Texas power issues. Windfarms getting iced up. 67

[Alistair_Heaton]

That's a lot of capacity that's been lost. Must admit being Aberdonian we always associate Texas with hot and humid... Not snow storms.

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/...nd-turbines-texas-power-outages-b1802596.html

 

[RedSnake]

And I've never heard of an "environmentally insensitive" or "environmentally tough" areas, but they must exist if their opposite exists. Anyone have an explanation?

I can probably find a lot of articles on this for you if you want.

But the big issue in general is that the Baltic Sea has brackish water and it is a shallow sea.
The average depth is only about 55 meters.
There is no natural large flow or exchange of water as in the Atlantic or in the Pacific ocean.
Fresh water pours out from rivers around the Baltics Sea but the saltwater can only come in between Sweden and Denmark.
So the natural balance is more important then in a large sea, it can't take the same beating as other seas, since buffer/volume is smaller.

Best Regards A

“Logic will get you from A to Z; imagination will get you everywhere.“
Albert Einstein

 

[Alistair_Heaton]

Must admit I struggle to see what the problem is with Air con and solar.

I have it in summer it sits there pulling 2 kW giving 6.5 kW of cooling power. I will grant you that when the compressor fires up it pulls 18 amps which is more than the inverter can pump out so for a couple of seconds it pulls from the grid. But that's not a big issue.

Its a water feed system which also does heating in the winter. Cooling COP is 3.2 ish and heating is 4.2 COP.

I hate refrigerant systems mainly because I can't fix them myself where as water feed I can cut copper pipe and get the blow torch out and do what ever I like with them.

To be honest the Baltic sea is pretty nasty. Its had loads of crap pumped into it over the years from heavy industry. Its also had quite a few primary coolant flushes performed in it not only by the Russians subs. As RS says there is limited circulation and mass transfer through the straights between Denmark and Sweden. Its pretty much dead below about 10 meters with no oxygen. there are currents but most of the crap just gets into dead water and then drops to the bottom. The local fishermen like to use drag nets which just lifts all the crap up and gets it floating again. Personally I don't eat anything that comes out of it. And its a big no no for women to eat stuff out of it when trying for a child or pregnant. This opinion though creates quite a lot of distress amongst the locals who are blind to what's happened to it.

 

[LittleInch]

Interestingly one issue with lots of domestic solar systems on the grid is that in the event of a power outage on a sunny day, there is a double hit if domestic areas lose power as you also lose all the solar input generation.

So not only does it mean that cutting the grid power off to an area has a lower impact than it might before, but if you are in positive, you also lose the Solar input generation.

But in texas it really should be a lot more than what they have at present.

Remember - More details = better answers
Also: If you get a response it's polite to respond to it.

 

[1503-44]

I think it was just the previously high cost of a larger array. Since prices have come down, an extra few panels for starting loads isn't such a hit to the wallet as it once was.

 

[Lou Scannon]

RedSnake, with respect, that didn't answer my question. Obviously for any given area a case can be made that it is "environmentally sensitive". So what, in general, makes these areas special compared to somewhere that has not (yet) been labeled as "environmentally sensitive". And I want someone to give me an example of an area that is not environmentally sensitive.

"Schiefgehen wird, was schiefgehen kann" - das Murphygesetz

 

[Fischstabchen]

Sparten5,

The report I linked was an energy report. That was misleading and I deleted that post.

If you want to use the EIA data, it shows that the U.S. national is around 11-12% of energy coming from non-hydro renewables. Texas 20%+ depending on where you get your data. Texas produces twice as much wind and solar on a percentage basis than the national average.

 

[Spartan5]

Fischstaben,

The EIA data shows that the national average renewable electrical production with hydro is 19.7%, without 12.5%. Texas without hydro is 72% more than the US at 21.5%. That still puts them outside of the top ten. And why are we excluding hydro anyway?

Is there some problem with the EIA's information that calls it into question? Do you have another source of comprehensive, detailed data that shows something different?

 

[Spartan5]

And I want someone to give me an example of an area that is not environmentally sensitive

 

[Alistair_Heaton]

It's quiet sensitive to a cold environment apparently.

 

[Fischstabchen]

It is like sausage. Everyone wants their diesel, gasoline, airplane fuel, lubricants, fertilizers, plastics, and any number of other products but doesn't want to make it themselves and points their nose down at who makes it for them. You'll find refineries and chemical plants in nearly every state but Texas just has more due to logistics and past history. All of them are eye sores. You can't make a bunch of distillation columns and mile and miles of piping look pretty. I think some people have it wrapped in their head that the industrial gulf coast was created by earth hating pollutionist and not tremendous public demand and need for a number of products.

 

[1503-44]

Every country in the world has a protected area system. Protected areas cover around 15.4 per cent of the world’s land area and 3.4 per cent of the global ocean area. They store 15 percent of the global terrestrial carbon stock, help reduce deforestation, habitat and species loss, and support the livelihoods of over one billion people. The number of designated protected areas rose between 1990 and 2014 from 13.4 million km2 to 32 million km2 of the total area covered.

So, since 80% of the earth's surface is not listed, and the reasons that areas are E.S. are many and diverse and often not apparent to the casual observer, it is easier to concentrate on areas that are E.S.
State and National Parks, monuments and designated scenic beauty, trails, recreational, wildlife areas are E.S.
Habitats harboring endangered species are E.S., esp. breeding grounds and migration routes and resting areas.
Areas requiring long times to recover for any reason after sustaining light damage are particularly E.S.
Areas having a unique or critical, or otherwise cultural or economically valuable resource are E.S.
Areas of historic, architectural, scientific, archaeological, or cultural interest and heritage of many kinds are often E.S.

You can be sure that these protected areas are E.S.
World Database on Protected Areas

https://www.protectedplanet.net/en

When in doubt, contact the environmental authorities in the local area of your particular interest for more specific info.

 

[RedSnake]

Lou Scannon
Obviously for any given area a case can be made that it is "environmentally sensitive". So what, in general, makes these areas special compared to somewhere that has not (yet) been labeled as "environmentally sensitive". And I want someone to give me an example of an area that is not environmentally sensitive.

I am not shore that question can be answered, it depends on how large areas we are talking about and what is impacting them.
And for a country it's only possible to determine that a area is "non sensitive" to the what ever they are planing to do with it, but if you take into a count everything that comes in from all other directions that they do not decides over, it would not be impossible as I see it.

Fischstabchen
Everyone wants their diesel, gasoline, airplane fuel, lubricants, fertilizers, plastics, and any number of other products but doesn't want to make it themselves and points their nose down at who makes it for them.

Everybody does not want all those things.
But I understand what you mean.
At least here we do a lot to replace all the mentioned things with environmentally friendly alternatives or reuse what we can and not manufacture more.
But it is very much up to consumers to take responsibility, it's easy to avoid those things when there are alternatives but when there are none, it's hard to avoid them.

Best Regards A

“Logic will get you from A to Z; imagination will get you everywhere.“
Albert Einstein

 

[1503-44]

Texas has the refineries, chemical processing economic base for the same reason that every region has their particular speciality product... economics. Tx has refining and chemicals economic base because they are sitting on top of the required resources and feedstocks, have relatively cheap fuel, access to the finance, technology and support of producers of other products needed to make their gas, diesel and chemicals and deliver them to their market, which they also just happen to sit in the middle of, that demands their products. Actually there aren't many industrialised processes that look pretty. Steal mills, textile mills, open pit mines, shipyards, most any typical harbor, freight or stock yard, slaughterhouse, sausage and leather tanning, sewage treatment plant, or pig farm are not extremely pleasant to be around. Most all of them have their dirty water, bare steel, concrete, and smokestack. I don't even particularly like looking at wind turbines on top of my mountain, or at the end of my beach, 50MW of solar panels, or the top of a blazingly hot solar power tower where a nice cotton field once bloomed. But hey, I don't think everyone's got their nose up about it. Maybe just those Google, FB and MS guys and what they do, much of it isn't pretty either. My advantage there is I dont need FB, but most of them want my gasoline and surely my jet fuel. Least for the short term time frame. Zoom vacations just aren't that great.

 

[Fischstabchen]

Redsnake,

You can't segregate the things you want from the things needed to create those things. You can go about trying to make the things that you want with other things but in the case with gas and oil, there really is no comparable feed stock. It is often the best only only practical feed stock for many different products. 200 years from now, I think people will look back and be dumbfounded about the fact that we wasted so much of this amazing feed stock by just burning it.

 

[RedSnake]

Fischstabchen
You can't segregate the things you want from the things needed to create those things.
I do not really know what you mean.
Sometimes I can do it, sometimes I can not.
If I need something I can choose to buy something that does not contain plastic or is made using electricity produced with gas, oil or coal.
It does not mean that it is necessarily of inferior quality or has inferior function so why wouldn't I choose that.

Which would you choose plastic, juniper wood or hand forged?

You can go about trying to make the things that you want with other things but in the case with gas and oil, there really is no comparable feed stock.
Well natur gas has usually lower energi values them bio gas that contains 100% methane.
Oil might be necessary and even non replaceable in some cases, but not for heating and electricity manufacturing.

Best Regards A

“Logic will get you from A to Z; imagination will get you everywhere.“
Albert Einstein

 

[dik]

I'm waiting for the future when the world puts tarriffs on carbon unfriendly countries... it's likely the only way to force those to comply... they won't do it voluntarily...

Rather than think climate change and the corona virus as science, think of it as the wrath of God. Feel any better?

-Dik

 

[SnTMan]

dik, don't hold your breath waiting for that future...

The problem with sloppy work is that the supply FAR EXCEEDS the demand

 

[1503-44]

Not tariffs... sanctions.

Biogas isn't 100% pure naturally. It comes with just enough H2S and water to make corrosion troubles. Compressors and instruments dont like it all that much, but the nasties can be sieved out or treated first. If its a landfill gas field, the water can carry heavy metals and other toxins that get leached out of the rubbish. Then you've got to handle that stuff. Seems that no gas is all roses. H2 may be the best possibility. Requires a bit of energy to make it, but if you have a enough renewable sources, wind or PV, but want gas, at least you can do it cleanly and you don't get anything but pure water and heat when you burn that.

 

[dik]

I'm not holding my breath... but, I don't know of how you can deal with an environmental scoflaw... sanctions don't work... tarriffs do...

Rather than think climate change and the corona virus as science, think of it as the wrath of God. Feel any better?

-Dik

 

[1503-44]

Tarriffs apply to products. If you don't buy their stuff, how can you punish them? Sanctions apply to money transfers. They don't get paid by anybody. You don't have to buy, or see the product at the border. Easy. Tarriffs just make products more expensive for whoever buys them.