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Texas power issues. Windfarms getting iced up. 67

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Alistair_Heaton said:
You can see their lips move.
Click to expand...

It's all pots calling kettles black anyway. They're all the same that way.

The problem with sloppy work is that the supply FAR EXCEEDS the demand
 
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Here’s a great write-up which explains the function and history of the “grid” in Texas and how it is contributed to this failure.

It’s by Julie A. Cohn who is a historian of energy, technology and the environment, affiliated with both the Center for Energy Studies at Rice University’s Baker Institute and the University of Houston’s Center for Public History.

Or Given all of that independence, I find it remarkable that anyone could even begin to think about pointing a finger outside of Texas.
 
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As for politics [noevil] I’ve heard Ted Cruz Cruz has departed on a fact finding mission to see how other regions are managing this situation. First stop... Cancun!
 
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He'd best be careful, Texas has cut gas supplies to MX.

 
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I see that the outages are at less than a million. And Vestas is laying off people.

It looks like more of the issue is gas wells freezing up. And it shows up in the electric because it is a fuel.

But there are also problems in SPP which is part of the Eastern grid (headquartered in Arkansas).
 
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Thanks...

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

-Dik
 
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They've been available in Europe for a decade or so... thought it was neat. A programmer acquaintance in Newcastle has them in his house.

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

-Dik
 
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For what it's worth:

Michigan renewable energy more resilient to cold than frozen Texas wind turbines

Knowing Michigan’s weather, DTE makes sure the equipment is able to handle temperatures as low as -30 degrees Celsius.


John R. Baker, P.E. (ret)
EX-Product 'Evangelist'
Irvine, CA
Siemens PLM:
UG/NX Museum:

The secret of life is not finding someone to live with
It's finding someone you can't live without
 
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Link to tankless water heaters that I purchased at Leroy Merlin, Spain's DIY - (in Spanish)
Price in the islands 249 €
calentador-agua-gas-htw-htwcl12ifgp.jpg
 
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If the gas lines really are freezing up at around minus 20C, I have to ask how do the gas suppliers in northern Alberta manage during periods of minus 40 that can last for weeks at a time???
 
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They can manage to keep the line heaters lit up. Texans get ambushed by cold weather.

 
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They can be winterized, that's what the FERC investigation from 2011 recommended, however ERCOT does not allow any of the generating companies which supplies the Texas grid, nor the natural gas suppliers, to include the cost of upgrades and maintenance in the operating expenses which are used to determine the price of power sold to the state's customers. Those expenses have to come off the bottom-line of the various private companies, thus they don't do upgrades and they keep their maintenance to an absolute minimum. And that 2011 FERC report is exhibit 'A' when it comes to Texas Republicans making their case, like Rick Perry did yesterday, for keeping the Feds out of their hair.

John R. Baker, P.E. (ret)
EX-Product 'Evangelist'
Irvine, CA
Siemens PLM:
UG/NX Museum:

The secret of life is not finding someone to live with
It's finding someone you can't live without
 
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If Texas decided to tie to the eastern or western grids, to get to where amounts of power useful to mitigate this outage would be a major project. The connection would probably need to extend rather far into the neighboring systems.

Link

The Pacific DC Intertie has a capacity of 3,100 megawatts, the Texas ERCOT shortfall (see charts above) was about 20,000 megawatts.
 
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Littleinch , I'm guessing you are aware that the temperature at which propane boils is minus 42 centigrade. Unless the US supply of propane is contaminated with other material , you dont need any auxillary heat at say minus 35 or minus 38. I dont think anywhere in Texas got that cold lately , so theres something else going on down there.
 
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Not sure how accurate that grid map was in your link. There was a news crew in El Paso earlier this week reporting that city and surrounding area did NOT lose power because that Western 'tip' area of Texas is actually on the Western national grid. It's not part of ERCOT, at least that's what the local authorities in El Paso told the news crew. I mean the power was ON, so...

John R. Baker, P.E. (ret)
EX-Product 'Evangelist'
Irvine, CA
Siemens PLM:
UG/NX Museum:

The secret of life is not finding someone to live with
It's finding someone you can't live without
 
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