Power grid challenges in Texas

[highfigh]

LOL was thinking of just the plumbing.

How about a siphon?

 

[Irvrobinson]

My toilet tank is above the bathtub so not sure how that would work.

Leave it to you to have a weird toilet. Alright, for people with conventional US toilets a bathtub full of water lets you flush with the water off.

 

[lovinthehd]

Leave it to you to have a weird toilet. Already, for people with conventional US toilets a bathtub full of water lets you flush with the water off.

I do have a toilet in the basement that could assist with....if I fix the damn thing because I never usually use it My main floor is the top floor. Depends where you live, have lived where this would be unusual. But the bucket highfigh suggested would work, it's right in the same room

 

[Irvrobinson]

And what do power plants use for fuel?

In my ideal world, nuclear, but power companies are absolutely enamored with gas turbines, which are the best of the fossil fuel generators. I used to have a neighbor who was an exec at a power company, and he explained the love affair. Gas turbines have just-in-time fuel delivery, they can be powered up quickly to meet demand peaks, and they can be powered down when demand is not there. Not to mention that for the past several years fracking has made natural gas cheap. Nuclear, coal, and hydro don't start and stop, and they need stockpiled fuel. Wind and solar are the banes of their existence, because generation is uncorrelated to demand, and unreliable. Massive batteries are projected to have cooling problems, with cooling systems that use energy themselves.

 

[lovinthehd]

In my ideal world, nuclear, but power companies are absolutely enamored with gas turbines, which are the best of the fossil fuel generators. I used to have a neighbor who was an exec at a power company, and he explained the love affair. Gas turbines have just-in-time fuel delivery, they can be powered up quickly to meet demand peaks, and they can be powered down when demand is not there. Not to mention that for the past several years fracking has made natural gas cheap. Nuclear, coal, and hydro don't start and stop, and they need stockpiled fuel. Wind and solar are the banes of their existence, because generation is uncorrelated to demand, and unreliable. Massive batteries are projected to have cooling problems, with cooling systems that use energy themselves.

How do you figure nuclear is a viable alternative after Fukushima and Chernobyl given human/political management and mother nature? Especially here in the US where we've built the damn things on fault lines to save money? Let alone waste disposal....

 

[Swerd]

Let alone waste disposal....

Nuclear waste disposal is always the show-stopper in any discussion of nuclear power. To my knowledge that problem has never been dealt with. No one wants it buried near their backyard.

 

[lovinthehd]

Nuclear waste disposal is always the show-stopper in any discussion of nuclear power. To my knowledge that problem has never been dealt with. No one wants it buried near their backyard.

Or the accidents possible with the usual human management foibles (particularly the fantasies of much corporate management).

 

[Trell]

Must be serious, Ted Cruz has cut short his vacation in Mexico to help his constituents.....

There is a snow storm in Mar-a-Lago?

 

[GO-NAD!]

The resolution (it isn't legislation) does not mention specific technologies, it only mentions objectives. Like "removing greenhouse gases from the atmosphere". It is even an unclear objective. Or how about "upgrading all existing buildings in the US to achieve maximum energy efficiency..." Really? Even some 1920s home in Houston?

The closest thing in the resolution to focusing on a technology is high-speed rail, which is one of the most controversial uses of land in the US. And then the resolution goes on to talk about not abusing eminent domain (on page 13).

This isn't a resolution about technology, it is a new bill of rights, that includes, among other things:

- "guaranteeing a job with a family-sustaining wage"
- "strengthening" labor unions
- an indirect reference to tightening OHSA rules
- stopping the movement of jobs overseas
- getting the input of indigenous people (whatever they are... am I indigenous because I was born here?)
- freedom from unfair competition in business
- oh yeah, and the minor point of providing everyone in the US with high quality healthcare and "affordable adequate housing"

Not to mention the editorial comments about the "top one percenters". Such bullshit. This resolution is really a new economic and government assistance manifesto.

Is a resolution or legislation - whichever it is - the appropriate place to specify the technologies to be implemented to achieve greenhouse gas emission reductions? Wouldn't that kinda handcuff the effort? I envision a scenario like - "Sorry, I understand that (insert specific technology here) would be more efficient, but it's new and wasn't included in the legislation, so we can't support it."

As for old homes, they get retro-fitted for energy efficiency up here all the time. Attics are generally easy to insulate. Walls are more difficult/costly, but quite do-able. New windows make a big difference. Just sealing air leaks makes a huge difference.

 

[highfigh]

In my ideal world, nuclear, but power companies are absolutely enamored with gas turbines, which are the best of the fossil fuel generators. I used to have a neighbor who was an exec at a power company, and he explained the love affair. Gas turbines have just-in-time fuel delivery, they can be powered up quickly to meet demand peaks, and they can be powered down when demand is not there. Not to mention that for the past several years fracking has made natural gas cheap. Nuclear, coal, and hydro don't start and stop, and they need stockpiled fuel. Wind and solar are the banes of their existence, because generation is uncorrelated to demand, and unreliable. Massive batteries are projected to have cooling problems, with cooling systems that use energy themselves.

Power is a real quandry- the cheapest, most available fuels pollute although natural gas is the cleanest of them. We have to pick our poison.

 

[highfigh]

How do you figure nuclear is a viable alternative after Fukushima and Chernobyl given human/political management and mother nature? Especially here in the US where we've built the damn things on fault lines to save money? Let alone waste disposal....

Nuclear is still being built & upgraded but new plants aren't being built on fault lines. I wouldn't have thought anyone would build next to an ocean, but I guess they knew more than anyone else about the risks. Maybe they thought "What's the worst that could happen?".

 

[highfigh]

Must be serious, Ted Cruz has cut short his vacation in Mexico to help his constituents.....

How 'The Simpsons' predicted Ted Cruz flying to Mexico as Texas battles winter storms

The long-running animated hit was also credited with having foreseen the inauguration of Vice President Kamala Harris.

www.yahoo.com

 

[Mikado463]

How do you figure nuclear is a viable alternative after Fukushima and Chernobyl

That's exactly why it's viable !

 

[BoredSysAdmin]

Nuclear waste disposal is always the show-stopper in any discussion of nuclear power. To my knowledge that problem has never been dealt with. No one wants it buried near their backyard.

Recycled Nuclear Waste Will Power a New Reactor

Last week, the Department of Energy gave a commercial company the green light to test fuel made from spent uranium.

www.wired.com

 

[Irvrobinson]

This baffles me - why this isn't a standard, or for that matter why a big chunk of houses in TX isn't well insulated?
Isn't wall insulation would help hugely with cooling bills? Is the energy is SOO cheap, that no one bothers?
I keep fairly warm 74-75F in summers and in my 3k home my biggest summer electrical bills are typically around $250/m - not exactly a few pennies...

It's not just wall insulation, though thin 2x4 walls leave little room for insulation, doors and windows are significant issues, homes with open crawl spaces, homes with "window walls", and ceilings/roofs that have no significant space for insulation. Retrofitting would be a huge expense, and for all but the smallest jobs the occupants can't live there while the project is going on. That doesn't mean it can't or shouldn't be done, but it'll be a huge expense at a national level that'll take who knows how many years. It wouldn't surprise me if the work took decades and cost trillions.

 

[Irvrobinson]

Nuclear waste disposal is always the show-stopper in any discussion of nuclear power. To my knowledge that problem has never been dealt with. No one wants it buried near their backyard.

Or the accidents possible with the usual human management foibles (particularly the fantasies of much corporate management).

I am not talking about 50+ year-old nuclear technology, I'm talking about the latest innovation going on now, and there is a lot of it.

I already mentioned:

NuScale Power | Small Modular Reactor (SMR) Nuclear Technology

We are the global leaders in SMR nuclear technology, delivering our groundbreaking NuScale Power Module to customers in 4, 6, and 12-module VOYGR power plants.

www.nuscalepower.com

Which is my favorite. The first working commercial plant is scheduled for completion in Idaho in 2029.

NuScale, UAMPS Kick Off Idaho SMR Nuclear Plant Licensing

NuScale Power, Fluor Corp., and Utah Associated Municipal Power Systems (UAMPS) have executed a series of major agreements to prepare for licensing of the

www.powermag.com

Molten Salt reactors are also showing promise, and they can use existing nuclear waste for fuel:

spotlight-on-innovation-molten-salt-reactors-for-a-sustainable-clean-energy-transition

And then there's fusion power, which more researchers and governments are finally getting excited about:

Science | AAAS

www.sciencemag.org

Even Gates and Bezos:

Bill Gates-backed nuclear fusion pioneer: 'We can fill the gaps left by wind and solar'

Scalable plants of around 200MW could take on the toughest decarbonisation challeges – but not until 2040 or so, says CFS chief executive

www.rechargenews.com

Jeff Bezos Is Backing an Ancient Kind of Nuclear Fusion

This tech could be more practical than tokamaks.

www.popularmechanics.com

There's a huge amount of innovation going on in nuclear power generation. IMO it should be expedited. Solar and wind require nuclear/fossil fuel/hydro or massive batteries for a reliable grid. At least photovoltaics can be mounted on roofs, but like wind they have a huge recycling problem:

Recycling: A Solar Panel's Life after Death | GreenMatch

What to do with solar panels when their life cycle ends? Can they be recycled or will they end up in the landfills at some point?

www.greenmatch.co.uk

And the building-level distributed generation problem is a nightmare for local utilities to manage.

So IMO, nuclear is the only reasonable answer.

 

[panteragstk]

The burst pipe horror stories are starting to hit the internet. Like this one:

'Y'all, I cannot believe this!': Mom films disaster in her Texas home | CNN

As millions of Texans are still without water, heat and power, residents continue to struggle in the aftermath of winter storms. CNN's Camila Bernal reports.

www.cnn.com

Rule #1 of a power outage when it's very cold outside (e.g. 25F or less). Fill your bathtub(s) with water to power toilets, turn off the water to the house, and open the faucets to drain the pipes. If you don't, and the power stays off for hours, screaming and tears will almost certainly be the end state.

We did this. No issues. Power and water are back on. We have a boil notice, but it's not so bad.

 

[panteragstk]

This baffles me - why this isn't a standard, or for that matter why a big chunk of houses in TX isn't well insulated?
Isn't wall insulation would help hugely with cooling bills? Is the energy is SOO cheap, that no one bothers?
I keep fairly warm 74-75F in summers and in my 3k home my biggest summer electrical bills are typically around $250/m - not exactly a few pennies...

So, a few things to clear up.

Our houses are insulated, BUT we have concrete slab foundations that suck the heat out during the cold. Windows are usually an issue too for a lot of people. My house is around 4 years old so I don't really have those issues aside from the cold foundation. I also paid to "upgrade" to blown in insulation. I wanted spray foam on the outside and rockwool around at least the theater, but I got blown in.

My garage is also insulated so my water heaters don't have to work all that hard. I'd say the coldest I've ever felt it in my garage was when it was 8F out a few days ago. It felt like maybe 45F. Usually it's as low as 55F and won't really go above 80F in the summer, unless you open the door.

Energy in TX can be cheap depending on where you live. When I was in the DFW area we had the powertochoose site that lets us compare rates from tons of different companies. However, not all cities are like that. I lived in Lubbock (300k people or so) and there was ONE choice. Same with where I live now. You want power, you pay what they bill you. Solar is HUGE down here, but I won't bite until the solar roofing material Tesla makes is available here.

In the heat of the summer, ~100F or so, I try to keep it around the same temp as you and my bill is around $400. However, that is also my water bill and garbage bill, so my usage isn't that bad. That's also with multiple PCs and servers running. Not to mention garage fridge, chest freezer and all that. I'm glad I made sure to get a well insulated home. I've had the opposite and it sucks.

 

[highfigh]

It's not just wall insulation, though thin 2x4 walls leave little room for insulation, doors and windows are significant issues, homes with open crawl spaces, homes with "window walls", and ceilings/roofs that have no significant space for insulation. Retrofitting would be a huge expense, and for all but the smallest jobs the occupants can't live there while the project is going on. That doesn't mean it can't or shouldn't be done, but it'll be a huge expense at a national level that'll take who knows how many years. It wouldn't surprise me if the work took decades and cost trillions.

While 4" isn't a lot of space for insulation, a 2x4 wall with fiberboard sheathing and other better material choices for insulation can be in the R-20 area and that HAS TO be better than what was used prior to the most recent builds. Then, think about the number of houses that have single-glazed windows- that and infiltration are huge contributors to heat loss.

 

[highfigh]

So, a few things to clear up.

Our houses are insulated, BUT we have concrete slab foundations that suck the heat out during the cold. Windows are usually an issue too for a lot of people. My house is around 4 years old so I don't really have those issues aside from the cold foundation. I also paid to "upgrade" to blown in insulation. I wanted spray foam on the outside and rockwool around at least the theater, but I got blown in.

My garage is also insulated so my water heaters don't have to work all that hard. I'd say the coldest I've ever felt it in my garage was when it was 8F out a few days ago. It felt like maybe 45F. Usually it's as low as 55F and won't really go above 80F in the summer, unless you open the door.

Energy in TX can be cheap depending on where you live. When I was in the DFW area we had the powertochoose site that lets us compare rates from tons of different companies. However, not all cities are like that. I lived in Lubbock (300k people or so) and there was ONE choice. Same with where I live now. You want power, you pay what they bill you. Solar is HUGE down here, but I won't bite until the solar roofing material Tesla makes is available here.

In the heat of the summer, ~100F or so, I try to keep it around the same temp as you and my bill is around $400. However, that is also my water bill and garbage bill, so my usage isn't that bad. That's also with multiple PCs and servers running. Not to mention garage fridge, chest freezer and all that. I'm glad I made sure to get a well insulated home. I've had the opposite and it sucks.

The slab may lower the temperature, but not as much as a badly insulated exterior wall since the ground temperature isn't as low, other than at the perimeter. Too bad the slab isn't insulated. If I was on slab, I would consider adding radiant floor heat if the flooring was going to be replaced.