So do we unplug our electric vehicles? :-)

3,956 Views | 64 Replies | Last: 2 yr ago by ATL Bear
Bexar Pitts
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https://www.kwtx.com/2021/06/14/here-we-go-again-ercot-issues-call-conservation-temperatures-rise/
ShooterTX
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Bexar Pitts said:

https://www.kwtx.com/2021/06/14/here-we-go-again-ercot-issues-call-conservation-temperatures-rise/
but, but... the windmills and the solar are working???
ShooterTX
HuMcK
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They are, the problem is too many thermal generation plants are down for repairs.
Bexar Pitts
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ShooterTX said:

Bexar Pitts said:

https://www.kwtx.com/2021/06/14/here-we-go-again-ercot-issues-call-conservation-temperatures-rise/
but, but... the windmills and the solar are working???
In a nutshell..our Texas power grid generation system SUCKS..It's antiquated, and simply not able to handle the demand from the huge increase of all types of users...So what if we see a summer like 2011? YIKES!
ShooterTX
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HuMcK said:

They are, the problem is too many thermal generation plants are down for repairs.
no, the real problem is that reliable power plants have been replaced with unreliable and idiotic wind & solar.
Stupid "green" energy systems will never be enough for our current power grid needs, much less for the ever expanding needs created by increased population and other demands like electric vehicles.
ShooterTX
muddybrazos
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When your population is increasing and they are reducing coal power plants and not building nuclear then this is what is going to happen. I will never drive an electric vehicle until they make a full size suburban that can run 1500 miles on a charge bc I do not want to drive 300 miles then have to wait a couple hours to power back up.
Sam Lowry
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ERCOT assures us they will be "conducting a thorough analysis with generation owners to determine why so many units are out of service."

This sounds like an excellent idea, for three months ago.
Bexar Pitts
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muddybrazos said:

When your population is increasing and they are reducing coal power plants and not building nuclear then this is what is going to happen. I will never drive an electric vehicle until they make a full size suburban that can run 1500 miles on a charge bc I do not want to drive 300 miles then have to wait a couple hours to power back up.
We also haven't built enough new, efficient natural gas powered generating plants to handle the ever increasing demand. Once again, we may face rolling blackouts this summer..beginning as early as this evening.
bear2be2
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Sam Lowry said:

ERCOT assures us they will be "conducting a thorough analysis with generation owners to determine why so many units are out of service."

This sounds like an excellent idea, for three months ago.

That's what happens when you have no risk whatsoever of being held accountable for your ineptitude.

Our ****ty, outdated grid literally resulted in the death of dozens of citizens a few months ago, and those in charge of it were allowed to shrug and say, "Not our fault." Why should we ever expect them to be proactive about anything?
GrowlTowel
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Toss in millions of illegals over the last several years. Schools, hospitals, highways, and other infrastructure can't keep up.
Your ideas are intriguing to me, and I wish to subscribe to your newsletter.
J.B.Katz
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bear2be2 said:

Sam Lowry said:

ERCOT assures us they will be "conducting a thorough analysis with generation owners to determine why so many units are out of service."

This sounds like an excellent idea, for three months ago.

That's what happens when you have no risk whatsoever of being held accountable for your ineptitude.

Our ****ty, outdated grid literally resulted in the death of dozens of citizens a few months ago, and those in charge of it were allowed to shrug and say, "Not our fault." Why should we ever expect them to be proactive about anything?
Ppl on this site are defending them.

TX needs are more diversified energy grid that's updated, winterized and maintained. Godd jobs to be created.

If Cruz & Co succeed in blaming this failure on renewable energy instead of an inadequate, poorly maintained grid that needs a greater diversification of energy sources, TX will get the energy service it deserves in years going forward.

What should happen is that companies should stop locating in TX because the energy grid is unreliable & poorly maintained & Cruz, Cornyn, Abbott & Co make it impossible to have an honest conversation about why that is and what's needed to fix it. Support by some of you dolts.
Whiskey Pete
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We need more power plants. Time to reopen the several that closed over the last decade.
Mothra
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Bexar Pitts said:

ShooterTX said:

Bexar Pitts said:

https://www.kwtx.com/2021/06/14/here-we-go-again-ercot-issues-call-conservation-temperatures-rise/
but, but... the windmills and the solar are working???
In a nutshell..our Texas power grid generation system SUCKS..It's antiquated, and simply not able to handle the demand from the huge increase of all types of users...So what if we see a summer like 2011? YIKES!
I've read that it's not just Texas, but everywhere. Read an article a couple of years back that said that if half of car-owners in this country owned an electric car, it would require 3 times the power output of our current power grid.
Bexar Pitts
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Mothra said:

Bexar Pitts said:

ShooterTX said:

Bexar Pitts said:

https://www.kwtx.com/2021/06/14/here-we-go-again-ercot-issues-call-conservation-temperatures-rise/
but, but... the windmills and the solar are working???
In a nutshell..our Texas power grid generation system SUCKS..It's antiquated, and simply not able to handle the demand from the huge increase of all types of users...So what if we see a summer like 2011? YIKES!
I've read that it's not just Texas, but everywhere. Read an article a couple of years back that said that if half of car-owners in this country owned an electric car, it would require 3 times the power output of our current power grid.
Roger that, Mothra. We're the center of attention because we're arguably the energy "capitol" of the nation. We've not adequately addressed our energy needs for a long while. Entergy just brought a new natgas plant online near Willis this Jan..... .Their first newly constructed plant since 1979. We have fallen behind the curve and seem to only provide lip service to Texas customers as far as providing a reliable and adequate power grid.
Porteroso
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Nvm. The article gives scant info, not enough to know what the real issue is.

Ercot needs to investigate why so many thermal plants are offline, but this thread already knows solar and wind is the problem!
Mothra
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Bexar Pitts said:

Mothra said:

Bexar Pitts said:

ShooterTX said:

Bexar Pitts said:

https://www.kwtx.com/2021/06/14/here-we-go-again-ercot-issues-call-conservation-temperatures-rise/
but, but... the windmills and the solar are working???
In a nutshell..our Texas power grid generation system SUCKS..It's antiquated, and simply not able to handle the demand from the huge increase of all types of users...So what if we see a summer like 2011? YIKES!
I've read that it's not just Texas, but everywhere. Read an article a couple of years back that said that if half of car-owners in this country owned an electric car, it would require 3 times the power output of our current power grid.
Roger that, Mothra. We're the center of attention because we're arguably the energy "capitol" of the nation. We've not adequately addressed our energy needs for a long while. Entergy just brought a new natgas plant online near Willis this Jan..... .Their first newly constructed plant since 1979. We have fallen behind the curve and seem to only provide lip service to Texas customers as far as providing a reliable and adequate power grid.
Don't disagree.
boognish_bear
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boognish_bear
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Oldbear83
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Porteroso said:

Nvm. The article gives scant info, not enough to know what the real issue is.

Ercot needs to investigate why so many thermal plants are offline, but this thread already knows solar and wind is the problem!
(9-year employee of Reliant Energy, in case it matters)

Actually, the problem is that ERCOT got caught up with appearances, and made a foolish commitment to get 25% of their power from renewables. The problem is that renewables are not dependable for that much of the load, and any shortfall risks brownouts/blackouts in peak usage times.

Engineers knew this and screamed warnings last year but were overridden, in part by Governor Abbott.

( see https://nawindpower.com/texas-governor-receives-tges-wind-leadership-award , for example)

Politicians are all about image, and ignored everyone who tried to warn them this was a bad idea.

Renewables, in a state as big as Texas, cannot be depended upon in peak-use times, to meet more than 10% of demand. The nice thing about natural gas and coal, is that you can just burn more fuel to make more power. It's not the cool thing, but it is dependable, which used to be the foundation of our grid.
That which does not kill me, will try again and get nastier
ShooterTX
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Porteroso said:

Nvm. The article gives scant info, not enough to know what the real issue is.

Ercot needs to investigate why so many thermal plants are offline, but this thread already knows solar and wind is the problem!
It's real simple.

Texas and the rest of the nation have spent the past few decades chasing "green energy" grants, tax incentives and other financial bait put in place by stupid environmental policies. The money & effort which would normally go toward reliable energy plants has been wasted on windmill and solar panels instead. Many older power plants have reached the end of life, and they have been "replaced" by wind & solar instead... which is how we are left with these issues.
There are also power plants which need repairs, but thanks to "green" policies, it costs far too much to repair them. Remember that Obama said he wouldn't outlaw coal plants, but he would make them so expensive that no one would ever build one again?? Yeah.. he did that. No one builds or repairs coal plants anymore.

If not for all these stupid government created financial incentives, everyone would have been building coal and natural gas power plants over the past decades, instead of wasting time & effort on windmills. The result would be a highly reliable energy grid, instead of what we have today.

It is normal for any power generation system of any type to require repair and/or maintenance. It is normal to take power plants offline for this kind of work.
I totally agree that ERCOT has done a piss poor job of managing the downtime. This is only made worse by the fact that the simultaneous closure of plants leaves the grid to depend even more on unreliable "green energy".

I went to the beach this past week, and on my way down there, I noticed dozens of new windmills that were not there last year. I also saw the parts in the fields and cranes in place to stand up at least a dozen more.. and that is just what I could see from IH37.

I also noticed that at least 15 of the windmills were not turning, even though there was a high wind/small craft advisory in effect that day. The winds were the strongest I have ever seen at the beach, and that goes back a few decades.
4 days later, the winds were still there, but within the normal range.... and yet those windmills were still not turning as we drove back home.
Windmills SUCK and are always going to be unreliable, even in places with somewhat consistent winds all year long.
Every one of those monstrous eyesores is a monument to the stupidity of government "green" policies. They are a horrible waste of money.

ShooterTX
ScruffyD
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thoughts and prayers to our power grid
boognish_bear
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6 days ago. might need a mulligan

quash
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GrowlTowel said:

Toss in millions of illegals over the last several years. Schools, hospitals, highways, and other infrastructure can't keep up.
You think if Abbot builds a wall we can run the A/C all day. That's cute.
“Life, liberty, and property do not exist because men have made laws. On the contrary, it was the fact that life, liberty, and property existed beforehand that caused men to make laws in the first place.” (The Law, p.6) Frederic Bastiat
quash
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ShooterTX said:

Porteroso said:

Nvm. The article gives scant info, not enough to know what the real issue is.

Ercot needs to investigate why so many thermal plants are offline, but this thread already knows solar and wind is the problem!
It's real simple.

Texas and the rest of the nation have spent the past few decades chasing "green energy" grants, tax incentives and other financial bait put in place by stupid environmental policies. The money & effort which would normally go toward reliable energy plants has been wasted on windmill and solar panels instead. Many older power plants have reached the end of life, and they have been "replaced" by wind & solar instead... which is how we are left with these issues.
There are also power plants which need repairs, but thanks to "green" policies, it costs far too much to repair them. Remember that Obama said he wouldn't outlaw coal plants, but he would make them so expensive that no one would ever build one again?? Yeah.. he did that. No one builds or repairs coal plants anymore.

If not for all these stupid government created financial incentives, everyone would have been building coal and natural gas power plants over the past decades, instead of wasting time & effort on windmills. The result would be a highly reliable energy grid, instead of what we have today.

It is normal for any power generation system of any type to require repair and/or maintenance. It is normal to take power plants offline for this kind of work.
I totally agree that ERCOT has done a piss poor job of managing the downtime. This is only made worse by the fact that the simultaneous closure of plants leaves the grid to depend even more on unreliable "green energy".

I went to the beach this past week, and on my way down there, I noticed dozens of new windmills that were not there last year. I also saw the parts in the fields and cranes in place to stand up at least a dozen more.. and that is just what I could see from IH37.

I also noticed that at least 15 of the windmills were not turning, even though there was a high wind/small craft advisory in effect that day. The winds were the strongest I have ever seen at the beach, and that goes back a few decades.
4 days later, the winds were still there, but within the normal range.... and yet those windmills were still not turning as we drove back home.
Windmills SUCK and are always going to be unreliable, even in places with somewhat consistent winds all year long.
Every one of those monstrous eyesores is a monument to the stupidity of government "green" policies. They are a horrible waste of money.



I have no problem with wind and solar, they are non-polluting additions to the grid, and will have a bigger role to play as our ability to store electrical energy improves.

But, as I always say, I have a real problem with a government thumb on the marketplace scales. Do you want it to **** up? Because this is how you **** it up.
“Life, liberty, and property do not exist because men have made laws. On the contrary, it was the fact that life, liberty, and property existed beforehand that caused men to make laws in the first place.” (The Law, p.6) Frederic Bastiat
Porteroso
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I can appreciate this. Especially being so spread out, as you mentioned, it makes sense that wind could only be so reliable, being so far from most of the population. I'm sure there is more to it though, because wind and solar should be much more reliable in the summer. Maybe much of it is still damaged from the big freeze?
Bexar Pitts
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boognish_bear said:

6 days ago. might need a mulligan


So basically, Abbot sent the responsibility to Ercot and the RRC and told them to "Fix It!" ..More political fluff to quiet the masses. We'll see how it goes.
Aliceinbubbleland
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Porteroso said:

Nvm. The article gives scant info, not enough to know what the real issue is.

Ercot needs to investigate why so many thermal plants are offline, but this thread already knows solar and wind is the problem!
I'm waiting to see a new Tesla with a windmill on top running around the freeways in Houston when the grid goes kaput
boognish_bear
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Aliceinbubbleland said:

Porteroso said:

Nvm. The article gives scant info, not enough to know what the real issue is.

Ercot needs to investigate why so many thermal plants are offline, but this thread already knows solar and wind is the problem!
I'm waiting to see a new Tesla with a windmill on top running around the freeways in Houston when the grid goes kaput



If you blink you may miss it.

BaylorBJM
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boognish_bear said:

6 days ago. might need a mulligan




Abbott took no responsibility for the mess in February but apparently would like all the accolades for the supposed fix.

It should be an interesting next three months of pretzeling for that man and his fellow cronies as our electric grid undoubtedly cripples all around us during the summer heat.

<insert thatsaboldstrategycotten gif>
Whiskey Pete
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quash said:

GrowlTowel said:

Toss in millions of illegals over the last several years. Schools, hospitals, highways, and other infrastructure can't keep up.
You think if Abbot builds a wall we can run the A/C all day. That's cute.
It's short sighted to think that tens of thousands of illegals coming into Texas each month has no affect on the power grid.
quash
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Rawhide said:

quash said:

GrowlTowel said:

Toss in millions of illegals over the last several years. Schools, hospitals, highways, and other infrastructure can't keep up.
You think if Abbot builds a wall we can run the A/C all day. That's cute.
It's short sighted to think that tens of thousands of illegals coming into Texas each month has no affect on the power grid.
It's ridiculous to think 29 million Texans can lay the blame at the immigrants feet.
“Life, liberty, and property do not exist because men have made laws. On the contrary, it was the fact that life, liberty, and property existed beforehand that caused men to make laws in the first place.” (The Law, p.6) Frederic Bastiat
Whiskey Pete
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quash said:

Rawhide said:

quash said:

GrowlTowel said:

Toss in millions of illegals over the last several years. Schools, hospitals, highways, and other infrastructure can't keep up.
You think if Abbot builds a wall we can run the A/C all day. That's cute.
It's short sighted to think that tens of thousands of illegals coming into Texas each month has no affect on the power grid.
It's ridiculous to think 29 million Texans can lay the blame at the immigrants feet.
No, what's ridiculous is to think that illegal immigrants have zero impact.
HuMcK
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Obligatory...

RD2WINAGNBEAR86
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quash said:

Rawhide said:

quash said:

GrowlTowel said:

Toss in millions of illegals over the last several years. Schools, hospitals, highways, and other infrastructure can't keep up.
You think if Abbot builds a wall we can run the A/C all day. That's cute.
It's short sighted to think that tens of thousands of illegals coming into Texas each month has no affect on the power grid.
It's ridiculous to think 29 million Texans can lay the blame at the immigrants feet.


Wow!!! You never cease to amaze me. Unlimited illegal immigration and the legalization of all hardcore drugs are just two reasons why the Libertarian Party will never be taken seriously.
"Never underestimate Joe's ability to **** things up!"

-- Barack Obama
Sam Lowry
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Rawhide said:

quash said:

Rawhide said:

quash said:

GrowlTowel said:

Toss in millions of illegals over the last several years. Schools, hospitals, highways, and other infrastructure can't keep up.
You think if Abbot builds a wall we can run the A/C all day. That's cute.
It's short sighted to think that tens of thousands of illegals coming into Texas each month has no affect on the power grid.
It's ridiculous to think 29 million Texans can lay the blame at the immigrants feet.
No, what's ridiculous is to think that illegal immigrants have zero impact.
Are you saying the state failed to account for them?
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