Texas’ power grid crumples under the cold
arstechnica.com
arstechnica.com
PNM in NM already has problems keeping the power running in that state. So I don't think peering with them will be of any help. I can't speak to OK, LA and AR.
It's a shame that nuclear has become a political football. As a Texan I would like to see more investment in Nuclear.
(I'm no expert; I just did some research looking at data centers once.)
I don't know the actual numbers behind the impact of flooding forest lands for hydro dams vs. burning coal but I would gather the longer the dam is usable the more favourable this equation becomes for hydro power. Any pointers to studies welcome.
Quebec is exporting its power to the US and there were some projects in the process of approval recently. I don't remember how far down the powerlines were to extend but definitely not all the way to Texas. Possibly even terminating in Vermont already.
Quebec is also prone to power outages in winter storms though I suspect that power transmission to the US would be much less affected by this than local distribution. Much easier to down a regular wooden above ground power line with trees growing all over it somewhere in Quebec proper vs downing a large metal power line going cross country in a basically 'clean shaven' corridor or through farmland.
That said yes there were lots of programs (which I also took advantage of like the reno Vert and what not) and it probably helped put us on the map especially in NA. But not compared to Europe. I have some friends in Germany who have a Passiv Haus for example.
Walking around here I see a loooot of icicles drooping from roofs. So you know they're literally heating the snow off their roof.
I think you’re thinking of Northern Pass, which was rejected by New Hampshire in 2018.
“...But that doesn't explain the shortfalls in coal and nuclear, and the ERCOT executive wasn't willing to speculate.”
Aren't they baseload plants and run at pretty much the same capacity most of the time?
https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/policy/energy/how-and-why...
"Can't buy enough generation capacity" would be accurate.
If you were lucky enough to be on a circuit with a hospital or fire station you have stayed up this entire time.
40% of Austin is offline and has been offline since 2 AM Monday.
They can't roll the blackout because every other circuit has a critical facility of some sort on it.
This is a fucking disaster.
>The shortfalls appear to be widespread, affecting everything from wind turbines to nuclear plants. One source of trouble may be an increased competition for natural gas, which is commonly used for heating in the United States.
https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/policy/energy/how-and-why...
They also said that areas close to critical infrastructure (hospitals, fire stations, police stations) are being prioritized. Explains why some of my friends in town haven’t lost any power all day
"An ERCOT director told Bloomberg that problems were widespread across generating sources, including coal, natural gas, and even nuclear plants. In the past, severe cold has caused US supplies of natural gas to be constrained, as use in residential heating competes with its use in generating electricity. But that doesn't explain the shortfalls in coal and nuclear, and the ERCOT executive wasn't willing to speculate."
This makes no sense at all.
But the general theme will probably be: Infrastructure in Texas isn't built to withstand freezes, and all kinds of things can go wrong when they happen. Keeping a generator running doesn't require just the generator staying warm (that's easy, as you note), but also the fuel supply lines, operations center, staff, etc. Like, maybe the staff literally can't get to the plant because there's a foot of snow on the ground and no snow plows in the state. Who knows... we'll find out in the coming weeks.