World’s ‘solar and wind capital’ freezing due to snow ‘blanketing millions’ of solar panels

@LangleyMan and @Tigger2,

Here’s my hydro head scratcher story. Several years ago my wife and I visited Glen Canyon Dam in Arizona. On the tour I noticed less than half the turbines were spinning. I knew water levels were low so asked if that was the reason more generators weren’t online. I was informed they weren’t operating because there was no demand for electricity. A few minutes earlier I’d been studying a map of areas power from their facilities is transmitted to. I was a bit surprised to see my home county on the map as it’s a fair jaunt from my place to Glen Canyon.

So I continued my line of questioning, asking if there was no demand or no demand at the asking price. I was told there was no demand.

Well, it was late summer and at home my irrigation wells were shut down on what we call “control” because enough power can’t be sourced to operate wells during the day when air conditioning and industrial use is high. The wells come off “control” usually around 10:00pm at night when other uses decrease.

So here were hydro units not operating because of no “demand” at the time when I would have gladly purchased the power and the transmission capabilities were there for me to do so.

So there are definitely games afoot. As I mentioned previously our power supplier is socialized and controlled by elected owner patrons one of which is a close neighbor. He assured me they purchase power for irrigation when it’s available.

 

I tend to start in terms that just because I don't understand doesn't mean its wrong.
My extrapolation of what you've told me is that there are restrictions on what the power from the damn is allowed to be used for.
That the turbines not in use were being given a restricted supply of water designed to keep them clear and turning slowly, while allowing enough water to flow down stream to supply those areas.
But that the guy you asked did not wish to explain all that to you, or only knew his bit of the job.
In reality I don't know, but I also don't assume its always incompetence.
This understanding comes from years of shareholder meetings with people who have a gram of information on how the company runs and demand I stop being so wasteful, then rebut any explanation as an excuse.

 

I assume you could pay more and and use power during the day. Were they saving the water behind the dam?

 

No. We have the option to choose how many control days (mostly which days) up to a point based on KWh price scales, but everyone must be on load control to some extent. At least that is what I’ve been told. I am supposed to get a callback from an engineer from my public power company tomorrow to discuss theoretical feasibility of zero load control at an uncapped price model. Good question.

On saving the water I don’t know. There was very little outflow that day, I’m assuming the bare minimum required by environmental law as the lake was quite low.

 

It's almost like some people in this world are capable of understanding the difference between local weather conditions (driven by fluctuations in the polar vortex) and global average temperatures. Weird.

 

Hmmm. Sounds fishy to me--like you go the old country run around. If some BIG outfit said they wanted no control days, I bet they could get it.

Good luck. What you're going through may not qualify as official "red tape" that makes people trying to run a business throw up their arms, but it is.

I taught business startups for years and the regulatory jungle got worse every year. IMO, the worst offender is the IRS. The mob turned on Congress, but I think I could dog whistle them over to the IRS without much strain on my lips.

The West has a water problem. We need to be nice to our northern neighbors because they have 7% of the worlds renewable fresh water, and 20% overall.

 

Nah, I’ll get straight answers. They work for me. And I’m friends/neighbors with the big players so would know about deals like that. We’re all in the same boat. Their vote doesn’t count for any more than mine and there is no profit incentive to favor one customer over another.

I certainly agree with that. Regulations are a hassle and usually expensive for the producer/consumer. I can’t believe the hoops you have to jump through to start businesses some places.

“The west” has already attempted to pump and haul groundwater from my state to the front range of Colorado. There are always going to be water problems when more people wish to live in areas than the natural water supply can support. West coast states like CA will have to look at desalinization at some point. The natural watersheds of freshwater are finite no matter the climate.

And what could be “nicer” than selling them power at a lower cost than they can produce it themselves?

 

Sometimes you can buy your way around some restrictions. Sometimes you can, but shouldn't. Sometimes you must.

Regulations in general are necessary because most of us live in reasonably dense urban environment. I remember when they closed where I lived to hunting. There were just too many people building on five- and ten-acre properties. It was the end of an era. But some regulations are plain stupid. The bureaucrats brought forward tree ordinance where you weren't allowed to cut down a healthy tree on your property unless it was interfering with your house.

Climate change is putting the squeeze on what has always been a struggle. I think you're right about desalinization. How about wave motion for an energy source for thr process?

 

Agreed

Sure, unless you are hunting pheasant or quail with a shotgun 5 acres probably isn’t safe for hunting. Can’t argue with that. But yes, trees, flag poles, the color of your house, etc. are things I feel are your business.

They have been talking about wave generation since I was a kid. Still none for the US I’m aware of. It’s these kinds of things that sometimes make me wonder how serious we are about climate change. All talk and no action.

 

Guys I knew who had hunted around there all their lives were upset but they understood for reasons you understand.

We convinced them people don't spend thousands of bucks cutting down trees unless they really want them gone. A lot of the trees making people nervous are 130' firs and cedars. Even worse, there are huge hemlocks and they tend to fall over. Council didn't pass a tree ordinance and the trees are mostly still there.

If we were serious about climate change, we'd be looking at nuclear energy as an option.

 

Probably not the same your side of the pond. But in the UK we used not to have regulation on tree felling. We lost thousands of acres of ancient woodland, grubbed up to become farmland. Where I grew up you could leave my home, cross two fields and enter a wood, then you could walk in that wood for 4 miles and come out in the next village.
Some years later I took my boys and all that was left was a couple of acres with a mesh fence around it and a 'Keep out, Nature reserve' sign.
Seems not everyone cares about the environment.

 

What Changed In Texas?
Posted on February 24, 2021 by tonyheller


This graph shows all 1,792,641 daily maximum temperatures in Texas recorded in the USHCN database going back to the 19th century. Texas had similar cold in many years, including 2011, 1991, 1990, 1989, 1983, 1963 and 1961. But Texas used to rely on fossil fuels, rather than wind. I was living in Houston during the 1989, 1990 and 1991 cold snaps.



05 Feb 1989, 1 – Austin American-Statesman at Newspapers.com

The climate hasn’t changed. What has changed is the propaganda which has driven politicians to lunacy.

 

Not sure what your point is here. The power supply also failed in a similar way in many if not all the years mentioned in your post too. Are you implying that this year's failure is due to green energy supplies?

 

The fundamental point is that there's nothing new about this year's cold snap.

 

Woods and forested areas here generally don’t make good farmland. The good farmland was deforested or broken out of sod long ago.

it’s actually very difficult to break up native sod that doesn’t have a history of being farmed in the past. It’s regulated federally as well as locally to some extent. To be honest I have no idea on wooded privately owned acres if they are treated the same or not. A lot of trees around here are cut or burned through prescribed burning, but to maintain pasture quality, not to farm.

Shame about your woods. Bet you made a lot of good memories there as a child.

 

Most people like trees. I have seen people ruin their property by cutting all the trees. But they are paying the energy bill and they took the hit in devaluation.

I just got off the phone with the engineer from my power provider. I asked him first if all consumers opted for or demanded no load control, would it be possible. He said the grid physical structure could handle it, and two weeks ago he would have said it was theoretically possible to source the power. This week he said he would not put that much faith in the system after what happened. We trade power with some of the the southern utilities that had issues last week and even though we had local generation capable of covering all our needs my state did have to participate in rolling blackouts because of contractual agreements with other districts.

He elaborated by saying if all generation units were 100% operational in all regions we have contractual agreements with all wells could possibly remain on in a zero price cap scenario. But if the wind stopped somewhere, a region had an exceptionally hot day, or a gas plant or something had to shut down it would create a situation like what Texas saw. Demand outpacing production resulting in rolling blackouts or failures

The good news is yesterday when I called he was in meetings with another public power district exploring a collaborative effort to build substantial run of the river hydro generation units on our canals. I had not heard we were headed in that direction so was happy to hear that.

 

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Below is the latest press statement given by Texas Governor Abbott on February 24.

How's this for irony... Feb 24 was also the date on Colonel Travis' famous "Victory or Death" 1836 letter from the Alamo!

http://www.travisletter.com/the-letter.html


Here's the transcript of Gov Abbott's speech:

https://gov.texas.gov/news/post/gov...ower-outages-winter-weather-response-in-texas


Governor Abbott Delivers Televised Statewide Address On Power Outages, Winter Weather Response In Texas

February 24, 2021 | Austin, Texas | Press Release

Governor Greg Abbott tonight delivered a televised statewide address on the state's response to recent power outages caused by the severe winter weather as well as the actions the state is taking to ensure the reliability of Texas’ power infrastructure.

TRANSCRIPT

*Governor Abbott often deviates from prepared remarks

My fellow Texans.

Good evening from the State Emergency Operations Center.

Tragic does not even begin to describe the devastation and the suffering that you have endured over the past week.

Too many of you were shivering in your own homes with no power, no heat, and no water.

I want to thank the countless Texans who stepped up to help those in need. As is often the case in Texas, the worst of events brings out the best in Texans. For those of you still hurting, I want you to know that the state is using every resource to fix this problem.

Many of you are angry. You have every right to be. I’m angry too. At a time when essential services were needed the most, the system broke. You deserve answers. You will get those answers.

The Electric Reliability Council of Texas, known as ERCOT, manages the flow of power in Texas. Before the storm hit, ERCOT repeatedly assured the state and the public that ERCOT was prepared.

Those assurances turned out to be false.

We now know that power generators of all sources were not prepared for this severe winter weather. We have also learned that ERCOT operators should have acted quicker to stabilize the grid and to prevent power generators from being knocked offline.

Our task now is to take the lessons of the past week and the anger that we all feel and channel them into immediate action.

I made responding to this storm an emergency item this legislative session. I am already working on solutions with the Lieutenant Governor, the Speaker of the House, and the Legislature.

First is protecting you. It is outrageous for residents to be saddled with skyrocketing power bills.

The state is already investigating multiple electric providers about these spikes. Also, we have ordered that Texans will not have their power shut off because of unpaid bills until the legislature has time to act on this.

Second, ERCOT must be overhauled. Five ERCOT board members have already resigned, including the Chair and Vice-Chair. But more must be done. Tomorrow the Legislature begins comprehensive investigations of ERCOT.

I am already working with the Legislature on reforms to add more power to the grid and to ensure that we never run out of power again. Also, the Office of the Attorney General has launched a formal investigation into ERCOT.

Third, the fact is, power generation from all sources buckled under the harsh, freezing winter weather. That includes natural gas, coal, nuclear, as well as wind and solar. Each of these power sources failed to fully produce because of inadequate safeguards.

That is why I have made it a Legislative priority to mandate and to fund the winterization of the Texas power infrastructure. This will protect our power grid from future winter weather events.

No words can fix what happened or ease the pain that you endured. But I assure you this: this legislative session will not end until we fix these problems.

And we will ensure that the tragic events of the past week are never repeated.

Your safety is my top concern.

I pray that God continues to bless you all.


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“Wind was operating almost as well as expected”… A Texas-sized Energy Lie
David Middleton
Guest “fact checking the fact checkers” by David Middleton Note to fact checking trolls: The featured image is a meme. Look up the word meme before you prattle on about…

 

I take it that additional power may be harder to come by in the future. Interesting.

The state is responsible for seeing to it that Texans have the power they need. No excuses accepted.

 

Austin’s NBC Affiliate Is Wrong to Claim Climate Change Is Causing More Weather Extremes
EXTREME WEATHER FEBRUARY 25, 2021

 

It sounds like the industry is trying to learn from what happened. He spent a lot of time expressing his disbelief on how much of what happened hinged on the simple fact nobody expected it to ever get that cold there for that long. I guess he’s the type of engineer that believes in over engineering things as opposed to under engineering them.

Yep, it seems it’s Texas’s responsibility since they wanted autonomy. But there were a couple big short term blackouts on the east coast in the past that Texas probably avoided being affected by. There are positives and negatives to every choice.

 

Or an engineer who compromised to keep costs down at the behest of higher-ups.

It looks as though public money saved has created a lot of private costs.

 

I guess this means there's even less excuse for what happened in Texas.

 

I don’t think you understand our power provider. The “higher ups” are guys like my neighbor who farms and irrigates just like me that we elect to make the decisions above the engineer.

That’s for sure. Always trade offs.

 

There was never an excuse.