calpoly said:Cal88 said:SBGold said:movielover said:
Newsom shut down 4 or 5 oil refineries?
You need more truth in your posts. Why harp on California about energy policies when it is a leader in seeking alternative energy?
The real failure is one of your red states Skippy. Why anyone moves to that disaster is beyond me. Let's cover Texas and how it has failed and has not rectified a disaster from 5 years ago (note, it's getting worse, not better):
Texas (ERCOT) The Biggest Red State Energy Policy Failure
Texas operates its own isolated power grid by political choice, to avoid federal regulation and that decision has had severe consequences.
In February 2021, Texas suffered the worst energy infrastructure failure in state history during Winter Storm Uri. More than 4.5 million homes and businesses lost power for days. At least 246 people were killed. The ERCOT grid came within four minutes and 37 seconds of complete collapse. Damages totaled at least $26.5 billion. Critically, state officials initially blamed frozen wind turbines, but data showed that failure to winterize traditional natural gas infrastructure was the primary cause and that federal regulators had warned Texas to winterize after a nearly identical event in 2011, which the state ignored due to cost. WikipediaWikipedia
Five years later, the problem is getting worse, not better:
Despite widespread perception that the grid has become more resilient, the data tells a different story the actual risk of winter outages is rising. Peak winter demand has increased 20%, but dispatchable generation from gas, coal, and nuclear remains roughly the same as before Uri. Nearly $50 billion has been invested primarily in solar and storage since 2021, but only 3.1 GW of new natural gas capacity was added. Texas Public Policy Foundation -
The winter reserve margin dropped from 17.5% in 2021 to a projected 10.1% in 2026 well below the 15% standard utilities strive to maintain to account for plant failures during extreme weather. Texas Scorecard
In January 2026, the federal government had to issue an emergency order during Winter Storm Fern to deploy backup generation resources to prevent Texas blackouts and the federal government's own reliability assessor found ERCOT was at "elevated risk." Department of Energy
And prices are rising sharply:
A study by the Texas Energy Poverty Research Institute projects residential electricity rates in ERCOT could rise roughly 29% by 2030, driven by an estimated $96 billion in transmission and distribution investments. The Texas Tribune
Southeast Red States Rate Increases Driven by Poor Planning
About half of $31 billion in utility rate increase requests filed in 2025 are concentrated among Southeast utilities in red states, where grid hardening, hurricane recovery costs, and an expensive new nuclear power plant in Georgia are driving up costs for ratepayers. CNN
The Common Thread
Texas's core problem is a market design a purely deregulated, isolated grid with no capacity payments that was a deliberate Republican policy choice going back decades, prioritizing freedom from federal oversight over reliability. The 2011 warnings were ignored. The 2021 disaster happened. And according to independent analysts, the underlying vulnerability has still not been fixed.
That's a straightforward policy failure clearly traceable to political decisions not weather, and not a transition to renewables.
Renewables today can be part of a smart energy mix, but it doesn't mean you do something as stupid as shutting down your refineries in a state with 30 million cars.
Who shut down the refineries?
Movielover is right, the State should not have made refineries an endangered species in CA, not when much of our infrastructure relies on ICE cars and trucks.
AI Overview
California's active refineries have dropped from 23 in 2000 to 11 by early 2026, representing a significant long-term decline. Recent closures, including the Phillips 66 Wilmington/Carson complex and Valero's Benicia refinery in 20252026, removed roughly 17.5% of the state's remaining capacity. [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]
Key details regarding California refinery closures:
- Declining Numbers: Since the 1980s, the state has lost over 28 refineries, falling from around 40+ to just 11.
- Recent Shutdowns (2025-2026): Major closures include the Phillips 66 Los Angeles (Wilmington/Carson) refinery and the Valero Benicia refinery, which ceased gasoline production in April 2026.
- Capacity Impact: These closures have reduced California's refining capacity by over 30% since 2020, increasing reliance on imported fuel.
- Reasons for Shutdowns: Companies have cited high regulatory compliance costs, weak refining margins, and declining fuel demand.
- Future Landscape: Of the remaining 11, only five are considered large-scale, with further restructuring possible. [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7]
