The power referred to is our electrical power we depend upon for heating, cooling, cooking and running our appliances that preserve our food and make things convenient like your morning cup of coffee or tea. The current drought forecast for May through August from NOAA is for persistent drought over the North Cascades due to low snowpack and developing drought over the rest of the state.
The reason for concern is due to our power balance…
This is a solved problem. Utilities use industrial battery installations to store power from renewables so that it’s available at night if the wind isn’t blowing. Many companies are also looking into other forms of storage, such as production of hydrogen.
What we need is more solar, wind, and other clean sources of power production. Storage solutions are already in heavy use globally and will just continue to improve over time.
I did forget about Tesla’s power wall battery storage pack that provides an extended source of power when power shuts off or weather severs you contact with the grid. It appears robust enough to last for a while, but the information I have for it doesn’t give performance specs.
The Atlantic recently wrote a piece about electricity and clean energy. The technology is there but the power grid is stuck in a 20th century business model. Here’s an excerpt: “Many utilities, however, won’t prioritize installing batteries, and they won’t invest in solutions that let consumers do more with less energy. That’s because these programs lower utilities’ capital expenditures, which lowers the rates they charge consumers and, in turn, their profits. If utilities don’t get paid for innovating, they’re unlikely to do it.” https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2024/05/climate-change-investment-utilities/678455/