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ERCOT calls on a shuttered CPS coal plant and others as a possible Texas grid winter power lifeline
As it tries to find another 3,000 megawatts of power for its winter reserves, ERCOT is looking specifically to CPS Energy’s decommissioned J.T. Deely Power Plant, keeping a Denton plant owned by Garland Power & Light open over the winter and stepping up the use of demand-response conservation programs among its list of possible sources.
San Antonio Express-News 10/3/23
Storm-Caused Energy Price Hikes to Go Before Texas Supreme Court
The Texas Supreme Court will review a lower court’s ruling that the state’s Public Utility Commission of Texas overstepped its authority during a 2021 winter storm by raising electricity prices to the maximum rate. During extreme weather, the state, through the Electric Reliability Council of Texas, sets the cost of electricity higher to incentivize production. The high court set oral arguments on Friday for January 30, 2024.
Bloomberg Law 10/03/23
Meeting emergency power needs with renewable microgrids
During Winter Storm Uri, across Houston, H.E.B.'s supermarkets stayed operational because they had implemented microgrids through Enchanted Rock. The company's microgrid ensured accessibility to essentials and services for locals. Citizens Medical Center in Victoria, Texas — a 338-bed medical facility specializing in trauma care, cancer care and rehabilitation — also successfully kept itself up and running thanks to a microgrid commissioned after Hurricane Harvey.
Renewable Energy Magazine 10/01/23
Renewable power helped the US survive the hottest summer ever
Texas produces more wind power than any other state, but this summer, it was solar that stole the show. The state produced twice as much solar power as last year, according to Dr. Joshua Rhodes, a research scientist with the Webber Energy Group Group at The University of Texas at Austin. On August 10, wind and solar energy generated enough power to meet 25% of demand during the peak hour of usage, according to ERCOT.
CleanTechnica 9/30/23
PV industry should focus on virtual power plants says US official
Because a solar-plus-storage system with those features can earn its owner compensation through participation in a virtual power plant (VPP) – an aggregation of similar systems often managed by a third-party aggregator – Shah encouraged the solar industry to see its future in VPPs. Besides distributed storage, other distributed energy resources that can be aggregated into a VPP include electric vehicle chargers, smart thermostats, and smart electric water heaters.
PV Magazine Australia 9/29/23
In summer heat, ‘artificial shortages’ in Texas grid may have cost $8 billion
Energy experts and analysts said the state’s market operator, the Electric Reliability Council of Texas, or ERCOT, essentially withheld electricity supply from the market to create the reserve, which had the effect of pushing up prices.
New York Times 9/26/23
Monster fracks are getting far bigger. And far thirstier
Fracking wells have increased their water usage sevenfold since 2011 as operators have adopted new techniques to first drill downward and then horizontally for thousands of feet. The process extracts more fossil fuels but requires enormous amounts of water. Together, oil and gas operators reported using about 1.5 trillion gallons of water since 2011, much of it from aquifers, the Times found. Fracking a single oil or gas well can now use as much as 40 million gallons of water or more. These mega-fracking projects, called “monster fracks” by researchers, have become the industry norm. They barely existed a decade ago. Now they account for almost two out of every three fracking wells in Texas, the Times analysis found.
New York Times 9/25/23
Bitcoin miners double down on efficiency and renewable energy at the World Digital Summit
Sustainable development in the mining industry was a core theme discussed in a majority of the panels at the WDMS. In the opening roundtable, team members from Terrawulf, Core Scientific, CleanSpark and Iris Energy shared their perspectives on how further integration of renewable energy sources will become a critical strategy to implement for many miners after the April 2024 Bitcoin supply halving.
cointelegraph.com 9/23/23
Energy Department to invest in renewable energy battery technology
The Energy Department has announced a $325 million investment in new battery types that can help turn solar and wind energy into 24-hour power.
The funds will be distributed among 15 projects in 17 states and the Red Lake Nation, a Native American tribe based in Minnesota.
NEWSnet/AP 9/22/23
Fixing Interconnection
In the U.S., it takes power generators four years on average to get approval to connect to the grid, and in some places, it takes far longer. In the Texas electricity market, it takes only about 1.5 years between interconnection request and agreement. And it costs way less to interconnect in the Lone Star State, too. So what does Texas know about interconnection that the rest of the U.S. doesn’t? And how could other states learn from Texas?
Canary Media 9/21/23
The Texas power grid is still vulnerable to extreme weather events
Transmission bottlenecks were a problem in 2021 and again this summer. Natural gas and coal plants didn’t perform as expected two years ago or again this summer. Renewable energy on the Texas grid has kept prices from further soaring and added much-needed capacity that got the state through most of the blistering hot summer. Texas must become energy smarter.
Dallas Morning News (Opinion) 9/21/23
Biden-Harris launches The American Climate Corps
The American Climate Corps will put a new generation of Americans to work conserving our lands and waters, bolstering community resilience, advancing environmental justice, deploying clean energy, implementing energy-efficient technologies, and tackling climate change. American Climate Corps members will gain the skills necessary to access good-paying jobs that are aligned with high-quality employment opportunities after they complete their paid training or service program.
The White House 9/20/23
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