New England oil and gas companies are calling on Maine and other states to suspend climate change-driven electric heat pump incentives, on the grounds that grid managers in the region are worried about fuel shortages and cannot maintain lighting and heating this winter.
But ISO-New England, a non-profit organization that operates the grid, said its concern is not the state’s efforts to install more heat pumps to replace fossil fuels for climate warming.Climate policy leaders in Maine and other regions called the fossil fuel company’s demands retrogressive and unfounded.
The letters to the governors of the six states came from the Maine Energy Marketing Association and similar groups in the area.It cited the power outage in Texas during the cold snap in early 2021 and ISO’s latest warnings.
Earlier this month, the grid manager stated that the Texas crisis was a stark reminder that profit margins in New England are also particularly low at this time of the year.There is limited pipeline space for imported natural gas in this area. In the cold winter, natural gas is used in large quantities for electricity and home heating.This year, ISO stated that high oil prices and supply chain backup are creating greater pressure.
If the region’s electricity consumption of these fuels is insufficient during the long cold spells of this winter—even with mild winter forecasts and unstable weather trends due to climate change—more likely—the grid manager warns that it may have to Call for protective measures or control blackouts to reduce the demand for electricity.
These climate trends are caused by the use of fossil fuels.About half of New England’s electricity comes from natural gas, and Maine relies more on oil for heating than any other state. This puts rural and low-income residents particularly at risk of price spikes and supply fluctuations.
Maine has given priority to replacing these oil systems with electric heat pumps, and policymakers believe that compared to skirting heaters, electric heat pumps can now work in colder temperatures and use electricity more efficiently.Tens of thousands of such systems have been installed in the state in the past few years, and the goal is to reach 100,000 by 2025.
But fossil fuel companies in the region claim that this push for electric heating will place unbearable pressure on the grid this year.
Chris Herb, CEO of the Connecticut Energy Marketing Association, said at a Zoom press conference on Thursday: “We are working hard to help avoid catastrophic failure, and current state energy policies continue to guide us (in that direction).”
He and his colleagues in the region said that their state should suspend subsidies for heat pumps and instead promote more “renewable” gas heating technologies that use fuel from garbage, food waste, and other supplemental biological sources.
ISO-New England spokesperson Matt Kakley did not share these concerns.He said that ISO predicts that the new electricity demand related to heat pump adoption this winter will only be about 52 MW, accounting for less than 1% of peak demand under normal weather conditions.
Cakley said: “Our worries this winter stem from the fuel supply chain issues under long-term cold weather.”
Hannah Pingree, who leads the Office of Policy Innovation and the Future of Governor Janet Mills, said in a tweet that the oil group’s request is “to face catastrophic climate events and future threats. It’s a very shocking strategy.”Her office did not respond to requests for further comment.
Herb argues that climate policies like Maine that prioritize heat pumps and electric vehicles are “surpassing” ISO’s ability to keep up with changing demands.
Cakley stated that ISO is “working closely with the states of New England to ensure a reliable transition to a clean energy future”, including predicting increased demand for policies that drive heat pumps and electric vehicles.
“Electrification of these sectors will help states achieve their decarbonization goals and will require investment in new clean energy resources to meet this additional power demand,” he said.ISO officials have stated in the past that these growing renewable resources preferably include large-scale offshore wind power and imported hydropower, as well as energy storage.
Scientists say that in order to avoid the worst effects of climate change, the world must stop using fossil fuels altogether.But New England oil and gas companies said they have other plans to be “carbon neutral” by the middle of this century, using a low-emission mixture of low-sulfur diesel, propane and biofuels, including new varieties being developed in Maine.From wood.
“We need to focus on solutions (such as wood fuel), not just things that get us into a single point of failure,” Maine Energy Marketing CEO Charlie Summers said on Thursday.”The best way is a broad energy mix…. This is an effective delivery system that takes effect today, not as they say, pie in the sky.”
Petrostein, the head of the advocacy group Northeast Clean Energy Commission, called the letters from the two oil companies “dishonest” in a statement.
“Heating oil is the fuel of the past. Technologies like air-source heat pumps are the future,” Rothstein said.”Electrifying our heating department will protect customers from price fluctuations caused by rising oil and gas prices this winter.”
In an interview on Friday, Summers said he acknowledged that the current heat pump installation in Maine would not pose an existential threat to the stability of the grid.But he said that he is worried that the country is promoting the technology and excluding all other technologies, especially biofuels.
“The problem is… continue to promote electrification without considering grid stability or adaptability,” Summers said.”When the states seem to take an all-or-nothing approach… it’s a short-sighted approach.”