S
ince the first cases of
COVID-19 — a respiratory
disease caused by the
coronavirus — were reported
in the United States in January,
American life has been turned
upside down by an event few will
ever forget.
The
coronavirus,
which
originated in Wuhan, China at the
end of 2019, has spread to every
continent
except
Antarctica
and
has
claimed
over
42,000
lives
worldwide,
with European countries like Italy
and Spain being hit especially hard.
After spreading to all 50 states and
infecting
over
200,000
nationwide,
the American economy has come
to a screeching halt. Schools like
the University of Michigan have
moved
classes
online,
non-essential
businesses have closed and stay-at-
home orders have been issued for
more than half of the states as well
as Washington, D.C.
As the fallout from the COVID-
19 crisis continues to deepen, a
dark feeling of anxiety has taken
hold across the country, with some
saying the pandemic’s impact is
worse than the Sept. 11 terrorist
attacks.
Beyond
the
medical
and
economic implications of this crisis
for the nation, the coronavirus also
has broad political implications for
leaders who will be judged by their
response to the illness, which
the World Health Organization
has declared a global pandemic.
In particular, President Donald
Trump is under incessant pressure
to respond to the coronavirus
as his re-election bid — which is
being increasingly complicated by
the crisis — looms this November.
Many Americans — especially
those who are opposed to the
president’s policy agenda — may
see this pandemic, which coincides
with a presidential election year,
as an insurmountable obstacle
for Trump. But I would disagree.
While many think that the
infection will kill off Trump’s
political career once and for all, the
crisis is actually an opportunity for
the President to showcase himself
as a strong, capable leader for the
American public. And he’s already
doing just that.
Since the crisis first began to
rattle American society, Trump
has used his executive power to
protect Americans every step of the
way. In the direction of qualified
experts, the president first banned
travel into the U.S. from China,
which medical professionals like
Dr. Anthony Fauci credit as a major
step toward slowing the spread of
COVID-19 into our borders. Later,
as the pandemic ramped up outside
China, the president moved to
prohibit travel from Europe as
well, another critical step that
likely spared America from the
worst the coronavirus had to offer.
Beside cutting off travel from
some of the worst-off areas across
the globe, Trump has delivered
the information and resources the
American people need to overcome
this illness. In a coordinated,
bipartisan effort, the president
helped organize a historic two
trillion dollar economic stimulus
bill
that
passed
the
Senate
unanimously.
The
economic
aid package promises to give
individuals and married couples,
along with small businesses and
hospitals, the funds they need
in order to survive these trying
times.
In addition, with many experts
fearing that America may become
the next epicenter of the pandemic,
Trump has taken dramatic steps
to fully utilize the resources of the
federal government to combat the
coronavirus. Along with working
to increase the availability of
testing for COVID-19, Trump took
the responsible step of invoking
the Defense Production Act to
increase the supply of key medical
products and secure the help
of hospital ships to combat the
virus. Moreover, the president
implemented
“Coronavirus
Guidelines
for
America,”
an
effort that has made Americans
aware of important steps they
can take to “flatten the curve.”
Finally, the president assembled
the White House Coronavirus
Task Force, a group of experts,
including Vice President Mike
Pence, who work around the
clock to contain COVID-19 and
offer key information to the press
and public.
I
n order to encourage exponential
growth of renewable energy in the
coming years, the United States must
significantly invest in the infrastructure
of our energy grids. Renewable energy
faces two main problems: the inherent
unreliability
of
natural
forces
and
the cheap competition of fossil fuels.
However,
increasing
interconnection
between regional energy grids addresses
these two central problems of reliability
and cost-effectiveness by creating a
market for the transfer of energy between
states. Connecting our energy grids will
allow the U.S. to boost the security of
the green energy supply and integrate
more renewable energy into the market.
During extreme weather conditions,
states need to be able to rely on their
neighbors to import the electricity they
need. Yet without proper infrastructure,
it is impossible to buy and sell electricity
across borders. Interconnection of our
regional energy grids is essential for the
security of green energy supply and thus
for the growth of green energy.
The main challenge of renewable
energy is its inherent unreliability, but
a green energy market
would bypass the requisite
of
sustainability:
vast
energy
storage.
Solar
energy in California, for
example, falls far below the
necessary energy demands
in the winter months. Yet
in the summer months,
California often has to
discard their excess solar
power. The state’s fleet
of solar farms frequently
generates more electricity
than
Californians
use
during the middle of the day, and without
sufficient energy storage infrastructure,
this excess electricity is simply thrown
away. Expensive storage methods such
as batteries or hydroelectric energy
storage are technologically possible, but
extremely expensive and thus carry little
political traction in California. A cheaper
alternative is the development of a more
interconnected regional power grid,
allowing neighboring states to buy and sell
energy as necessary. So in summer months
when California has too much solar
energy, the state can sell excess electricity
instead of curtailing it. Meanwhile in
the winter when there isn’t enough solar
energy production, the state can import
other types of green energy such as wind
energy from Wyoming or New Mexico.
In this way, a proposed energy market
could solve our energy storage problem
by bypassing the problem of storage
almost entirely. Instead of requiring
each green energy producer to invest in
expensive energy storage on top of green
energy costs, states can just buy and sell
as needed.
A larger, more interconnected power
grid would mean each state doesn’t
have to worry about diversifying their
individual energy portfolio for energy
stability, but can still benefit from
green energy diversity in the region at
large when necessary. In the European
Union,
for
example,
Denmark
already produces excess wind energy, but
instead of throwing it away, they sell it
to their neighbors like Norway. Norway
then stores that energy and can sell
the electricity to other neighbors when
demand is high. Interconnection like this
creates more diverse sources of energy,
where different regions can benefit from
their respective advantages in climate
and geographical features. In this energy
market, Denmark doesn’t have to plan
for a day when the wind doesn’t blow by
turning to fossil fuels or building other
types of green infrastructure. Instead,
Denmark can focus on what is most
efficient for them. And, Norway doesn’t
have to heavily invest in energy production
when it is more cost-effective for them
to invest in energy storage and import
energy from Denmark. Each state can
focus on their own geographic or climate
niche and maximize their individual
efficiency. In doing so, exporters of green
energy can make a profit, and importers
can import cheaper green energy. Take
a step back, and the European continent
as a whole system will see a decrease in
green energy prices and an increase in
the overall usage of green
energy.
While
increased
interconnection
of
regional
power
grids
has
the
potential
to
make green energy more
competitive,
the
fossil
fuel industry could also
capitalize
and
benefit
from
cheaper
energy
exchange. However, the
energy market in the U.S.,
and the rest of the world,
is undeniably trending
towards green energy, and opening up
the market will only steepen that trend
over time. An energy market will always
favor the cheapest and best option,
and even though coal might still be
competitive now, an open energy market
will work to increase the rate so that the
market phases out fossil fuels eventually.
Instead of outlawing coal or fossil fuels,
we can realistically build infrastructure
in our power grids to incentivize green
energy through the market.
Discussion
of
renewable
energy
faces many technological and economic
hurdles, but we can begin to address
them
right
now
by
investing
in
infrastructure.
Renewable
energy’s
inherent unreliability can effectively be
addressed with the interconnection of
power grids — we don’t need to wait for a
miracle battery. A bigger, more liquid and
transparent market would enable easier
integration of renewables such as wind
and solar, and help meet the country’s
renewable energy and climate goals at
the least cost. It would allow California
solar energy to be exported rather than
discarded, and enable access to a greater
variety of excellent resources, such as wind
energy in Wyoming. We need to invest
in interconnection now to incentivize
renewable energy in the future.
4 — Thursday, April 2, 2020
Opinion
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
Alanna Berger
Zack Blumberg
Brittany Bowman
Emily Considine
Jess D’Agostino
Jenny Gurung
Cheryn Hong
Krystal Hur
Ethan Kessler
Zoe Phillips
Mary Rolfes
Michael Russo
Timothy Spurlin
Miles Stephenson
Joel Weiner
Erin White
ERIN WHITE
Managing Editor
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Ann Arbor, MI 48109
tothedaily@michigandaily.com
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ELIZABETH LAWRENCE
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MILES STEPHENSON
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EDITORIAL BOARD MEMBERS
REID DIAMOND | COLUMN
The challenge of renewable energy
Trump will emerge from the pandemic stronger than ever
EVAN STERN | COLUMN
Evan Stern can be reached at
erstern@umich.edu.
Read more at
MichiganDaily.com
CASEY RHEAULT | CONTACT CARTOONIST AT CRHEAULT@UMICH.EDU
An energy market
will always favor
the cheapest and
best option.
Reid Diamond can be reached at
reiddiam@umich.edu.
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