Cracked dam shows vulnerability of CA green power grid

By Wayne Lusvardi | Cal Watchdog

California power grid operators learned Friday that Grant County in the state of Washington had implemented an emergency response plan due to a crack in the Wanapum Dam along the Columbia River. Divers detected a 65-foot long crack at the base of one of the dam’s 10 spillways last week. While officials saw no immediate threat to public safety, they called the situation a “serious problem.”

This is a harbinger of trouble for California’s ambitious plan to broadly limit its reliance on fossil fuels. In two years, the state will initiate an “Energy Imbalance Market,” which entails buying cheap hydropower during the sunset hours of each day from the Columbia and Colorado River hydropower systems. This will be necessary because of the conversion of much California’s power grid from reliable conventional power to solar power that only generates electricity during daylight hours.

at Cal Watchdog.

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