Winter Storms, Summer Heat, and our 3rd World Electric System

MB, this reminds me of the Ann Richards administration where she appointed folks based on victim status who were wholly unqualified for the job. It was noticed and not a single Dem has been elected since.

 

Our prison system is littered with Ann's plans that never came to fruition...State Jail Felony offenses were designed to be on a treatment track with the facilities to provide some manner of treatment. But, never properly funded, the treatment didn't exist and defendants would frequently tell the court to screw the probation, just give them the 180 days in State Jail so they could get out and get their next fix.

And then there was the review she wanted of Burning Bed cases...women imprisoned for killing abusive spouses. Untold hours wasted on reviews that resulted in perhaps two of those cases having sentences commuted.

 

Texas power use to hit record as temperatures soar

Texas heat wave points to problems with congestion on power grid

Extreme heat in June offers a test and a warning for the Texas grid

The Texas grid is designed to fail

 

TEXAS: the greenest state in the land of the free.

"When it comes to energy generation from renewable sources, Texas is the undisputed king."

Texas renewables generate record power in early 2022, outpacing most popular gas generation

Inside Clean Energy: Texas Is the Country’s Clean Energy Leader, Almost in Spite of Itself - Inside Climate News

https://www.washingtonpost.com/weat...ergy-winter-renewable-jacobson-dessler-rogan/

https://www.saveonenergy.com/green-energy/texas-leads-in-renewable-energy/

 

"Texas is widely recognized as a leader in wind energy – it generated nearly 6 million megawatts of its renewable energy total from that source in November. That’s nearly 27 percent of the U.S. wind energy produced that month and 175 percent more than second-place Oklahoma."

https://www.saveonenergy.com/green-energy/texas-leads-in-renewable-energy/

 

It's why ERCOT keeps sending out notifications to turn our thermostat up during the summer and down during the winter. It has made the grid much more brittle. The more wind and solar the more brittle. We need to make the grid more resilient.

 

We’re #1

Those filthy polluters in California and Massachusetts had best stop ruining our planet…

 

If it ends up being more than just a warning to curb energy use, I can see Beto beating Abbott in November.

Texas grid operator tells residents to curb power as heat hits record highs

 

Beto has no shot

 

Yeah. Francis would make it way worse by forcing more wind and solar on us. Then he would probably enact price controls and create black outs. As bad as Abbott is, Francis would be an absolute disaster.

 

I'd like to think that, but the lead over Beto shrank to 6% last week. Losing AC when it's 110 just a year and a half removed from the freeze would only shrink that further.

 

So far there have been no rolling black outs.
There have been power outages but there always are and are not connected to a grid failure.

We are in extreme extreme heat/no wind conditions. It is reasonable for ERCOT to ask for customers to try to help a little.
ERCOT says it does not anticipate having anything longer than an hour or so IF necessary.
Only people who want to make it political will ignore the extreme situation we are in and look to be in for awhile.

 

Ads of beto saying he's going to confiscate firearms won't run until October. When that happens the door slams in his face. Beto had no chance

 

ERCOT is giving the same warnings as many other grid operators across the nation are giving...

The problem is the idiots who allow themselves to be suckered by the out-of-state mouthpieces who try to amplify a warning and refuse to look at the actual grid status.

Grid and Market Conditions

 

The pros and cons of remaining on an independent grid vs joining a national grid should be considered. There are plausible arguments on both sides.

 

Texans (not most of the recent imports) = Independent-minded.

That should apply to our power grid.

 

I hope there is good security around our facilities.

 

Agree, which is why I said IF.

 

I agree with your agreement

 

With the current regime running the national ship, there are NO plausible arguments for being on a national grid. They have screwed the nation on every other component of energy policy and would do likewise on our electrical generation.

Besides, do you REALLY want to have to support Commiefornia and their piss-poor management of so many elements of their electric system?

 

mb,

if you ever get a chance, peruse California Edison's financials, which are made up primarily of untapped thermal reserves - think Old Faithful.

 

Perhaps an “emergency” connection with the national grid, so we can buy power from the national grid when we’re overloaded—such as in Snowmeggedon. Require the governor’s sign off to take power from the national grid, and only in emergencies. That would have been nice.

 

Unpopular opinion alert: I think not being linked to the national grid is pure hubris - "We're Texas!" kind of weak *** crap.

 

Not being part of the national grid is fine, but making a connection that can be used in emergencies only (with the governor’s sign off) just makes good common sense.

 

Interesting comment re “recent imports.” Just curious as to where you’re coming from: how many generations has your family been in Texas?

 

Chop
But such an agreement would have to be a 2 way street.
Which grid is more likely to need help? There are rolling black outs going on now up there.
How often have there been rolling blacks elsewhere in the country versus here? Every year

 

This place is starting to resemble a 3rd World country in some ways. I don't recall rolling blackouts in my youth. Blackouts happened when lightning hit some component nearby, and lasted until the lineman (or whatever he's called) came out and fixed it. That, and during hurricanes. The idea that we didn't have power because we didn't have enough generation capacity was foreign to me.

 

Now that the Euros have re-classified "clean burning" natural gas as "green" energy--we're definitely the greenest state in the land of the free. #1 in renewables, #1 in natural gas production. Granola crunching hippies should be kissing Texas' a$$ non-stop.

That, and holding Texas up as the shining city on a hill for "green" energy.

 

Texas is #1 in green energy.

If only the rest of the country was more like Texas.

Then the planet might last longer than 2-3 more years...

We should pass legislation to make the entire nation mirror the policies of Texas, and usher in a new "green" era.*



*not actual Al Gore quotes... but they fit his worldview--looking at the facts.

 

The more we adopt green the more you will see it happen.