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originally posted by: ketsuko
They are up to about 23% in Texas, but as I mentioned, they also use natural gas, and those froze over as well.
originally posted by: Peeple
There's no office or anyone handling any real-time on demand adjustments.
Some of the energy sources powering the grid were knocked out by the inclement weather, most of which were facilities run by gas, coal or nuclear energy.
“Most of the plants that went offline during evening and morning today were fueled by one of those sources,” said Dan Woodfin, senior director of system operations at ERCOT.
Would have been built for those temperatures which they weren't because Texas.
originally posted by: ArMaP
originally posted by: ketsuko
They are up to about 23% in Texas, but as I mentioned, they also use natural gas, and those froze over as well.
Again, how do other countries do it?
Do natural gas pipes froze in Russia, Finland or Denmark?
Is it so unlikely to have these temperatures at this time of year?
originally posted by: ArMaP
Is it that rare to have cold weather in Texas during the Winter? I think I remember people complaining of if a few years ago.
originally posted by: vonclod
We are lucky, we have hydro electric, and natural gas..which flows no matter the outside temp.
originally posted by: Xtrozero
Depends on what part. Dallas is typically 40 as a low average in the winter. A polar vortex is not something they plan for with low 20s in temperature.
originally posted by: Peeple
a reply to: ArMaP
It's a matter of planning. How often does weather like that happen in Texas? Once every 40-ish years?
The electricity grid was designed to be in high demand during the summer, when Texans crank their air conditioning at home. But some of the energy sources that power the grid during the summer are offline during the winter. So when Texans stayed home during the storm on Sunday and demanded record amounts of electricity, the state’s energy system could not keep up.
Some of the energy sources powering the grid were knocked out by the inclement weather, most of which were facilities run by gas, coal or nuclear energy.
“Most of the plants that went offline during evening and morning today were fueled by one of those sources,” said Dan Woodfin, senior director of system operations at ERCOT.
Wind turbines, which provide a much smaller source of energy for the state’s power grid, were iced over and also out of commission.
TexasTribune
They were iced over because they weren't running because they aren't needed under normal circumstances.
So you could keep them running producing like 3 times above need for the once in 40 years times it might be needed but...
who'd be paying for that?
originally posted by: ArMaP
Well, in school I was taught that we should "over design" (I don't know the real name in English, I hope everyone gets the idea) things, so something like even a simple lightbulb (the old ones with a filament) can stand an unexpected event. Designing power plants and distribution systems should follow the same simple principle.
3rd world indeed, as this sounds more like bad planning or execution than a problem with the energy sources, as North European countries have very cold weather and none of these problems, as far as I know, and have very high levels of renewable energy sources of electricity. If the windmills do not freeze in Sweden why do they freeze in the US?
Texas’s experience highlights the perils of becoming overly reliant upon wind, solar and natural gas because these energy sources are not as reliable as coal or nuclear power during extreme weather conditions.