California Girds for Electricity Woes -- WSJ: California is Weighing How To Avoid A Looming Electricity Crisis That Could Be Brought On By Its Growing Reliance On Wind And Solar Power

The Wall Street Journal is reporting, three words: "no plan bee."

(I think of The Oil Drum story on the Precautionary Principle which has a lot more relevance than it's "Red Queen" story. Also relevant to this article: Europe's renewable energy woes.)

From the linked article:

Regulators and energy companies met Tuesday, hoping to hash out a solution to the peculiar stresses placed on the state's network by sharp increases in wind and solar energy. Power production from renewable sources fluctuates wildly, depending on wind speeds and weather.

California has encouraged growth in solar and wind power to help reduce greenhouse-gas emissions. At the same time, the state is running low on conventional plants, such as those fueled by natural gas, that can adjust their output to keep the electric system stable. The amount of electricity being put on the grid must precisely match the amount being consumed or voltages sag, which could result in rolling blackouts.

And then this:

Electricity systems need some surplus, so they can cover unexpected generator outages or transmission-line failures, but having too much can depress the prices generators can charge for electricity. In part because of low power prices, many gas-fired generation units aren't profitable enough to justify refurbishments required by pending federal regulations under the Clean Water Act. That means they are likely to be shut by 2020, adding to the state's power woes.

For investors only, speaking  of solar, one of two biggest decliners on today's market:

First Solar Inc.  shares fell 15%. The solar-energy-farm developer estimated first-quarter sales below Wall Street estimates after hours on Tuesday.

Enbridge has a big position in solar. After hours Enbridge fell significantly last night; I suggested it was due to imminent Keystone XL announcement; with huge hit at First Solar, I'm wondering if that might not be the reason.  [Update: with regard to "huge" after-hours drop in ENB yesterday; never mind. ENB is up slightly from yesterday's close. The after-hours drop appears to have been a one-off, but we will see how the rest of the day goes.] Be that as it may, the linked post has always been one of my favorite posts, putting the pieces together regarding Enbridge: pipelines, rail, wind, solar. With pipelines, I assume storage also.

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