Power grid challenges in Texas

[Irvrobinson]

Who would have ever thought people would see rolling blackouts in Texas, the energy capital of the US? And there appears to be a few interesting facets of the problem:

1. 12 gigawatts of wind power was taken offline because the wind turbines were freezing. For those of you unfamiliar with the scale of 12 gigawatts, a typical nuclear power plant is about two gigawatts. The Grand Coulee Dam, the largest hydropower facility in the US, is just under 7 gigawatts. Wind power has eaten Texas.

2. Gas turbines are used to meet peak demand, and, amazingly, in a huge natural gas producing state, there is apparently a shortage of natural gas due to gas well equipment freezing in sub-zero temperatures. The shortage has caused gas turbine generation to be taken offline. I haven't found an estimate on the GW capacity that's offline, but it sounds big. Small-time natural gas producers are loving it though, and there are several references about crews going out and doing whatever is necessary to restart previously uneconomical small wells. This says natural gas prices have surged 4000% in two days:

Record cold brings a windfall for small U.S. natural gas producers

Prices have surged more than 4,000% in two days in Oklahoma, while gas processing plants across Texas are shutting as liquids freeze inside pipes, disrupting output just as demand for the heating fuel jumps.

www.worldoil.com

3. Given that most winter days are relatively mild, apparently Texans like to use electric space heaters and natural gas fireplaces to heat up selected rooms that get cold, due to many homes being not so well insulated as northern homes. (It's like this in California too, in my experience.) These inefficient heat sources are further stressing the electric and gas providers, and making matters worse, and peaking demand in the winter when it's usually in the hot summers. But people really have no practical short-term choice.

So the situation plays out as rolling blackouts:

Texas power grid comes off highest emergency conditions, ERCOT says

The state's power grid manager said no additional outages were reported overnight, though some generating units went offline.

abc13.com

And to top it all off, Texas has a mostly isolated electrical grid:

About ERCOT

Find out about ERCOT, including its governance model, and find news, jobs, RFPs and contact information.

www.ercot.com

So surrounding warmer states can't send current to Texas to help cover the shortfall.

What a mess. Any Texans here suffering from rolling blackouts?

 

[highfigh]

Who would have ever thought people would see rolling blackouts in Texas, the energy capital of the US? And there appears to be a few interesting facets of the problem:

1. 12 gigawatts of wind power was taken offline because the wind turbines were freezing. For those of you unfamiliar with the scale of 12 gigawatts, a typical nuclear power plant is about two gigawatts. The Grand Coulee Dam, the largest hydropower facility in the US, is just under 7 gigawatts. Wind power has eaten Texas.

2. Gas turbines are used to meet peak demand, and, amazingly, in a huge natural gas producing state, there is apparently a shortage of natural gas due to gas well equipment freezing in sub-zero temperatures. The shortage has caused gas turbine generation to be taken offline. I haven't found an estimate on the GW capacity that's offline, but it sounds big. Small-time natural gas producers are loving it though, and there are several references about crews going out and doing whatever is necessary to restart previously uneconomical small wells. This says natural gas prices have surged 4000% in two days:

Record cold brings a windfall for small U.S. natural gas producers

Prices have surged more than 4,000% in two days in Oklahoma, while gas processing plants across Texas are shutting as liquids freeze inside pipes, disrupting output just as demand for the heating fuel jumps.

www.worldoil.com

3. Given that most winter days are relatively mild, apparently Texans like to use electric space heaters and natural gas fireplaces to heat up selected rooms that get cold, due to many homes being not so well insulated as northern homes. (It's like this in California too, in my experience.) These inefficient heat sources are further stressing the electric and gas providers, and making matters worse, and peaking demand in the winter when it's usually in the hot summers. But people really have no practical short-term choice.

So the situation plays out as rolling blackouts:

Texas power grid comes off highest emergency conditions, ERCOT says

The state's power grid manager said no additional outages were reported overnight, though some generating units went offline.

abc13.com

And to top it all off, Texas has a mostly isolated electrical grid:

About ERCOT

Find out about ERCOT, including its governance model, and find news, jobs, RFPs and contact information.

www.ercot.com

So surrounding warmer states can't send current to Texas to help cover the shortfall.

What a mess. Any Texans here suffering from rolling blackouts?

I have been to Texas- why would anyone NOT insulate their house to keep it cooler during Summer? That makes no sense- insulate it and they'll save money on energy in Summer AND Winter.

Also, people in Texas need to learn to drive in Winter. I was there for the New Year, 2000 storm and we saw cars parked all over. Well, other than on the roads because they couldn't control the cars. We had no problems driving in a mid-'90s Buick LeSabre- I don't know what their problem was.....

 

[John Parks]

No power outages at my house (DFW metroplex) but one of my work locations (rural locale) has been on and off last night and this morning.

Currently, it is a balmy 10 degrees (unheard of in these parts) and beautiful!

 

[highfigh]

No power outages at my house (DFW metroplex) but one of my work locations (rural locale) has been on and off last night and this morning.

Currently, it is a balmy 10 degrees (unheard of in these parts) and beautiful!
View attachment 44650

I dream of the day it will hit 10 degrees......

I just looked at the weather app on my phone and it showed "Feels like -14F".

 

[Irvrobinson]

What's coming next is probably a big transfer of wealth from home insurance companies to plumbers, as pipes burst around the state.

 

[slipperybidness]

Rolling blackouts in TX are not unheard of, but they have always been during a particularly brutal summer heat with high demand for AC.

We are in a completely unprecedented situation right now! I have lived in TX my entire life, and have never seen a cold snap this cold and sustained for this long. It simply has never happened like this before!

Texans simply never have any practice for driving in such conditions, and when the conditions pop up, we simply don't drive in it. Take a snow day, don't take a risk on the roads, plain and simple for anyone that has lived their entire life here.

EDIT--Also, understand that we tend to get ICE on the roads down here, not snow. Right now, we have snow over ice, and another round of ice expected. Then we don't have the resources to keep the roads cleared nor treated either.

 

[Speedskater]

The problem with winter driving in the South is that the ground and the roads are warm. So the first snow quickly becomes a layer of ice.

 

[Irvrobinson]

Texans simply never have any practice for driving in such conditions, and when the conditions pop up, we simply don't drive in it. Take a snow day, don't take a risk on the roads, plain and simple for anyone that has lived their entire life here.

I grew up and learned to drive in Buffalo, so snowy weather doesn't scare me, but other drivers do, so I generally follow your advice and stay home. The worst are the lifted pick-up trucks with their mud tires. They can't stop, because the huge contact patch reduces tire traction, and if a tire doesn't have sipes it doesn't work well in ice and snow. Here in the southwest snow is rare enough that everyone seems to have to learn the hard way. But it happens. We got the storm that hit Texas first.

 

[highfigh]

Rolling blackouts in TX are not unheard of, but they have always been during a particularly brutal summer heat with high demand for AC.

We are in a completely unprecedented situation right now! I have lived in TX my entire life, and have never seen a cold snap this cold and sustained for this long. It simply has never happened like this before!

Texans simply never have any practice for driving in such conditions, and when the conditions pop up, we simply don't drive in it. Take a snow day, don't take a risk on the roads, plain and simple for anyone that has lived their entire life here.

EDIT--Also, understand that we tend to get ICE on the roads down here, not snow. Right now, we have snow over ice, and another round of ice expected. Then we don't have the resources to keep the roads cleared nor treated either.

I understand- people in my area forget how to drive in snow before every Winter and whenever there's more than a couple of days between snowfalls. They drive as if it's warm, sunny and dry, which means the body shops and scrap yards are making out, big time. Between stolen car crashes and snow, I can't wait to see how these idiots will drive up our insurance rates.

The New Year, 2000 storm WAS ice and since those of us in the car are all from Chicago and Milwaukee, it wasn't a big deal.

 

[slipperybidness]

I understand- people in my area forget how to drive in snow before every Winter and whenever there's more than a couple of days between snowfalls. They drive as if it's warm, sunny and dry, which means the body shops and scrap yards are making out, big time. Between stolen car crashes and snow, I can't wait to see how these idiots will drive up our insurance rates.

The New Year, 2000 storm WAS ice and since those of us in the car are all from Chicago and Milwaukee, it wasn't a big deal.

I was in far south TX, near the Mexico border for New Year 2000. I don't remember it being too bad that far south, but likely a lot that I don't remember about new years 2000

I get it, for the northerners down here, we seem silly in our winter ways. But, as mentioned, even for the people that can drive in these conditions fine, there are a vast majority of the other people on the road that can't, and they put themselves and everyone else in danger too.

I am the first to readily admit, I have no experience driving in these conditions, I keep my behind at home.

 

[Swerd]

We are in a completely unprecedented situation right now! I have lived in TX my entire life, and have never seen a cold snap this cold and sustained for this long. It simply has never happened like this before!

You have a unique opportunity! Let your speaker cables and audio interconnects sit overnight, outside, in an unheated shed or garage. Presto! Free cryo-treatment without all the fuss and mess.

 

[trochetier]

Rooftop solar with battery backup and smart micro grids, when will we learn? TX is perfect for solar.

 

[its phillip]

My grandparents’ house (about ten minutes away) had a pipe burst this morning and has been without power for several hours

My wife and I haven’t had any issues at our house so far but we have previously experienced rolling blackouts in the summer.

 

[Mikado463]

Currently, it is a balmy 10 degrees (unheard of in these parts) and beautiful!
View attachment 44650

Very Nice, reminds me of 4th of July back home in Buffalo ..........

 

[Irvrobinson]

My grandparents’ house (about ten minutes away) had a pipe burst this morning and has been without power for several hours

I know their pain. Over the years I've had three pipes burst, including one which flooded a room of our house. I hope the damage from their's is contained.

My wife and I haven’t had any issues at our house so far but we have previously experienced rolling blackouts in the summer.

I never realized Texas had such significant power reliability problems until now. It seems only California is worse prepared. It's making me think renewal power sources are more trouble than they're worth in carbon savings. Wind power especially, which mucks up the landscape.

 

[Mikado463]

Perhaps Texas can buy some 'juice' from these assholes .......

China’s New Coal Power Plant Capacity in 2020 More Than 3 Times Rest of World’s

By Paul Homewood You read it here first!! Now Reuters have caught up: SHANGHAI – China put 38.4 gigawatts (GW) of new coal-fired power capacit…

notalotofpeopleknowthat.wordpress.com

 

[Mikado463]

and since we're talking energy, pour yourself a drink and ponder ..........

Analysis: Will China build hundreds of new coal plants in the 2020s?

Powerful stakeholders in China are lobbying for targets that would allow hundreds of new coal-fired power stations to be built into its next five-year-plan.

www.carbonbrief.org

 

[highfigh]

I was in far south TX, near the Mexico border for New Year 2000. I don't remember it being too bad that far south, but likely a lot that I don't remember about new years 2000

I get it, for the northerners down here, we seem silly in our winter ways. But, as mentioned, even for the people that can drive in these conditions fine, there are a vast majority of the other people on the road that can't, and they put themselves and everyone else in danger too.

I am the first to readily admit, I have no experience driving in these conditions, I keep my behind at home.

Over New Year for Y2K, we stayed in DFW, near the Dunham's (Grapevine, IIRC), where those escaped prisoners killed the security guard. We were very close when they were being chased by the Sheriffs, PD and anyone else who could help.

 

[Irvrobinson]

Perhaps Texas can buy some 'juice' from these assholes .......

China’s New Coal Power Plant Capacity in 2020 More Than 3 Times Rest of World’s

By Paul Homewood You read it here first!! Now Reuters have caught up: SHANGHAI – China put 38.4 gigawatts (GW) of new coal-fired power capacit…

notalotofpeopleknowthat.wordpress.com

This is the #1 reason (out of about 20) I can't get on-board at all with the New Green Deal bullshit. I have argued with some of my friends that China is effectively weaponizing carbon emissions. In 2020 the US accounted for about 13% of worldwide manmade carbon emissions. We'll probably be under 10% by the time all of these coal plants come online. If the US stopped emitting carbon today and the rest of the world continued on its merry way, the reduction would only buy a few years on the CO2 PPB curve.

Edit: I still think the US should have an objective to eliminate coal power generation ASAP. Coal causes too much air pollution & water pollution, mining is a dirty operation no matter how you do it, and burning coal releases mercury into the atmosphere. Even if coal generation had no carbon emissions I would argue it should be abolished.

 

[highfigh]

Perhaps Texas can buy some 'juice' from these assholes .......

China’s New Coal Power Plant Capacity in 2020 More Than 3 Times Rest of World’s

By Paul Homewood You read it here first!! Now Reuters have caught up: SHANGHAI – China put 38.4 gigawatts (GW) of new coal-fired power capacit…

notalotofpeopleknowthat.wordpress.com

Why, again, is the US the bad guy WRT pollution?