{"id":350035,"date":"2024-11-03T15:48:47","date_gmt":"2024-11-03T14:48:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=350035"},"modified":"2024-11-03T15:48:50","modified_gmt":"2024-11-03T14:48:50","slug":"washington-state-revolt-against-electrify-everything","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=350035","title":{"rendered":"Washington State Revolt Against \u201cElectrify Everything\u201d"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

From Science Matters<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

By\u00a0Ron Clutz<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Gas stoves are the thin edge of the wedge.<\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Megan K. Jacobson explains the fight and what\u2019s at stake at msn A Washington State Revolt Against the Gas-Stove Grabbers<\/strong><\/a>.  Excerpts in italics with my bolds and added images.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Environmentalists have waged a campaign against natural gas,<\/strong> but users of this efficient, low-emission fuel are fighting back. A wide range of industry groups are backing Washington state\u2019s Initiative 2066 to protect the right to choose natural gas.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

By 2030, Washington is supposed to reduce carbon emissions to 45% below 1990 levels<\/strong>\u2014one of its many overlapping climate goals. The state\u2019s most recent energy plan declares that the cheapest route to meeting Olympia\u2019s climate targets is to switch many uses of oil and gas to electric sources.<\/strong> Last year the Building Code Council amended the state energy code to make it prohibitively costly to install gas appliances in new buildings.<\/strong> In March the Legislature<\/strong> passed a law<\/strong> allowing the state\u2019s largest natural-gas and electricity utility, Puget Sound Energy, to pass the costs of going green onto consumers<\/strong> and mandating the utility files a plan \u201cto achieve all cost-effective electrification of end uses currently served by natural gas.\u201d<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

To the Washington Hospitality Association and the Building
Industry Association of Washington, Initiative 2066\u2019s cosponsors,
this sounded like an economic wrecking ball.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Anthony Anton, CEO of the hospitality association<\/strong>, says 84% of the restaurateurs<\/strong> he represents rely on natural gas.<\/strong> Remodeling to go electric is a \u201cmassive cost at a time where operators just can\u2019t afford it,\u201d he says. Some say the quality of their product would suffer, as some cooking methods, such as stir-frying, are difficult to perform on lower-heat electrical stoves. Most of the association\u2019s members are very small businesses with substantial debt from Covid lockdowns.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The building association<\/strong> worries the new energy code will raise the state\u2019s already high housing costs,<\/strong> locking out potential buyers. The code requires that new buildings meet a certain environmental \u201cscore.\u201d Without the points from an electric heat pump, a builder will have to make up the difference with other green measures that run between $15,000 and $20,000 in a single-family home. \u201cEvery time they raise the price $1,000, it prices out another 500 Washington families,\u201d<\/strong> says Greg Lane, the association\u2019s executive vice president.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dozens of varied industry groups support Initiative 2066. Each has its own reasons.<\/strong> The Washington Denturist Association<\/strong> worries about the expense of switching from propane- or gas-based equipment and a lack of reliable power. Most members are small businesses and it\u2019s a good path for immigrant dentists whose credentials don\u2019t carry over to the U.S.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

The Washington State Tree Fruit Association<\/strong> (of which my paternal grandfather\u2019s company, Apple King, is a member) is concerned about rising costs of refrigeration<\/strong> to keep produce fresh. A sudden power outage could be catastrophic<\/strong> for the state\u2019s apple industry. Trade regulations for its top two export markets require that fruit be constantly refrigerated at a specific temperature for as long as 90 days.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The state\u2019s cheapest energy plan would almost double electricity demand in Washington by 2050,<\/strong> putting an unprecedented strain on the grid. The only real option is to increase wind and solar generation, since the state\u2019s plentiful hydroelectric capacity can\u2019t do more without potentially threatening salmon. Wind and solar tend to falter in Washington in the winter, when energy demand peaks.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Consumers would also suffer in Washington\u2019s green utopia.<\/strong>\u00a0Everything from a haircut to a ballgame would become more expensive as the price of electricity rises. Climate advocates argue that Washingtonians will recoup their costs over time thanks to efficiency gains. But a 2021 report from Home Innovation Labs estimates that\u00a0recovering the cost of a heat-pump installation could take 47 to 49 years.<\/strong>\u00a0It\u2019s worse for existing gas customers. The Building Industry Association of Washington estimates that\u00a0switching from natural gas to electricity in a single-family home would cost as much as $70,000<\/strong>. Heat pumps also tend to fail in the sort of frigid weather that hits rural Washington in winter.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Proponents of electrification insist that technology will improve over time. But\u00a0if<\/strong>\u00a0they\u2019re really confident that\u00a0green energy will be the best option for consumers and businesses, then Initiative 2066 is no threat.<\/strong>\u00a0Washington voters should ask\u00a0why climate advocates still see it as one.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Environmentalists have waged a campaign against natural gas,\u00a0but users of this efficient, low-emission fuel are fighting back.\u00a0A wide range of industry groups are backing Washington state\u2019s Initiative 2066 to protect the right to choose natural gas.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":121246920,"featured_media":350047,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_coblocks_attr":"","_coblocks_dimensions":"","_coblocks_responsive_height":"","_coblocks_accordion_ie_support":"","_crdt_document":"","advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[1],"tags":[691821898,691831296,691818376,691823139,691818728],"class_list":{"0":"post-350035","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","6":"hentry","7":"category-uncategorized","8":"tag-carbon-emissions","9":"tag-green-utopia","10":"tag-natural-gas","11":"tag-washington-state","12":"tag-wind-and-solar","14":"fallback-thumbnail"},"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/0gas-stove.jpg?fit=1920%2C1080&ssl=1","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/paxLW1-1t3J","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":253725,"url":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=253725","url_meta":{"origin":350035,"position":0},"title":"Appeals Court overturns Berkeley, CA gas stove ban","author":"uwe.roland.gross","date":"20\/04\/2023","format":false,"excerpt":"In a unanimous decision that could have national repercussions, a federal appeals court has overturned a ban on new gas-powered stoves in Berkeley, California. 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