Clean Power Alliance’s Post

More sun, wind, and water Fri Apr. 26. For the 42nd of the past 50 days and the 13th day in a row, Wind-Water-Solar supply exceeded California demand for 0.25-9.25 h/day. Yesterday, it was for 6.6 h. The minimum WWS day or night was 47.6%, the highest minimum ever. The max was 128.5%. The 24-hour average was 74.4%.

While ERCOT appears optimistic about the grid's readiness, the vulnerability of the Texas power grid to extreme weather events remains a point of contention. It underscores the ongoing importance of modernizing and fortifying the energy infrastructure to ensure resilience against the challenges posed by both summer and winter extremes. The state's commitment to renewable energy is commendable, but addressing the aging infrastructure remains a critical task for ensuring long-term reliability. What are your thoughts? #energyindustry #TexasPowerGrid #EnergyResilience #RenewableEnergy #WinterPreparedness #GridStability #EnergyInfrastructure

Better sooner than later

The recent cold snap in Texas brought a crucial test for the state's electric grid, the first major challenge since the devastating blackouts of Winter Storm Uri in 2021. While the weather wasn't as severe this time, record-breaking peak demand highlights a growing mismatch between grid capacity and energy needs. The good news: the grid held strong. Enhanced weatherization efforts and new energy reserve products, implemented in the wake of Uri, seem to have paid off. Dispatchable generators performed reliably, and conservation efforts helped manage peak demand. This is a victory for the measures taken in the past three years. While grid improvements are commendable, they're being outpaced by surging energy needs. This creates a precarious situation, where future extreme weather events could push the system to its limit. Encouraging consumers to use less energy and empowering them to shift consumption to non-peak times can significantly reduce pressure on the grid. Additionally, expanding renewable energy sources like solar, with upgraded transmission infrastructure to integrate them effectively, can provide sustainable, year-round support.

Half of US at risk of losing power in winter due to strains on power grid “Regional system operators in a vast swath of the country stretching from Texas to New England are “at risk of insufficient electricity supplies during peak winter conditions,” the North American Electric Reliability Corp. said Wednesday in its winter reliability assessment,” “In Texas, the state grid operator has warned that there is an “unacceptable” risk of an emergency in a powerful winter storm.” As we have often mentioned, the energy transition will be complicated, difficult, painful and expensive. The always on reliability of the grid is a thing of the past. Outages and power quality issues will continue to get worse. Your business survival maybe at risk unless to take action. Unfortunately, what actions should you take? The best action is to engage with a concierge utility™ like Exergy Energy to manage your energy and decarbonization needs. Read more at: https://lnkd.in/eN9Ct-Eb #resiliency #renewableenergy #grid #energytransitioncrisis #nuclearenergy 

My latest post for Kleinman Center for Energy Policy.

Interesting takeaway at the end of the article that the largest barrier to grid reliability is the current industry oversight (or lack thereof) and the monetary interests of fossil fuel generators not wanting renewables to cut into their revenue streams...

🛠️ With up to 23 storms predicted this year, it's not a matter of if, but when. Secure your energy independence with Castaways Energy. Our solar panels and batteries are your shield against outages. DM us to get started! #EnergySecurity #BePrepared

ERCOT's recent decision to end a vital winter program has sparked concerns about Texas' energy landscape. Learn more about the impacts and proactive measures in one of our latest articles. https://lnkd.in/g-rDSmGA

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission has pointed out how close the New York region is to the inability of its #grid to meet #electricity demand during winter demand surges. Sadly, this is not unique to New York. It is true for ERCOT (Texas) and parts of energy-rich Canada. A lot of the blame lies with leadership at these grids for poor resource planning. But some of it is because grid planning underestimates the supply/demand timing imbalances for #renewableenergy. Unlike #fossilfuel power plants, renewables are not "dispatchable" to meet demand at the time it occurs. I don't think US #energypolicy will wake up to this problem until the lights go out in Washington, DC. What do you think? Doug Houseman Doug Sheridan Matt Alvarez Matt Quist Bill Shevlin Ralph Birkhoff David Blackmon Oscar L. Martin Renewable Energy Clean Energy https://lnkd.in/gwiTF5V2