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Renewable Energy Saving Texas' Ass Right Now

Horn Under a Bad Sign

By Horn Under a Bad Sign
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Hermanator

Hermanator 7119

Posted
Posted

The politicians and ERCOT etc. all know the wind blows the least on the hottest days when we need the most power. Yet they did nothing to plan for that. 

They've done nothing but lie and bullshit since the freeze catastrophe 15 months ago. Nothing constructive to aid in increasing the capacity has been done. 

With the so called "deregulated" bullshit there's zero incentive for companies themselves to increase production as that will cut their profits. Just example number 2 million of why we need functioning government regulation on essential aspects of our society but this state and country at large keeps putting in power the group of people who refuse to govern and just want to steal. 

We as a collective deserve the horrors that are on the horizon even though many of us individually have tried to fight against it but will go down all the same. 

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FartingMonk

FartingMonk 3608

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46 minutes ago, Hermanator said:

The politicians and ERCOT etc. all know the wind blows the least on the hottest days when we need the most power. Yet they did nothing to plan for that. 

They've done nothing but lie and bullshit since the freeze catastrophe 15 months ago. Nothing constructive to aid in increasing the capacity has been done. 

With the so called "deregulated" bullshit there's zero incentive for companies themselves to increase production as that will cut their profits. Just example number 2 million of why we need functioning government regulation on essential aspects of our society but this state and country at large keeps putting in power the group of people who refuse to govern and just want to steal. 

We as a collective deserve the horrors that are on the horizon even though many of us individually have tried to fight against it but will go down all the same. 

It's a complete circle jerk of a failure and everyone is to be blamed.  The companies, the politicians, the activists, and us.  

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Snake Diggity

Snake Diggity 4625

Posted
Posted
On 12/18/2022 at 3:08 PM, Horn Under a Bad Sign said:

28% of Texas electricity last year came from renewables:

Image




Per ERCOT, in the first three months of 2022, 34% of Texas' electrictiy came from renewables. 

https://www.houstonchronicle.com/business/energy/article/Texas-renewables-generate-record-power-in-early-17129079.php


 

That solar number is absolutely pitiful.

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Ghost of LL

Ghost of LL 15539

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5 hours ago, Snake Diggity said:

That solar number is absolutely pitiful.

Judging from the number of rural landowners I know that have signed ground leases within the past year, I would say that number is going to increase substantially in the next five years.

Separately, it should be observed that the ERCOT numbers provided are for the electricity that went into the grid.  Most solar generation is for use at the location at which it is generated, and is never put into the grid.  It means that the facility with solar panels uses less electricity from the grid, but that doesn't go into ERCOT's generation statistics (presumably because ERCOT has no way to measure how much electricity would have been used).

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Chewbacca

Chewbacca 7780

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Judging from the number of rural landowners I know that have signed ground leases within the past year, I would say that number is going to increase substantially in the next five years.
Separately, it should be observed that the ERCOT numbers provided are for the electricity that went into the grid.  Most solar generation is for use at the location at which it is generated, and is never put into the grid.  It means that the facility with solar panels uses less electricity from the grid, but that doesn't go into ERCOT's generation statistics (presumably because ERCOT has no way to measure how much electricity would have been used).
Yeah, wind and solar are both going absolutely nuts in TX right now.
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YGIFS

YGIFS 19452

Posted
Posted
9 minutes ago, Updawg said:


And solar is zero. Thanks a lot ………..,,,

Never mind hydroelectric's lazy ass just sitting still up in here.  I don't give a shit all our lake's manmade and rivers is bone dry.  Learn a trade motherfucker.  

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Scheiss Meister

Scheiss Meister 8408

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1 hour ago, Pato del Muerto said:

Why don’t you come up with a hydroelectric system that utilizes the effluent of sewer systems as it makes its way to processing?  

It has been looked at, but most plants don't discharge large enough amounts to generate significant amounts of electricity.  The demand for water growing like it is, soon many plants will be discharging less as effluent is drawn off for irrigation and other gray water uses, so future availability will be even less.

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YGIFS

YGIFS 19452

Posted
Posted
1 hour ago, Scheiss Meister said:

It has been looked at, but most plants don't discharge large enough amounts to generate significant amounts of electricity.  The demand for water growing like it is, soon many plants will be discharging less as effluent is drawn off for irrigation and other gray water uses, so future availability will be even less.

My friend, have you a moment to learn of the holiest of days, April 6th, National Burrito Day?  

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Homercles

Homercles 10206

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Posted

Most reasonable people believe an intelligent mix of sources is desirable, with some capital-scale storage projects being wise investments to bring down reliance on fossil fuels in a controlled manner.  But this is Texas, so let’s set aside money to pay crypto miners for idle time and make jokes about Greta.
 

The fact we are relying on coal at all in 2023 is regarded as far as I’m concerned.  The future is renewables and for the sake of my kids, I’d love to see Texas lead the charge but something tells me that won’t happen with any help from our government…so hooray private industry I guess. 

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Posted
Posted (edited)
25 minutes ago, Pato del Muerto said:

 But when wind and solar are producing, that’s whatever amount of nat gas and coal that we don’t need to burn on those days. Which is a win for now. Unless you sell coal and gas.  Since nuke seems to be capped capacity and there’s still no appetite to build more. 

Sure. But they simply aren’t reliable on a scale needed for tens of millions of people. 

40 minutes ago, Homercles said:

Most reasonable people believe an intelligent mix of sources is desirable, with some capital-scale storage projects being wise investments to bring down reliance on fossil fuels in a controlled manner.  But this is Texas, so let’s set aside money to pay crypto miners for idle time and make jokes about Greta.
 

The fact we are relying on coal at all in 2023 is regarded as far as I’m concerned.  The future is renewables and for the sake of my kids, I’d love to see Texas lead the charge but something tells me that won’t happen with any help from our government…so hooray private industry I guess. 

Are “reasonable people” the OP with his thread title?  I’d argue people HERE (Surly) WANT there to be more renewables. Which is totally unreasonable and not at all “an intelligent mix”.  You’re probably reasonable in your own mind, and you sound totally ignorant on the topic with soundbite-type phrases. I agree on coal; we have enough gas, which is exceedingly clean, to go 100% natty. That’s not smart to do, obviously, but my point is I’d love to see it continually displace coal, but coal hasn’t moved anywhere in this nation’s grid for decades. It shouldn’t be that way in Texas.  

Edited by Porterhouse
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Dahobbs

Dahobbs 17625

Posted
Posted
1 hour ago, Porterhouse said:

Sure. But they simply aren’t reliable on a scale needed for tens of millions of people. 

Are “reasonable people” the OP with his thread title?  I’d argue people HERE (Surly) WANT there to be more renewables. Which is totally unreasonable and not at all “an intelligent mix”.  You’re probably reasonable in your own mind, and you sound totally ignorant on the topic with soundbite-type phrases. I agree on coal; we have enough gas, which is exceedingly clean, to go 100% natty. That’s not smart to do, obviously, but my point is I’d love to see it continually displace coal, but coal hasn’t moved anywhere in this nation’s grid for decades. It shouldn’t be that way in Texas.  

Your post is mostly incorrect, and we've discussed this before. But the bold is really really incorrect. Coal is dying. It isn't economical anymore. And it hasn't been for years now. It's literally cheaper to build new renewables than operate existing coal. Again, 80% of new generation over the last year has been renewable. That isn't changing anytime soon. And almost none of it is coal even as many coal plants get retired. That also isn't changing either. 

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Posted
Posted (edited)
10 minutes ago, Dahobbs said:

Your post is mostly incorrect, and we've discussed this before. But the bold is really really incorrect. Coal is dying. It isn't economical anymore. And it hasn't been for years now. It's literally cheaper to build new renewables than operate existing coal. Again, 80% of new generation over the last year has been renewable. That isn't changing anytime soon. And almost none of it is coal even as many coal plants get retired. That also isn't changing either. 

Yeah not sure where that came from. It’s still an important feedstock but I got some bad anecdote recently and didn’t fact check or misinterpreted. My point is, coal is really dirty and if we are looking to get cleaner, gas is the answer. And with the rise of shale drilling since the early 2000s, cheap gas has directly displaced coal with respect to electricity generation. It’s 40% nationwide and should be much higher. It’s 2/3rds in Texas and we have enough to power 100%.

Your bolded part is insanely idiotic. 

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Dahobbs

Dahobbs 17625

Posted
Posted
11 minutes ago, Porterhouse said:

Your bolded part is insanely idiotic. 

How can a fact be idiotic? I'm not giving you a prediction or a hope. I'm telling you what has happened. I've provided you tons of sources on this previously, including US government, industry, and consulting.  

Some examples: 

https://www.ercot.com/files/docs/2023/01/18/ERCOT-Monthly-Operational-Overview-December-2022.pdf

Quote

ERCOT is tracking 1,254 active generation interconnection requests totaling 245,535 MW as of December 31, 2022. This includes 123,340 MW of solar, 23,876 MW of wind, 82,844 MW of battery, and 12,935 MW of gas projects; 69 projects were categorized as inactive, down from 81 inactive projects in November 2022.

https://www.spglobal.com/commodityinsights/en/market-insights/latest-news/natural-gas/010923-texas-grid-adds-91-gw-of-power-capacity-in-2022-reflected-in-summer-2023-forwards

Quote

Jan 9, 2023 — ERCOT approved almost 654 MW of generation, all renewables, for commercial operation in December

Here is an nationwide report from March 2022

https://www.publicpower.org/system/files/documents/Americas_Electricity_Generation_Capacity_2022_Update.pdf

Screenshot_20230201-235311.thumb.png.99da10630b019f49f1d4eda4c53aa251.png

Screenshot_20230201-235605.thumb.png.0bc09613ab28d1fd0d8c8011e4107f7c.png

Reuters:

https://www.reuters.com/legal/litigation/us-power-grid-add-29-gw-new-capacity-h2-says-eia-2022-08-03/

Quote

 

Aug 3 (Reuters) - U.S. developers plan to add 29 gigawatts (GW) of new electric generating capacity in the second half of 2022, with nearly half of it from solar, the Energy Information Administration (EIA) said on Wednesday, amid soaring power consumption.

***

Of the additional 29 GW of capacity planned, 13.6 GW would be comprised of solar and 6 GW, wind generation.

 

I can keep going. You may not like the trend. You may disapprove of the trend. But it is the trend. 

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AeroHorn

AeroHorn 753

Posted
Posted

To augment what Dahobbs wrote, here is data from energy.gov

 

Lot of solar popping up all over US over this year.

figure_6_01_c.png

 

Lot of coal being retired.

figure_6_01_d.png

 

Share of renewables is rising.

annual U.S. electric power sector generation by energy source

 

Solar was nearly half of new electric generation capacity last year.

main.svg

 

More cars are going electric.

quarterly light-duty vehicle sales by powertrain

 

Battery storage capacity is going to increase a lot.

main.svg

 

and so on and so forth. 

 

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Posted
10 hours ago, Dahobbs said:

How can a fact be idiotic? I'm not giving you a prediction or a hope. I'm telling you what has happened. I've provided you tons of sources on this previously, including US government, industry, and consulting.  

Some examples: 

https://www.ercot.com/files/docs/2023/01/18/ERCOT-Monthly-Operational-Overview-December-2022.pdf

https://www.spglobal.com/commodityinsights/en/market-insights/latest-news/natural-gas/010923-texas-grid-adds-91-gw-of-power-capacity-in-2022-reflected-in-summer-2023-forwards

Here is an nationwide report from March 2022

https://www.publicpower.org/system/files/documents/Americas_Electricity_Generation_Capacity_2022_Update.pdf

Screenshot_20230201-235311.thumb.png.99da10630b019f49f1d4eda4c53aa251.png

Screenshot_20230201-235605.thumb.png.0bc09613ab28d1fd0d8c8011e4107f7c.png

Reuters:

https://www.reuters.com/legal/litigation/us-power-grid-add-29-gw-new-capacity-h2-says-eia-2022-08-03/

I can keep going. You may not like the trend. You may disapprove of the trend. But it is the trend. 

When I said it’s insanely idiotic, it wasn’t about the veracity of your claim. It’s to express an opinion that it is in fact insanely idiotic. 

10 hours ago, Hmbre97 said:

Ahh, the buggy salesman is here to tell us why cars will never be viable.

Gas is not a buggy. Lol. 

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Dahobbs

Dahobbs 17625

Posted
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6 minutes ago, Porterhouse said:

When I said it’s insanely idiotic, it wasn’t about the veracity of your claim. It’s to express an opinion that it is in fact insanely idiotic. 

The economics and entities with money to invest in new plants disagree with you. One thing to consider though is that nameplate capacity is always a bit tricky with renewables since they don't operate anywhere near capacity on a regular basis. So while renewables make the vast majority share of new nameplate capacity, their percentage of usable capacity is probably less. Although it is a bit difficult to say how much less because the ~20-25% of nameplate capacity that is new gas plants may also not run anywhere near capacity on a regular basis, particularly if what is being built is gas-peaker plants, which may only run sporadically during a year. What is clear is that coal isn't anywhere on new build list and instead features prominently on the retirement list. 

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Hmbre97

Hmbre97 6319

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1 hour ago, Porterhouse said:

 

Gas is not a buggy. Lol. 

At least you've acknowledged your role in all of this. Pulling shit out of the ground and burning it will eventually go the way of the dinosaur, no matter how many of you O&G shitheads kick and scream and cry about it. 

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16 minutes ago, Hmbre97 said:

At least you've acknowledged your role in all of this. Pulling shit out of the ground and burning it will eventually go the way of the dinosaur, no matter how many of you O&G shitheads kick and scream and cry about it. 

You speak with such disdain about the feedstock for your progress and economic prosperity. It’s not going anywhere in our lifetimes. 

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Hmbre97

Hmbre97 6319

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Posted
3 minutes ago, Porterhouse said:

You speak with such disdain about the feedstock for your progress and economic prosperity. It’s not going anywhere in our lifetimes. 

I have zero issue with the fossil fuel industry in general. Fossil fuels are largely responsible for our progress as a civilization over the last 150 years or so. However, I do take issue with O&G blowhards that want to act like O&G is here to stay and why bother trying to phase out/replace what we can as renewables progress. I get it, your livelihood is threatened but it's inevitable so I laugh and mock the fucktards that want to act like they're Rockefeller and proclaim the world will forever be lost without them. O&G will be but a footnote in our history.

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2 minutes ago, Hmbre97 said:

I have zero issue with the fossil fuel industry in general. Fossil fuels are largely responsible for our progress as a civilization over the last 150 years or so. However, I do take issue with O&G blowhards that want to act like O&G is here to stay and why bother trying to phase out/replace what we can as renewables progress. I get it, your livelihood is threatened but it's inevitable so I laugh and mock the fucktards that want to act like they're Rockefeller and proclaim the world will forever be lost without them. O&G will be but a footnote in our history.

I’m not blowing hard as much as I am responding negatively to wishcasting. Regardless of where we will (yes, inevitably)  go, we are not there yet and won’t in our lifetimes and perhaps for generations. 

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Dahobbs

Dahobbs 17625

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14 minutes ago, Porterhouse said:

I’m not blowing hard as much as I am responding negatively to wishcasting. Regardless of where we will (yes, inevitably)  go, we are not there yet and won’t in our lifetimes and perhaps for generations. 

Within the next 50 years, fossil fuels will make up less than 20% of our electrical generation and transportation fuels. That <20% will probably be things like gas peaker plants and fuel for large and/or high performance aircraft. Oil will still be extremely valuable for the creation of petroleum products. 

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