(DALLAS, TX) -- Rick Perry said Friday that switching the
nation to 100-percent renewable energy would lead to permanent blackouts if
not backed up by other more reliable power plants like nuclear.
“Some people want us to take renewables and just rely upon
them solely. But if we follow that advice, now our energy might be cleaner, but
nowhere near as reliable,” Perry said Friday morning in addressing the EarthX
environmental conference in Dallas.
Perry said solar and wind are too intermittent to be relied
upon entirely for the nation’s energy needs. He envisioned a cyber attack or
natural disaster crippling the nation indefinitely if it were powered only by
solar and wind resources.
“Our lights could go out, stay out, impacting our way of
life,” Perry said.
He added that such a danger can be averted if renewable energy
is paired with nuclear power plants, like small modular reactors, that provide
24-hour-a-day, reliable electricity.
Perry’s idea supported by the Green New Deal: A closer read
of the progressive “Green New Deal” resolution would appear to support Perry’s
idea of joining renewables with nuclear. The resolution calls for switching the
country to zero-emission energy, not exclusively renewables, which would
include nuclear power.
Outside of the Green New Deal, however, prominent climate
activist groups like 350.org do support a switch from conventional sources of
energy to a grid powered entirely by 100-percent renewable energy.
