Electricity (including EMP, electro magnetic pulse, CME)

[Crafty_Dog]

https://www.theepochtimes.com/mumbais-electrical-blackout-chinese-gray-area-warfare_3719404.html?utm_source=morningbrief&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=mb-2021-03-04

[Crafty_Dog]

https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/why-isnt-us-preparing-emp-war-rest-world?utm_campaign=&utm_content=Zerohedge%3A+The+Durden+Dispatch&utm_medium=email&utm_source=zh_newsletter

[Crafty_Dog]

MILITARY

U.S. vulnerable to electromagnetic pulse attack from foreign nations

BY BEN WOLFGANG THE WASHINGTON TIMES

America’s electric grid and other key infrastructure remain vulnerable to an electromagnetic pulse (EMP) attack from China, North Korea or other adversary, and the U.S. is at a pivotal moment if it wants to avoid a potential doomsday scenario, a panel of experts warned Tuesday.

At a major virtual forum hosted by the Universal Peace Federation, specialists warned of the growing threat of an EMP attack that could knockout communications, water and sewer services, transportation systems, retail and other central components of American society.

The dangers of EMP attacks have long been understood, but China’s shocking test of a new hypersonic glide vehicle last summer has some analysts fearing it could give the nation’s Communist leaders the perfect avenue to deploy a high-altitude EMP, offering the chance to defeat the U.S. by sparking a long-lasting blackout, shutting down food and water delivery systems, and crushing military communications and contact with far-flung posts.

China already possesses so-called “super EMPs,” or weapons designed to create bursts of energy

much stronger than past versions, according to an analysis by the Task Force on National and Homeland Security, a congressional advisory board.

Combining EMP attacks with other modern unconventional military tactics could be even more devastating.

“That poses a real threat of possibly being able to win a war with a single blow by means of an EMP attack. Moreover ... they don’t envision employing an EMP by itself. It would be used in conjunction with cyberattacks and physical sabotage, and nonnuclear EMP,” Peter Vincent Pry, the task force’s executive director, said at Tuesday’s event, which was moderated by Washington Times Foundation President Michael Jenkins.

“This is regarded by Russia, China, North Korea and Iran as potentially the most decisive military revolution in history,” Mr. Pry said. “By attacking the technological Achilles heel of a nation like the United States, you could bring us to our knees and not even have to do battle with the Marines or the Navy or the Air Force, and win a war in 24 hours with a single blow — a combined EMP cyberattack.”

American scholars and lawmakers have warned for decades that U.S. infrastructure — especially the electric grid system — is highly vulnerable to EMPs. Huge swaths of infrastructure aren’t adequately protected against such an attack, specialists warned, despite widespread agreement on the importance of the problem and the existence of technology to solve it.

President Trump in 2019 signed an executive order directing a new level of governmentwide coordination on combating a potential EMP attack. Recent federal spending bills also have included measures to ramp up EMP defenses.

But many specific steps have yet to be implemented, such as bringing all pieces of the electric grid up to the military’s “hardening” standard so they are able to withstand a major electromagnetic pulse.

“We do know how to protect against it. It’s not a technological problem. It’s a political problem,” Mr. Pry said, citing federal bureaucracy and other factors that make the issue especially complex and difficult.

Other specialists said the Biden administrationshould keep the nation’s EMP vulnerability firmly in mind as it doles out billions of dollars in infrastructure money.

“There are active protection measures that will ground the pulse as it strikes the electric system of a vehicle, for example. The good news is those technologies are out there, they exist,” said David Winks, managing director at AcquSight, a leading cyber, physical and electromagnetic resilience firm. “I think it would be a good use of some of this infrastructure money to start investing in this.”

One of the largest hurdles is the vast number of state agencies and utility companies involved with the nation’s electric grid, making it difficult to install a single set of hardening standards across the entire country.

Meanwhile, China has invested heavily in its offensive EMP programs, and those investments are bearing fruit. In August, for example, the South China Morning Post and other regional media outlets reported that China very likely conducted its first test of an EMP weapon, successfully using the pulse to knock drones out of the sky. The Post cited papers published by Chinese technology journals that reported the test but offered little detail.

The Pentagon warns that electronic warfare is an increasingly important piece of the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) arsenal and its preparations for a potential clash with the U.S.

China’s electronic warfare strategy “emphasizes suppressing, degrading, disrupting, or deceiving enemy electronic equipment throughout the continuum of a conflict while protecting its ability to use the cyber and electromagnetic spectrum,” reads a recent Pentagon report on Chinese military capabilities. “The PLA is likely to use electronic warfare early in a conflict as a signaling mechanism to warn and deter adversary offensive action. Potential EW targets include adversary systems operating in radio, radar, microwave, infrared and optical frequency ranges, as well as adversary computer and information systems.”

Even nations without China’s cutting-edge military capabilities could be able to infl ict serious damage using EMP technology.

“There is no need for precision. North Korea doesn’t need to have a very good ballistic missile in order to precisely deploy and detonate the weapon,” said Plamen Doynov, a professor at the University of Missouri-Kansas City and chief technology officer at the company EMP Shield.

Mr. Doynov also warned that unlike a nuclear strike, traditional bombing campaign or ground invasion, an EMP attack doesn’t directly cause any casualties, potentially allowing an enemy to more easily justify the move and make retaliation a more difficult political decision for the state that is targeted.

“It’s bloodless, at least initially,” he said. But over time, hundreds of millions of lives could be lost. Mr. Pry has estimated that a yearlong blackout caused by an EMP could kill 90% of Americans.

Such a catastrophic situation at home, of course, would allow American adversaries to essentially do as they pleased around the globe.

“Imagine the president in the situation where the dispute is over Taiwan, or the dispute is with Russia over the Baltic states,” Mr. Pry said at Tuesday’s event. “And they do an EMP [attack] on the United States. What’s the president going to do? Try to go into World War III, which he will surely lose? ... Or is he going to use the residual capabilities that we have, especially the military capabilities, to try to recover those critical civilian infrastructures because the clock is ticking toward the deaths of millions of Americans?”

[DougMacG]

From the article:
"China’s electronic warfare strategy “emphasizes suppressing, degrading, disrupting, or deceiving enemy electronic equipment throughout the continuum of a conflict while protecting its ability to use the cyber and electromagnetic spectrum,” reads a recent Pentagon report on Chinese military capabilities. “The PLA is likely to use electronic warfare early in a conflict as a signaling mechanism to warn and deter adversary offensive action. Potential EW targets include adversary systems operating in radio, radar, microwave, infrared and optical frequency ranges, as well as adversary computer and information systems.”


  - I still meet people who don't know China is our enemy.

[ccp]

"U.S. vulnerable to electromagnetic pulse attack from foreign nations

BY BEN WOLFGANG THE WASHINGTON TIMES"

How many years now have we been reading about this and posting here on this board

and how many yrs do we keep reading and posting this has not been taken care of ?

20?

despite the fix  not being a big investment.

yet we destroy our country over climate change and "convert to electricity"
which makes us even more vulnerable.........

we won't do anything until it happens ....

 

[DougMacG]

"which makes us even more vulnerable........."

Everything they do, it seems, makes us more vulnerable.

The never read "Anti-Fragile".

[Crafty_Dog]

https://www.freethink.com/technology/superconductors?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=BigThinkScience&fbclid=IwAR1E8UIDMLm5wMniScR3Jinm8fUNN_DTN-SDG7oj1hZoWtGl_MjcHgDz9B0

[Crafty_Dog]

https://bigthink.com/hard-science/discovery-of-metal-breathing-bacteria-can-change-electronics/#Echobox=1641130770

[G M]

https://thesilicongraybeard.blogspot.com/2022/01/the-i-95-traffic-jam-and-electric-cars.html?m=1

Plan accordingly.

[DougMacG]

https://thesilicongraybeard.blogspot.com/2022/01/the-i-95-traffic-jam-and-electric-cars.html?m=1

Plan accordingly.

Right.  This stuff isn't funny.  Not just that your EV battery won't make it to the end of the snowstorm which can last 2-3 days, more than 24 hours in this I95 example, the authorities don't have a way to clear the EVs en masse.  You could bring gas to a car or jump start it.  What are they going to do when it's a thousand adult sized golf carts (Teslas).  Tow them one by one before a plow and an ambulance can get through.  Real people die in winter storms; it's not a high school social experiment:

https://www.newsweek.com/virginia-man-who-tried-walk-home-after-car-accident-storm-found-dead-woods-1667165

[G M]

https://thesilicongraybeard.blogspot.com/2022/01/the-i-95-traffic-jam-and-electric-cars.html?m=1

Plan accordingly.

Right.  This stuff isn't funny.  Not just that your EV battery won't make it to the end of the snowstorm which can last 2-3 days, more than 24 hours in this I95 example, the authorities don't have a way to clear the EVs en masse.  You could bring gas to a car or jump start it.  What are they going to do when it's a thousand adult sized golf carts (Teslas).  Tow them one by one before a plow and an ambulance can get through.  Real people die in winter storms; it's not a high school social experiment:

https://www.newsweek.com/virginia-man-who-tried-walk-home-after-car-accident-storm-found-dead-woods-1667165

California struggles to provide electricity now. Imagine millions more EVs on the grid.


https://www.cityofpaloalto.org/News-Articles/Utilities/Flex-Alert-in-Effect-Please-Help-Us-Conserve-Energy

What You Can Do to Help

We are asking our residents and businesses to voluntarily conserve energy to help us lower demand. Consumers are urged to reduce energy use during the most critical time of the day between 4 pm and 9 pm when temperatures remain high and solar production is falling due to the sun setting.

Tips to conserve energy and stay cool while the Flex Alert is in effect between 4 p.m. and 9 p.m.:

Set air conditioning thermostats to 78 degrees or higher, if health permits.
Use a fan instead of air conditioning. -Close blinds and drapes.
Defer use of major appliances, such as dishwashers and washing machines.
Turn off unnecessary lights.
Unplug unused electrical devices, including electric vehicles.
Limit time the refrigerator door is open.
Prepare for a Flex Alert

[DougMacG]

https://thesilicongraybeard.blogspot.com/2022/01/the-i-95-traffic-jam-and-electric-cars.html?m=1

Plan accordingly.

Right.  This stuff isn't funny.  Not just that your EV battery won't make it to the end of the snowstorm which can last 2-3 days, more than 24 hours in this I95 example, the authorities don't have a way to clear the EVs en masse.  You could bring gas to a car or jump start it.  What are they going to do when it's a thousand adult sized golf carts (Teslas).  Tow them one by one before a plow and an ambulance can get through.  Real people die in winter storms; it's not a high school social experiment:

https://www.newsweek.com/virginia-man-who-tried-walk-home-after-car-accident-storm-found-dead-woods-1667165

California struggles to provide electricity now. Imagine millions more EVs on the grid.


https://www.cityofpaloalto.org/News-Articles/Utilities/Flex-Alert-in-Effect-Please-Help-Us-Conserve-Energy

What You Can Do to Help

We are asking our residents and businesses to voluntarily conserve energy to help us lower demand. Consumers are urged to reduce energy use during the most critical time of the day between 4 pm and 9 pm when temperatures remain high and solar production is falling due to the sun setting.

Tips to conserve energy and stay cool while the Flex Alert is in effect between 4 p.m. and 9 p.m.:

Set air conditioning thermostats to 78 degrees or higher, if health permits.
Use a fan instead of air conditioning. -Close blinds and drapes.
Defer use of major appliances, such as dishwashers and washing machines.
Turn off unnecessary lights.
Unplug unused electrical devices, including electric vehicles.
Limit time the refrigerator door is open.
Prepare for a Flex Alert

Palo Alto, home of Stanford University and gateway to Silicon Valley, invented a new energy source called "do without", right out of the James Earl Carter School of Energy.  Meanwhile, the chips we invented are being made on the other side of the world with coal stacks spewing carbon into the same, one-world atmosphere.  Geniuses.

Elon Musk says we need to double the capacity of the electric grid.  That doesn't mean more wind and solar if you want to charge overnight.  California's answer:  1.  Close their last nuclear plant with no plans yet to build anew.  2.  Let China eat our lunch, clean our clock, cook our goose.

[Crafty_Dog]

I have no idea about these products, just putting this out there:

https://www.empshield.com/emp-technology/?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=psocial&utm_campaign=*Lookalike&utm_content=Lookalike%201%25%20-%20Email%20list%2010%2F15%2F21&fbclid=IwAR0yXeYXHpjOuKD8DWXOzwAWYqa_qh2IxhDvGjqubY0YCEWHiDmYuwwvDNg

[Crafty_Dog]

https://metro.co.uk/2022/04/22/russias-electromagnetic-attack-on-starlink-failed-spectacularly-16516830/?fbclid=IwAR2Xr_uqRSTYvmDYzDbdLlJKVhEuQl6y71zNQQA1Bci9dXXiKEvWdymoyPw

[Crafty_Dog]

Death of tens/hundreds of millions in short order.  TEOTWAWKI


https://www.lawenforcementtoday.com/expert-china-has-built-in-back-door-that-could-completely-take-out-the-u-s-electric-grid/

https://centerforsecuritypolicy.org/houston-has-a-problem-chinese-backdoor-threatens-next-texas-blackout/

https://www1.cbn.com/cbnnews/us/2021/july/the-weak-link-how-china-built-in-a-backdoor-threat-that-could-take-down-the-us-electric-grid

[ccp]

"Death of tens/hundreds of millions in short order."

For yrs we have been hearing this threat
though was not clear China could do it

For yrs we hear the fix for this would not be that hard or expensive

For yrs we hear nothing has been done to protect us against this.

Yet we hear democracy is threatened and almost lost because of a couple thousand proud boys
and Donald Trump ....

I agree :   

[ccp]

PS
what the hell are we buying such critical infrastructure
from our enemies
for?

the mass stupidity of DC to allow this.....

any moron could see China was screwing us over ever since Bush Sr. was President.....

if they did this to us we all die
they take out our carriers with hypersonic missiles

our only options are sub or land based ICBMs nucs as a deterrent

what are these war game people doing in DC beside spending money
and getting cushy lobbyist jobs after they leave their government jobs

[G M]

Some are bought off, some are blindingly stupid.

PS
what the hell are we buying such critical infrastructure
from our enemies
for?

the mass stupidity of DC to allow this.....

any moron could see China was screwing us over ever since Bush Sr. was President.....

if they did this to us we all die
they take out our carriers with hypersonic missiles

our only options are sub or land based ICBMs nucs as a deterrent

what are these war game people doing in DC beside spending money
and getting cushy lobbyist jobs after they leave their government jobs

[ccp]

" only options are sub or land based ICBMs nucs as a deterrent
"

just occurred to me the land based would not work and maybe not even the subs
which may simply sink to the bottom

can EMP go through the water?

[G M]

Unlike our civilian infrastructure, military assets are hardened against EMP.

" only options are sub or land based ICBMs nucs as a deterrent
"

just occurred to me the land based would not work and maybe not even the subs
which may simply sink to the bottom

can EMP go through the water?

[Crafty_Dog]

https://www.thoughtco.com/starfish-prime-nuclear-test-4151202

[Crafty_Dog]

https://michaelyon.locals.com/upost/2645611/electric-cars-no-juice

[Crafty_Dog]

https://www.theepochtimes.com/a-surprising-threat-to-the-us-power-grid-could-plunge-the-country-into-darkness_4833105.html?utm_source=Opinion&src_src=Opinion&utm_campaign=opinion-2022-11-02&src_cmp=opinion-2022-11-02&utm_medium=email&est=cAPSpC9u06OvAxlvKzvpj7W7eBEVMq%2BqgIMGA7r%2FJE43XJgJVmsY7AtA4Cbn8xvxVals

[Crafty_Dog]

No idea as to the validity here, posting it for future reference:

https://www.empshield.com/emp-technology/

[Crafty_Dog]

https://www.aier.org/article/the-new-normaling-of-blackouts/

[DougMacG]

https://www.aier.org/article/the-new-normaling-of-blackouts/

Unreliable grid is (a major) part of the definition of a third world country.

I don't like not knowing who attacked the Russia pipeline and who is attacking ours.  I know one thing, it's not people politically aligned with me.

Beyond terrorism is the STUPIDITY of relying on known, unreliable sources, sun and wind while eschewing the best known sources (nuclear).
--------------------------------------------
From the article:
"To be very clear: rolling blackouts are not now, nor have they been, normal in the US. Therefore, having to expect rolling blackouts going forward would be abnormal. Nevertheless, as utility providers and power grid monitors have recently warned, the more grids are saddled with intermittent, unreliable wind and solar facilities, the more unreliable they are becoming. They’re more prone to capacity shortfalls and blackouts."
--------------------------------------------

Self.Inflicted.Wounds.

Unforced Errors, we call them in tennis.  Only this isn't a game.  Heart lung machines run on the grid.  Just in time manufacturing - for critical industries.  Not just electric can openers and Christmas lights.

Gas furnaces require electricity.  30 deaths in Buffalo NY in the last storm.  It would be nice to have the heat when you are stranded - at home!

[Crafty_Dog]

TTT

[Crafty_Dog]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FksEGpBLfis

[ccp]

amazing description explanation of what happens with high altitude EMP!

[G M]

https://mybroadband.co.za/news/energy/490121-south-africans-must-start-thinking-about-total-grid-collapse.html

[Crafty_Dog]

https://www.theburningplatform.com/2023/06/08/blackout-warfare-the-world-war-iii-threat-more-deadly-than-nukes/

Hat tip to GM

[Crafty_Dog]

Elon Musk’s Latest Mission: Rev Up the Electricity Industry
‘My biggest concern is that there’s insufficient urgency,’ the billionaire tells energy executives
By Tim Higgins
July 29, 2023 5:30 am ET


Elon Musk wants more power—literally.

The man behind the race to replace gasoline-fueled cars with electric ones is worried about having enough juice.

In recent days he has reiterated those concerns, predicting U.S. consumption of electricity, driven in part by battery-powered vehicles, will triple by around 2045. That followed his saying earlier this month that he anticipates an electricity shortage in two years that could stunt the energy-hungry development of artificial intelligence.

“You really need to bring the time scale of projects in sooner and have a high sense of urgency,” Musk told energy executives Tuesday at a conference held by PG&E, one of the nation’s largest utilities. “My biggest concern is that there’s insufficient urgency.”

Musk’s participation with PG&E Chief Executive Patti Poppe at the power company’s conference marked the third major energy event the billionaire has appeared at in the past 12 months. He has played the part of Cassandra, trying to spark more industry attention on the infrastructure required for his EV and AI futures as he advocates for a fully electric economy. 

“I can’t emphasize enough: we need more electricity,” Musk said last month at an energy conference in Austin. “However much electricity you think you need, more than that is needed.”


PG&E Chief Executive Patti Poppe speaks with Elon Musk virtually at the power company’s conference. PHOTO: PG&E
The U.S. energy industry in recent years already has struggled at times to keep up with demand, resorting to threats of rolling blackouts amid heat waves and other demand spikes. Those stresses have rattled an industry undergoing an upheaval as old, polluting plants are being replaced by renewable energy. Utilities are spending big to retool their systems to be greener and make them more resilient. Deloitte estimates the largest U.S. electric companies together will spend as much as $1.8 trillion by 2030 on those efforts.

Adding to the challenge is an industry historically accustomed to moving slowly, partly because of regulators aiming to protect consumers from price increases.

And that has been mostly OK. For the past 20 years, U.S. electricity demand has grown at an average rate of 1% each year, according to a Deloitte study.

“If you have a fairly static electricity demand, which has been the case in the U.S. for a while, it hasn’t changed a lot, then having projects take a long time is OK,” Musk said Tuesday. “But in a rapidly changing scenario, where electricity demand is increasing, we have to move much faster.”

Executives and consultants do see stark change coming—but not as dramatic as what Musk predicts.


Deloitte estimates the top U.S. electric companies together will spend as much as $1.8 trillion by 2030 to revamp their systems to be greener and more resilient. PHOTO: DAVID PAUL MORRIS/BLOOMBERG NEWS
PG&E expects electricity demand will rise 70% in the next 20 years, which, the California company notes, would be unprecedented. Similarly, McKinsey expects U.S. demand will double by 2050.

“This is an opportunity of the century for the power sector, and they could blow it if they don’t get it right,” Michael Webber, an energy resources professor at the University of Texas, Austin, said of the industry. “This demand growth is partly from EVs, but also heat pumps, data centers, AI, home devices…you name it.”

PG&E’s Poppe seemed receptive to Musk’s warning, if not exactly leaping to update her plans. “We are definitely taking notes here,” she told Musk. “I’m going to be the last person to doubt your predictions for the future.”

Part of the differing views of growth may boil down to how Musk wants the world to change. He wants cars and heating systems running on electricity.

His push for tripling output is part of his advocacy for a transition to a fully electric economy, a more ambitious step than many in the industry are pursuing.


Beyond seeking a greener future, Musk is also warning that a lack of electricity could be crippling, much like the recent chips shortage that damaged the tech and auto industries. This time, it might stunt the burgeoning development of AI.

“My prediction is that we will go from…an extreme silicon shortage today to…an electricity shortage in two years,” Musk said during an event earlier this month to discuss his new startup, xAI, which aims to develop advanced intelligence. “That’s roughly where things are trending.”

Rabble-rousing isn’t new for Musk. His entrepreneurial career has long involved jawboning entrenched industries, attempting to bend their plans and spending to his will and ambitions. 


A decade ago, his predictions for electric-car growth were seen by some as wildly optimistic, but his determination helped make him the world’s richest man and Tesla the world’s most valuable automaker.

As the chief executive of Tesla, Musk does have a vested interest in more electricity, especially as he chases the goal of being able to build 20 million EVs annually by 2030. Tesla is centered around the mission of ushering in renewable energy and has smaller parts of its business selling solar panels and battery storage, including to utilities.

One of Musk’s solutions is to better optimize the grid by running power plants around-the- clock and storing the energy not used during peak hours in battery packs for use later. “I’m not sure it might be as much as a 2x gain…but it’s at least 50% to 100% increase in total energy output,” Musk said recently.

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He is advocating for more electricity at the same time he is stoking demand. And no place in the U.S. better illustrates that than in California, where car buyers continue to embrace EVs sold by him and others.


Elon Musk shared the stage in June in Austin, Texas, with Edison International CEO Pedro Pizarro, who said he didn’t quite agree with the billionaire entrepreneur’s projections for electricity demand. PHOTO: MATTHEW BUSCH FOR THE WALL STREET JOURNAL
The success of Tesla helped EVs make up 21% of new vehicle registrations in the state through the first half of this year, an increase from just 5.2% in all of 2019. Nationally, EVs haven’t yet grabbed market share like they have in California, but sales are growing. Musk predicts half of all new vehicles sold globally by 2030 will be electric.

The rate of EV load on the energy grid has surprised Edison International, company CEO Pedro Pizarro said.

At the June conference, Pizarro was on stage with Musk, who told the energy executive that his prediction of 60% demand growth in California by 2045 wasn’t enough, saying, “I think it’s much more load than that.”

“It may be,” Pizarro responded as awkward laughter erupted in the auditorium full of energy executives.

“Uh, by like a lot,” Musk continued. “It’s just, everything is going to be electric.

[Crafty_Dog]

https://www.eurasiantimes.com/catastrophic-impact-us-experts-flag-the-threat-of-emp-attack/

[ccp]

Can EV's be hacked :

CAN ELECTRIC CARS BE HACKED?
By Dan Rafter | August 18, 2023 | 7 min read

Sponsored Content

A growing number of consumers are ready to ditch the gas pump. They’re instead turning to electric vehicles when they’re ready to buy a new car or truck.

That's good for the environment. But the surge in electric car sales also provides a new opportunity for cybercriminals. Yes, electric vehicles can be hacked, and the high-tech scammers behind these cyberattacks will gladly use your EV and public charging stations to steal your personal and financial information or even disable your car or truck.

Couple looking at electric car in dealership

THE EV BOOM
Experian reported that of the 1.24 million new light vehicles—cars, vans, SUVs or pick-up trucks—consumers purchased in January of 2023, more than 87,700 were all-electric. That's 7.1% of the light vehicles purchased in that month, up 74% from January of 2022 when that share stood at 4.3%.

Electric vehicles, or EVs, are seeing this popularity surge for several reasons.

First, there are high gas prices. While the price of gas might have fallen from its recent highs, AAA reported that a gallon of gas still cost an average of $3.44 in the United States as of March 24 of this year. With an electric car, SUV or truck, consumers don’t have to worry about busting their budgets to fill up their cars’ tanks each week.

There are also other financial incentives to buying an EV. While electric vehicles tend to cost more than their gas-fueled counterparts, consumers can take advantage of tax breaks when buying electric-powered cars and trucks. If you bought an electric vehicle or fuel cell vehicle on Jan. 1, 2023, or later and meet certain income limitations, you might qualify for a clean vehicle tax credit of up to $7,500.

Other consumers embrace the green attributes of electric vehicles. As the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency says, an electric vehicle over its lifetime will emit a lower amount of greenhouse gases than will a gasoline-powered car. This holds true even when you factor in the electricity used to charge electric vehicles.

Electric vehicles today are also more reliable than they used to be. The U.S. Department of Energy says that electric cars today can travel for 100 to 400 miles on a single charge, depending on model. This longer driving range makes these cars more attractive to drivers.

Electric vehicle charging

CAN ELECTRIC CARS BE HACKED?
Because electric vehicles contain chips and software that control their batteries, cruise control systems and braking, they are vulnerable to cyberattacks. Cybercriminals can also launch attacks when the owners of electric vehicles plug them into chargers. Electric vehicles also communicate wirelessly with WiFi networks and with apps that their drivers have installed on their phones.

This combination leaves these vehicles open to malicious attacks by skilled hackers. An example? The Brokenwire attack.

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In this attack, hackers wirelessly send signals to targeted electric vehicles. This causes electromagnetic interference and interrupts the connection between a public EV charging station and the vehicle. The charging station, then, won't provide the vehicle with a charge until the attack ends, according to a feature story in Security Week.

Brokenwire attacks target a specific EV charging system, the Combined Charging System, a DC rapid charging system that is used in many public charging stations. Fortunately, Brokenwire attacks don't work against home EV chargers because these systems typically rely on AC currents.

close up of emergency vehicles

A Brokenwire attack is an inconvenience: The owners of targeted electric cars won't be able to charge their vehicles until the attack ends. But these attacks don't cause any permanent damage to electric vehicles, researchers said. The real fear is that hackers will use Brokenwire attacks to interrupt the charging of emergency vehicles, such as electric ambulances, something that could have life-threatening consequences, according to researchers.

In a recent story by the Wall Street Journal, cybersecurity experts say that in a worst-case scenario, hackers could spread malicious software to thousands of electric vehicles. The cybercriminals could freeze these cars, demanding that their owners pay a fee to unlock them. This would be a new form of the ransomware attacks that so often shut down the computers of individuals, companies and governments.

Then there are those cybercriminals who are more interested in stealing the personal and financial information of consumers. These hackers can take advantage of the increased demand for electric vehicles to launch phishing campaigns designed to trick victims into giving them their personal information, including their Social Security numbers and bank account information.

Maybe you are waiting for a specific electric car. A hacker might send an email saying that the manufacturer of this car has bumped you up in line and that your vehicle is now ready. The catch? You’ll first have to click on a link that takes you to a new web page that asks for your personal and financial information.

If you send this information, you won’t be providing it to an EV maker. Instead, you’ll be sending it to a scammer, who can use it to take out loans or credit cards in your name or access your online bank or credit card accounts. Others will sell this information on the Dark Web.

tesla dashboard
EV CYBERATTACKS ARE RARE … SO FAR
In good news, though, cyberattacks on electric vehicles or charging stations have been rare. Last February, after Russia invaded Ukraine, EV chargers along a Russian highway were shut down and their screens displayed pro-Ukraine slogans. And in April of last year, public EV chargers on the Isle of Wight were hit by cyberattacks that displayed pornography on their screens.

Another notable hack occurred in 2019 when a 19-year-old security researcher gained access to the digital car keys of more than 25 Tesla EVs scattered across the globe. From a remote location, the hacker ran programs that disabled the vehicles' security mode, unlocked their doors and opened their windows.

Fortunately, this Whitehat hacker only exposed a hole in Tesla's cybersecurity and didn't use the access he gained to steal the personal information of owners or take over control of their cars. The hack, though, does show that EVs are vulnerable to cyberattacks.

car system checking for updates

WHAT CAN YOU DO TO PROTECT YOUR ELECTRIC VEHICLE?
But while the attacks are rare now, that doesn’t mean they’ll always be. So what can you do to protect your electric vehicle from cyberattacks?

DISABLE ANY WIRELESS SERVICES THAT YOU DON'T USE
Your electric vehicle probably comes with such services as wifi, satellite radio, and Bluetooth technology. These can be useful tools, allowing you to make hands-free phone calls or giving your passengers the chance to watch movies or YouTube videos.

But these wireless services are also tempting weak points for cybercriminals to attack. This doesn't mean that you should shut off your car's wifi network. But you should research the wireless services your vehicle offers. If there are any you don't use, see if you can disable them. That will cut off at least one entry point for cybercriminals.

BE CAREFUL WHEN INSTALLING NEW SOFTWARE OR APPS
You can download apps to your EV using its in-vehicle touchscreen. That's fine. But be careful.

Only install software or download apps from trusted sources, such as your vehicle's manufacturer.
You might infect your vehicle with malicious software if you download apps from unknown sources. The scammers behind these apps might use them to steal your personal or financial information or to disable your vehicle.

DON’T IGNORE SOFTWARE UPDATES
If your manufacturer sends a software update to your EV’s touchscreen, don’t ignore it. You’ll typically have the option to install the update immediately or schedule it for later. It’s best to begin installation immediately.

These updates are often designed to block known threats, including viruses and malicious software. It’s important, then, to approve software updates from trusted sources to equip your EV with the latest protection.

WATCH OUT FOR PHISHING EMAILS
Be wary of any email supposedly sent by an EV manufacturer. That email saying that you’ve been moved ahead in line to purchase a new Tesla? It might be from a scammer hoping to trick you into providing your personal information. An email stating that you need to install an upgrade to your EV? It might contain a link that will flood your computer with malware.

Remember, no EV manufacturer will bump you ahead in line. Emails claiming this are scams. And no car manufacturer will ask for your personal or financial information through email. Never provide this information. If you’re worried that a request might be legitimate, call your car dealer or manufacturer and ask.

mustang mach-e

THE BOTTOM LINE
As electric vehicles continue to evolve, and the computer systems and software powering them become more complex, hackers will gain new opportunities to steal drivers’ information, disrupt public charging stations, and maybe access these cars’ controls.

Fortunately, these cyberattacks aren’t overly common yet. And there are steps you can take to protect yourself, including watching out for phishing emails or texts, updating the software behind your vehicle’s operating systems, and disabling interior wifi services that you don’t use.

And the hope is that auto makers, government bodies, thinktanks, and cybersecurity experts will continue working together to boost the security of EVs as more drivers ditch gas-powered cars and trucks. Because it’s going to take all of us to keep each other safe.

[Body-by-Guinness]

Tree ring data indicates more than a half dozen CMEs, with the piece suggesting, since we have to upgrade the grid already, we should try to CME-proof it along the way:

https://theness.com/neurologicablog/index.php/evidence-of-ancient-solar-flares/

[Crafty_Dog]

January 26, 2024
View On Website
Open as PDF

Daunting Trends in North America's Electricity Market
Demand is rapidly outgrowing supply.
By: Geopolitical Futures
North America Electric Long-Term Reliability

(click to enlarge)

Electricity peak demand and energy growth forecasts for the next decade are projected to be higher than at any point in the past 10 years, based on industry forecasts, past consumption patterns and weather forecasts from 2023. This trend has raised concerns about the electricity sector's ability to provide sufficient transmission and generation capacity to meet the growing demand. Additionally, many industry experts highlight that, despite increasing the share of renewable energy in electricity grids, the demand for fossil fuels will remain strong.

A significant factor in these projections is the increased use of AI and other data systems, which will inevitably lead to higher energy demand. AI, especially during testing phases, is a major energy consumer, and its usage is expected to grow substantially in the next decade. Moreover, 17 of the world's top 50 power-consuming data centers are in the U.S. (15) and Canada (2), with 14 located in zones of elevated risk and one in a high-risk zone.

[Crafty_Dog]

https://legalinsurrection.com/2024/03/energy-department-poised-to-zap-nations-electrical-transformers-which-are-already-in-short-supply/?utm_source=feedly&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=energy-department-poised-to-zap-nations-electrical-transformers-which-are-already-in-short-supply

[Crafty_Dog]

ELECTRICITY PRICES OUTPACE INFLATION BEFORE PLANTS SHUT DOWN: According to newly released Bureau of Labor data, U.S. electricity prices rose by 3.6% over the last year, outpacing the broader 3.2% inflation rate.

CATO Institute energy director Travis Fisher said Biden administration energy and environmental policies “are creating predictable problems with grid reliability and affordability,” and those policies could force prices even higher.

Former Federal Electricity Reliability Corporation (FERC) Commissioner James Danly said he is skeptical that the transmission level needed to shore up the grid with renewables “is even feasible given the costs.”

Why It Matters: Biden administration environmental policies are set to increase grid fragility and spike energy costs. Energy costs are now increasing beyond the level of inflation before “Clean Power Plan 2.0” takes effect, which is expected to drive liquid natural gas (LNG) and coal power plants out of business. Green energy replacements are very unlikely to make up for lost generation due to substantially high costs to bring them online and upgrade transmission infrastructure. – R.C.

[Crafty_Dog]

(3) YERGIN: ENERGY CAPACITY NOW A DEVELOPED WORLD QUESTION: S&P Global Vice Chair Dan Yergin said he is fundamentally concerned about the coming surge in electricity demand from the energy transition, increased data center construction, and Artificial Intelligence development.

“Is the capacity going to be there? That used to be a developing world question. Now it’s also a developed world question,” Yergin said.
Why It Matters: A spike in new data center construction and increasing AI use is expected to increase stress on U.S. grids significantly. The push for electrification and adoption of electric vehicles, accelerating due to a new Biden administration rule coming this week on vehicle emissions, will significantly increase grid fragility due to high power draws from charging. – R.C.

(4) BIDEN ADMIN RULE CHANGE TO SHUT DOWN COAL POWER SOONER: According to people familiar with the matter, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is “seriously considering” changes to the “Clean Power Plan 2.0” that will accelerate the forced shutdown of coal-fired power plants that do not install carbon capture technology.

According to the people, the Biden administration decided to change the technology standard for the emissions restrictions, no longer allowing coal-fired plants to burn hydrogen fuel and requiring carbon capture technology only.

Why It Matters: “Clean Power Plan 2.0” is already set to cut coal and liquid natural gas power generation capacity significantly, and this change will shorten the timeline for those cuts. Utilities say carbon capture technology is not viable at scale and have already opted to let coal and some LNG plants retire. This rule change will accelerate that power generation capacity loss with no likely replacement. – R.C.

[Crafty_Dog]

Can We Power the EPA’s EV Fantasy?
The overhaul of electrical grids and distribution would require labor and resources we don’t have.
By Jonathan A. Lesser and Mark P. Mills
March 26, 2024 2:13 pm ET


The futurists at the Environmental Protection Agency are confident that electric vehicles will soon become cheap, reliable and easy to fuel. That’s the main bet in the agency’s new standard for carbon-dioxide emissions, released last week. Critics have rightly called the rule a backdoor EV mandate. The EPA admits it can be met only if EVs compose well above half of new vehicle sales by 2032.

That isn’t happening anytime soon. EVs are a niche product, used mostly by high-income urban consumers with garages. Electric cars accounted for shy of 8% of new auto sales last year and drained billions from automakers’ profits. It isn’t unreasonable for EV aficionados to hope for more business as technology progresses and, perhaps, as low-cost Chinese EVs flood the market. Whether the former happens quickly enough is one bet, and whether policymakers will be happy with Chinese car companies bankrupting American firms is another.

There is, however, another wild card in the EPA’s gamble. Widespread adoption of EVs will require an unprecedented and staggeringly expensive expansion of local electrical grids. This will require a huge increase in the production of electrical transformers, along with more power plants and transmission lines to produce and deliver energy.

This overhaul must include upgrading local grid distribution at the roughly 3,000 electric utilities across the country—the wires, poles and transformers that line our streets. There are 60 million to 80 million distribution transformers in neighborhoods, designed for existing loads. Around one million new ones are sold annually, two-thirds of which replace aged-out transformers. That replacement rate isn’t close to meeting the EPA’s dreams. Millions more—and heavier—transformers will be needed to handle higher power levels and more frequent use, even if many EVs are charged overnight. This will also require replacing many of the existing utility poles to handle new transformers’ extra weight.

On an individual level, millions of homes and apartment complexes will need electrical upgrades to accommodate at-home chargers. Consumers and taxpayers will pay for that multibillion-dollar price tag, whether through taxes or higher utility rates. Electricians will need to install new circuits for EV chargers, and many older homes will need new power panels to handle increased demand.

On-road fueling will still be needed, particularly for the millions of consumers without garages. Replicating the nation’s some 195,000 retail gasoline stations will require far more than the 4,000 charging facilities that the Federal Highway Administration has proposed. Given the physics of electricity, thousands of these charging stations will each have the power demand of an entire town rather than that of a typical convenience store. That will mean more massive upgrades, in this case for higher-voltage grid systems and, critically, thousands of new, large transmission-level transformers.

For EV enthusiasts, this overhaul is doable with the right amount of money. Yet they’re naive about the magnitude. One Energy Department study estimated some $50 billion to $125 billion in infrastructure upgrades will be needed to support EVs composing 10% of all on-road cars. Today they amount to less than 2%. We estimate that achieving the EPA’s goal will require north of $1 trillion in grid upgrades by 2035.

Money aside, transformers will be the big roadblock. Delivery of the largest utility transformers can already take several years, and overall transformer costs have risen 70% since 2018. Replacing tens of millions of distribution transformers would require massive quantities of copper, most of which would have to be imported. The process would also exceed the production capabilities of the handful of American manufacturers. The U.S. is heavily dependent on imports for large substation transformers, especially from Asia, itself raising obvious national-security issues.

The unique electrical steel needed for transformers and electric motors is also in short supply, served by only one major producer, Cleveland Cliffs. New Energy Department rules to improve transformer efficiency will require switching to even more specialized and costlier amorphous steel. Add to that a shrinking labor force that can build and install this specialized hardware. The EPA’s architects apparently believe there’s a magic wand to fix all this.

EV advocates at the EPA suggest that these mandates will induce market forces that will solve the attendant challenges. That’s a novel—and dubious—theory of innovation. Some behavioral changes might help, such as rationing access to EV charging or reducing the number of cars. Perhaps that’s the real goal. Whatever the motivation, the EPA’s de facto EV mandate is another green fantasy.

Mr. Lesser is a senior fellow and Mr. Mills director of the National Center for Energy Analytics.

[Crafty_Dog]

The Coming Electricity Crisis
Artificial-intelligence data centers and climate rules are pushing the power grid to what could become a breaking point.
By
The Editorial Board
Follow
March 28, 2024 5:45 pm ET


President Biden and the press keep raising alarms about a climate crisis that his policies can’t do much about. Yet in the meantime they’re ignoring how government climate policies are contributing to a looming electric-grid crisis that is more urgent and could be avoided.


These pages have been warning for years about an electric-power shortage. And now grid regulators and utilities are ramping up warnings. Projections for U.S. electricity demand growth over the next five years have doubled from a year ago. The major culprits: New artificial-intelligence data centers, federally subsidized manufacturing plants, and the government-driven electric-vehicle transition.

***
Georgia Power recently increased 17-fold its winter power demand forecast by 2031, citing growth in new industries such as EV and battery factories. AEP Ohio says new data centers and Intel’s $20 billion planned chip plant will increase strain on the grid. Chip factories and data centers can consume 100 times more power than a typical industrial business.

PJM Interconnection, which operates the wholesale power market across 13 Midwest and Northeast states, this year doubled its 15-year annual forecast for demand growth. Its projected power demand in the region for 2029 has increased by about 10 gigawatts—about twice as much as New York City uses on a typical day.

Don’t expect the power to come from New York, which is marching toward a power shortage as it shuts down nuclear and fossil-fuel power in favor of wind and solar. A new Micron chip factory in upstate New York is expected to require as much power by the 2040s as the states of New Hampshire and Vermont combined.

Electricity demand to power data centers is projected to increase by 13% to 15% compounded annually through 2030. Yet a shortage of power is already delaying new data centers by two to six years, according to commercial-real estate firm CBRE Group. It is also driving Big Tech companies into the energy business. Amazon this month struck a $650 million deal to buy a data center in Pennsylvania powered by an on-site 2.5 gigawatt nuclear plant.

Data centers—like manufacturing plants—require reliable power around the clock year-round, which wind and solar don’t provide. Businesses can’t afford to wait for batteries to become cost-effective. Building transmission lines to connect distant renewables to the grid typically takes 10 to 12 years.

Because of these challenges, Obama Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz last week predicted that utilities will ultimately have to rely more on gas, coal and nuclear plants to support surging demand. “We’re not going to build 100 gigawatts of new renewables in a few years,” he said. No kidding.

The problem is that utilities are rapidly retiring fossil-fuel and nuclear plants. “We are subtracting dispatchable [fossil fuel] resources at a pace that’s not sustainable, and we can’t build dispatchable resources to replace the dispatchable resources we’re shutting down,” Federal Energy Regulatory Commissioner Mark Christie warned this month.

About 20 gigawatts of fossil-fuel power are scheduled to retire over the next two years—enough to power 15 million homes—including a large natural-gas plant in Massachusetts that serves as a crucial source of electricity in cold snaps. PJM’s external market monitor last week warned that up to 30% of the region’s installed capacity is at risk of retiring by 2030.

Some plants are nearing the end of their useful life-spans, but an onslaught of costly regulation is the bigger cause. A soon-to-be-finalized Environmental Protection Agency rule would require natural-gas plants to install expensive and unproven carbon capture technology.

The PJM report cites “the role of states and the federal government in subsidizing resources and in environmental regulation.” It added: “The simple fact is that the sources of new capacity that could fully replace the retiring capacity have not been clearly identified.”

Meantime, the Inflation Reduction Act’s huge renewable subsidies make it harder for fossil-fuel and nuclear plants to compete in wholesale power markets. The cost of producing power from solar and wind is roughly the same as from natural gas. But IRA tax credits can offset up to 50% of the cost of renewable operators.

Baseload plants can’t turn a profit operating only when needed to back up renewables, so they are closing. This was the main culprit for Texas’s week-long power outage in February 2021 and the eastern U.S.’s rolling blackouts during Christmas 2022.

The media will discover this problem eventually, though not this year if it might call into question Mr. Biden’s climate agenda. Perhaps they’ll notice when more blackouts arrive.

[Crafty_Dog]

(3) NERC: GEOPOLITICAL DEVELOPMENTS THREATEN U.S. GRID: North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC) senior vice president Manny Cancel said the current geopolitical situation “has significant ramifications” for the North American grid and is contributing to “a dramatic increase in malicious cyber activity.”

“We know activists continue to use this as a vehicle” to advance their ideology and politics, and the NERC will be very vigilant heading into the November election, Cancel added.

Why It Matters: State-affiliated cyberattacks against U.S. critical infrastructure remain the most significant threat to the U.S. grid, water, and telecommunications infrastructure. Physical attacks on power substations and energy infrastructure were previously considered a far right accelerationist tactic. However, there has been a recent push by far left anti-war anarchists to target energy infrastructure with the goal of disrupting defense contractors and supply chains. – R.C.

(4) POWER BILLS OUTPACE INFLATION AS EXPECTED DEMAND EXPLODES: According to data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, electricity prices nationwide grew by 3.6% year-over-year in February, and three out of four major metropolitan areas saw increased electricity prices.

Grid Strategies president Rob Gramlich said electricity demand by 2028 will be 5% higher than all 2023 power consumption, double the increase that companies expected in 2023. “A lot of people’s eyes just popped out in the past six months,” Gramlich added.

Why It Matters: This is an early sign of increasing power bills for Americans nationwide, as demand increases and generation capacity has been flat for more than a decade. Electrification, AI, and data centers are the primary drivers of this exploding demand. Americans are likely to experience increasing energy prices and less reliable power. – R.C.

[DougMacG]

'increasing energy prices and less reliable power'

  - The March by design away from prosperity to becoming a third world country.

Our electric bills are already, in my view, 40% electricity, 60% mandates.

My last home phone bill was 60% tax, 40% phone.

Shrinking real incomes is a feature not a bug of this regime.

It's not the rich who are paying the insufficient and unreliable energy mandate taxes.

[Crafty_Dog]

(3) ZUCKERBERG: AI RUNNING INTO ENERGY CONSTRAINTS, REGULATIONS: Meta founder Mark Zuckerberg said Artificial Intelligence (AI) development is going to run into energy constraints before the full potential of AI is reached.

Zuckerberg added that AI development data centers have also run into issues with energy infrastructure and transmission permitting, but data centers that draw 300 megawatts (MW) to 1 gigawatt (GW) are coming.

Why It Matters: Accelerating construction of data centers, especially those dedicated to AI development, remains a threat to future U.S. grid stability due to aging energy infrastructure and flat generation capacity. A data center that draws 300 MWs of power would draw two orders of magnitude more power than proposed electric commercial truck depots with five or six MW draws, which have been canceled due to drawing more power than nearby small cities. According to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, a 1000 MW coal plant with a 75% capacity factor could power roughly 460,000 to 900,000 homes, depending on the region. – R.C.