LA can’t afford a ‘Green New Deal’ — keep gas plants open

The “Green New Deal” has finally arrived in LA.

As The California Post reported, three natural gas plants supplying power to LA are going to be mothballed.

They were old, and they needed an upgrade. But they had been supplying electricity to the area for decades.

In 2019, then-Mayor Eric Garcetti announced that LA would have its own version of the “Green New Deal” that newly-elected Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, the leader of the “Squad,” had introduced in Washington.

The idea was to replace the natural gas plants with “renewables,” perhaps solar and wind power, though no one was sure how.

Garcetti’s plan was unpopular. City officials wondered if LA would be able to keep the lights on.

The unions hated the idea, because Garcetti’s plan implied that the city would be cutting thousands of public works jobs, in and around the power plants.

The voters delivered their verdict in a special election in Sylmar, when a Republican actually defeated a Democrat. The Democrat supported the “Green New Deal”; the Republican did not.

It was a common-sense rebellion against “green” activists and utopian bureaucrats in the mayor’s office.

But while the “Green New Deal” might never have passed Congress, it survived in LA.

Environmentalists are glad to see the fossil fuel plants go. But experts aren’t sure that the city can satisfy demand for electricity.

The state is continuing its push to replace gas cars with electric vehicles (EVs), at least for now. And data centers are using more and more electricity as AI expands. 

Even with more wind and solar energy, natural gas plants will be needed as a backup.

And some experts say that California’s grid could start to experience shortages in the next 10 years unless new power plants come online.

With shortages, and growing demand, come higher energy prices.

That means the massive bills that have been hitting LADWP customers could be the new reality  — instead of an unwelcome surprise after a summer heat wave.

Natural gas is the cleanest-burning fossil fuel. It’s the reason that the US has been able to lower carbon emissions even while growing our economy. 

California sits on abundant natural gas reserves — which are readily available, if the state will allow drilling and fracking.

Instead of rushing ahead with uncertain “green” policies that raise prices for consumers and raise the risk of shortages, California should adopt an “all-of-the-above” approach to energy.

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