can build as much solar and batteries as they want.

https://www.datacenterdynamics.com/en/news/google-confirms-1...

https://www.datacenterdynamics.com/en/news/google-announces-...

  • dpark  9 hours ago

    SpaceX is running a bunch of “portable”, high pollution gas generators in Memphis, TN specifically to get around the regulation you’re describing.

    Elon definitely got the “you can just do things” memo.

    • MBCook  8 hours ago

      It’s what I was thinking of when I said “lots of industrial generators” too, but I couldn’t remember where it was.

    • toomuchtodo  9 hours ago

      Right, that’s what I was thinking of when I wrote my comment. Regulate back. If there is no will to do so, well, that’s a choice. Write the law, pass the law, aggressively enforce civil and criminal penalties for violations. They haul gas generators in without a license? Confiscate and tear them down for scrap (which will be painful, as these turbines are in short supply and their manufacturers are backlogged years into the future), in accordance with law you pass. Hold the utility liable if they provide a fossil gas pipeline connection. Humans like Elon may not care, but utilities have something to lose. Find “one throat to choke” as the saying goes.

      It is not politically easy, but it is logistically straightforward.

      https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/one_throat_to_choke

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