Rolling power blackouts in effect across Texas as massive winter storm drives demand for electricity

[rickym20]

In Saskatchewan, I drive in snow and Ice pretty much continuously for 4-5 months / yr..... every year.
This pic is pretty bad ... but do-able in an AWD suv or pickup with good tires. You will get where you're going if you take your time.

Having said this -there is one thing I would NEVER, EVER do ..... and that's drive after a snow storm in the southern US.
Drive in the snow in that picture, in TEXAS -- NOT A FREAKING CHANCE.

The guy who took that picture was in a rental AWD vehicle who typically would be in the 2wd company truck. He was very happy to have the AWD car for sure. When I was talking to him on the phone he was describing all the cars spinning out and abandoned in the ditches .Crazy to think about.Feel bad for the families stuck in this situation.

That semi truck that lost it on the 10 fwy/Sonora barely got retrieved today. just to much wrecks to have a quick retrieval rate. We are Trying to send Food care packages to our guys but shipping services are not a good option either. We are hoping by Friday we can start to plant our feet a little and start process to get back on track .

 

[4Waters]

You are so used to being lied at from the White House Press Sec that the truth rubs you the wrong way.

FFS people pull your head out of each others asses and fact check some of the crap you are being fed.

Why on earth would right-wing people with connections to the fossil fuel industry lie about ‘frozen wind turbines’ in Texas?

Disinformation has been circulating about the cold snap in Texas, fed by Republicans and publication ‘experts’ with convenient connections to gas and oil

www.independent.co.uk

Put a tarp on a solar panel and then tell me how much output the panel has.

The answer is "ZERO"! That is a fact!!

Tell me how much output a stationary wind turbine has.

The answer is "ZERO"! That is a fact!!

Doesn't take an electrical engineer to figure that out. SMH, you really are stupid.

 

[Ace in the Hole]

Put a tarp on a solar panel and then tell me how much output the panel has.

The answer is "ZERO"! That is a fact!!

Tell me how much output a stationary wind turbine has.

The answer is "ZERO"! That is a fact!!

Doesn't take an electrical engineer to figure that out. SMH, you really are stupid.

Not going to get into it beyond what I put in this reply. We monitor many of our installations.. Including mine. Ice on a solar panel really doesnt hinder much. I still have production.

HOWEVER. Most areas in texas require a Rapid Shutdown system to be on solar installs...grid goes down..solar goes down. The only exception is if your system has a storage capacity setup and can be isolated. That goes for resi and commercial installs...regardless of size.

Our big issue right now is so many plants are either mothballed or closed due to normal lack of winter demand and winter maintenance. They can't get some of them online fast...because of frozen gas lines. Turbines are stopped because texas doesnt have the heating elements in them that norther state installations have.

It's a mixed problem...there is no single cause....its a clusterfuck and falls squarely in the lap of the energy council. They really fucked this up.

 

[squeezer]

Put a tarp on a solar panel and then tell me how much output the panel has.

The answer is "ZERO"! That is a fact!!

Tell me how much output a stationary wind turbine has.

The answer is "ZERO"! That is a fact!!

Doesn't take an electrical engineer to figure that out. SMH, you really are stupid.

Freeze up the control rooms of a gas or coal plant and they don’t do so well either... Which when you do the numbers is 80% of the problem in Texas at the moment.

Blaming this on windmills and solar panels says you are either trying to drive an agenda or stupid.

Whats your agenda here?

 

[4Waters]

Freeze up the control rooms of a gas or coal plant and they don’t do so well either... Which when you do the numbers is 80% of the problem in Texas at the moment.

Blaming this on windmills and solar panels says you are either trying to drive an agenda or stupid.

Whats your agenda here?

Don't turn them off

 

[Ace in the Hole]

Don't turn them off

Demand in winter is usually low for electric...this storm wasn't expected to wreak havoc the way it did. They did not have enough reserves online...once that issue reared it's head the domino's started to fall. No heating element in the windmill blades..so they froze. Grids went down, so grid tied solar went down... offline gas plants froze....its a wakeup call for texas energy for sure. I'm in the energy industry here...my phone hasn't stopped ringing today.

 

[shunter2005]

Interesting article sent to me today.

https://twitter.com/AlexEpstein/status/1361691271199264770

Here's the text.



There is a lot of conflicting "information" about the TX blackouts. Here's the bottom line: the root cause of the TX blackouts is a national and state policy that has prioritized the adoption of unreliable wind/solar energy over reliable energy.

• For the last decade+ policy in TX and in the US has been focused on mandating or subsidizing as much wind and solar as possible. TX has bragged about being the biggest wind generator in the US.
• The TX focus on wind has come above all at the expense of coal, which has the resiliency advantage (along with nuclear) of being able to store large quantities of fuel onsite; gas mostly requires "just in time" delivery from pipelines.
• “In 2009, coal-fired plants generated nearly 37 percent of the state’s electricity while wind provided about 6 percent. Since then, three Texas coal-fired plants have closed...In the same period, our energy consumption rose by 20 percent.”
• Because intermittent wind and solar can always go near zero--as we saw recently in TX--they don't replace the cost of reliable power plants, they add to the cost of reliable power plants. This is why the more wind and solar grids use, the higher their electricity prices.
• To lessen the price increases from "unreliables" governments try to get away with as few reliable power plants online as they can. TX is no exception. The Public Utilities Commission of TX has called their grid's margin for error ("reserve margin") “very scary.”
• Additionally, the expense and distraction of accommodating "unreliables" takes away money and focus from resiliency. In CA this meant not maintaining power lines. In TX it may have meant not focusing enough on making the reliable power plants resilient enough to winter weather.
• While we don't know yet what exactly caused certain gas and coal plants to go down--lack of resilience for those plants, grid mismanagement, or fuel infrastructure--we know with 100% certainty that gas and coal plants can easily run in far more adverse conditions than TX has now.
• We know with 100% certainty that gas, coal, and nuclear plants can easily run in far more adverse conditions than TX has now. And we know with 100% certainty that even if no wind turbines had frozen they would have been nearly useless during large portions of recent weather.
• If you are looking at the facts in TX, the obvious lesson here is: stop subsidizing and mandating unreliables--which are often useless when you need them most--and do a better job at managing reliables.
• Instead of acknowledging the reality that unreliables can't keep us warm or powered in the winter--and that the "100% renewable" direction is disastrous--advocates of unreliables are instead implying that no source of electricity can be relied upon, so no need to single out wind.
• Dr. Emily Grubert of GA Tech writes: "Let us be absolutely clear: if there are grid failures today, it shows the existing (largely fossil-based) system cannot handle these conditions either." Really? Ever heard of the Midwest or Canada?
• We know how to produce enough low-cost, reliable electricity for every situation. You just build a whole bunch of reliable power plants, including those with on-site fuel storage--such as coal and nuclear. You place a premium on reliability and resilience. That's it.
• TX is having an electricity crisis during bad winter weather because it did not focus enough on building reliable power plants and infrastructure--because it was obsessed with getting as much unreliable wind/solar electricity as possible. Let's all learn from this mistake.
• Right now TX's plans include
  * 0 new nuclear plants
  * 0 new coal plants
  * 9.4 GW wind (the existing 32 GW went to 1 GW during crucial times this week)
  * 11.9 GW solar (solar was useless much of the week)
  * 5.0 GW gas (to handle the unreliables)
  These plans should change.
• As bad as TX's plans to "rely on unreliables" are, they are nothing compared to the Biden Plan, which calls for nearly 100% solar and wind electricity by 2035! Everyone should be asking him how the hell his plan would have fared in TX this week.
• TX and America need to totally change direction in energy policy toward one of energy freedom, including freedom for the wonderful but demonized and criminalized ultra-reliable, non-carbon electricity source known as nuclear.

 

[4Waters]

Freeze up the control rooms of a gas or coal plant and they don’t do so well either... Which when you do the numbers is 80% of the problem in Texas at the moment.

Blaming this on windmills and solar panels says you are either trying to drive an agenda or stupid.

Whats your agenda here?

My agenda is to not go back to the 1860's when we had no cars, no electricity and we were in a civil war but your party is hell bent on doing the exact thing I don't want.

If you think solar panels and wind turbines are going to replace current power plants then you are an idot. BTW what's wrong with natural gas power plants?

 

[spectras only]

• Dr. Emily Grubert of GA Tech writes: "Let us be absolutely clear: if there are grid failures today, it shows the existing (largely fossil-based) system cannot handle these conditions either." Really? Ever heard of the Midwest or Canada?

Maybe Dr Emily Grubert went to Saskatchewan University and forgot all about the freezing weather in Canada, dealing with power plants no problem. It is near -50 Celsius with wind chill in Fort Mc Murray right now. All systems operating just fine.

 

[Rvrluvr]

Empty stores, no gas at the pump, cant get your starbucks? I can see the threads already. That fucking asshole truck doing 56 in the fast lane, they should outlaw them trucks. Lol.

You are seeing what will happen to your daily routine when trucking stops!!

Dont worry. We will get your stores filled up in a jiffy. Thats what we do. And get flipped off all day doing it

 

[traquer]

Sure hope they figure this shit out though, when I move there later in the year they better not pull this in the summer!

On a related note, with so many new homes and businesses going into Texas, what's going to power all this new demand? And power it reliably? Spending big bucks on a backup generator and such might be in the cards even if I move to the burbs

 

[Wedgy]

IMO, Sadly, for the Nation, Common sense is in severely short supply on the Democratic side of the aisle. General population too.

They prove that shit every single day, over and over, and over.

 

[just_floatin]

AOC. What a tool

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1361903282667589634

 

[Sleek-Jet]

AOC. What a tool

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1361903282667589634

Shes not wrong.... After the GND is in place the power will go out daily! People will be prepared for it....

 

[4Waters]

Demand in winter is usually low for electric...this storm wasn't expected to wreak havoc the way it did. They did not have enough reserves online...once that issue reared it's head the domino's started to fall. No heating element in the windmill blades..so they froze. Grids went down, so grid tied solar went down... offline gas plants froze....its a wakeup call for texas energy for sure. I'm in the energy industry here...my phone hasn't stopped ringing today.

Not arguing but I have trouble believing that electricity demand in Texas is low in winter since most houses are mostly electric, (furnace, waterheater, well pumps dryers, stoves...) We constantly look at listing in different areas in Texas and the one thing in common is nearly all electric appliances, not many NG or propane, those seem to be rare. So with that much demand for electricity year round you would think that power plants would be running at a higher percentage all year.

I'm looking at Texas so I'm curious.

 

[Xtrmwakeboarder]

Flights are causing issues for my crew and all were cancelled tomorrow in TX. Had to cancel the first leg on american and book on Delta to move the connection from TX to ATL. These tickets were booked prior to the storm

Pushed my house hunting trip back to next week as my flight for tomorrow was canceled. Should be much nicer.

 

[spectras only]

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez
@AOC
·

Natural disasters reveal how brutal & inhumane our system of inequality is.

I thought people of all races suffer from extreme cold equally, unless you're a Eskimo who prefer to live in the Northern Hemisphere. What a dumb b...tch.

 

[rrrr]

I just drilled a hole in the ice on my pool with a 1½" spade bit. It's 3" thick.

 

[Canuck 1]

AOC. What a tool

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1361903282667589634

Stupid should hurt... and that stunned cunt tops the list for stupid

 

[Canuck 1]

I just drilled a hole in the ice on my pool with a 1½" spade bit. It's 3" thick.

It is now a skating rink

 

[spectras only]

I just drilled a hole in the ice on my pool with a 1½" spade bit. It's 3" thick.

Drill a bigger hole and stock the pool with some fish from the pet store. Ice fishing is a fun sport.

 

[JDKRXW]

Freeze up the control rooms of a gas or coal plant and they don’t do so well either... Which when you do the numbers is 80% of the problem in Texas at the moment.

Blaming this on windmills and solar panels says you are either trying to drive an agenda or stupid.

Whats your agenda here?

It's not the windmills/ solar panels that are the problem. BUT....they got caught substituting their base load with them and they're now paying the price.
Texas needs to hire an experienced power system load manager from North Dakota.

 

[Taboma]

I just drilled a hole in the ice on my pool with a 1½" spade bit. It's 3" thick.

I recall as a kid seeing pics of my in-laws kansas pools frozen over with a log in it --- they claimed that kept the pool from cracking. And that sir, is all I know about that "Cold" stuff --

 

[Ace in the Hole]

Not arguing but I have trouble believing that electricity demand in Texas is low in winter since most houses are mostly electric, (furnace, waterheater, well pumps dryers, stoves...) We constantly look at listing in different areas in Texas and the one thing in common is nearly all electric appliances, not many NG or propane, those seem to be rare. So with that much demand for electricity year round you would think that power plants would be running at a higher percentage all year.

I'm looking at Texas so I'm curious.

In New Braunfels, San Antonio, and most of the surrounding area.... stoves/waterheaters/and some dryers are gas. Most ac systems are heatpumps. If they aren't they are gas heat most of the time. Brand new subdivisions have some hard on for electric and seem to be going that way...likely to save on infrastructure cost. My home is built super efficient...foam insulation, silver standing seam roof, hi r value windows etc. Even with my wife's plug in BMW X5...our bill has NEVER broken 1000kWh in a month. Thats a rarity..most people i see use 1-1500kWh in winter, and 2600+ in the summer.

our winters are pretty mild normally...only 1 real month of unpleasant temps...hell it was in the 70s last week. Our heat/ac really doesn't get much use in our house for a few months. I look at probably 60-80 utility bills a month with work...and winter usage is 1/2 to 2/3 of summer without fail in our area. With that drop off...they pull plants offline for maintenance etc..happens yearly like clockwork.

 

[4Waters]

In New Braunfels, San Antonio, and most of the surrounding area.... stoves/waterheaters/and some dryers are gas. Most ac systems are heatpumps. If they aren't they are gas heat most of the time. Brand new subdivisions have some hard on for electric and seem to be going that way...likely to save on infrastructure cost. My home is built super efficient...foam insulation, silver standing seam roof, hi r value windows etc. Even with my wife's plug in BMW X5...our bill has NEVER broken 1000kWh in a month. Thats a rarity..most people i see use 1-1500kWh in winter, and 2600+ in the summer.

our winters are pretty mild normally...only 1 real month of unpleasant temps...hell it was in the 70s last week. Our heat/ac really doesn't get much use in our house for a few months. I look at probably 60-80 utility bills a month with work...and winter usage is 1/2 to 2/3 of summer without fail in our area. With that drop off...they pull plants offline for maintenance etc..happens yearly like clockwork.

Thanks for your reply and the information

 

[Ace in the Hole]

Thanks for your reply and the information

Touch base with me if you have questions about utility stuff here... It's very unique and unlike any place ive ever worked or lived...especially if you are in the de-regulated areas.

 

[4Waters]

Touch base with me if you have questions about utility stuff here... It's very unique and unlike any place ive ever worked or lived...especially if you are in the de-regulated areas.

Will do

 

[Ace in the Hole]

Attempted to try and get some supplies tonight...since we are now under intermittent water service and boil orders essentially everywhere.
Everything...and i mean everything is sold out everywhere..its a shitshow..HEB is closed...gas stations have bare shelves...even buccees was out of essentially everything.. Over half of NB is pitch black right now... So I spot the In&Out sign...and a line of maybe 100 cars lining all the way down the I35 side road...but the parking lot is empty. Parked in the lot next door since the karen's have the lot blocked off waiting to go through the drive through. Went in..ordered and was back in my truck in under 7 min... Once i walked out with bags...i bet 10 cars pulled off of the drive line to walk inside...kinda ridiculous that something so simple was so difficult to process for so many...there wasn't a soul in the lobby when i went in. Thanks for saving the day California! Dad's the hero at home tonight

 

[DILLIGAF]

Attempted to try and get some supplies tonight...since we are now under intermittent water service and boil orders essentially everywhere.
Everything...and i mean everything is sold out everywhere..its a shitshow..HEB is closed...gas stations have bare shelves...even buccees was out of essentially everything.. Over half of NB is pitch black right now... So I spot the In&Out sign...and a line of maybe 100 cars lining all the way down the I35 side road...but the parking lot is empty. Parked in the lot next door since the karen's have the lot blocked off waiting to go through the drive through. Went in..ordered and was back in my truck in under 7 min... Once i walked out with bags...i bet 10 cars pulled off of the drive line to walk inside...kinda ridiculous that something so simple was so difficult to process for so many...there wasn't a soul in the lobby when i went in. Thanks for saving the day California! Dad's the hero at home tonight
View attachment 973715

Awesome......Sheeple were in line ")

 

[Wolskis]

Freeze up the control rooms of a gas or coal plant and they don’t do so well either... Which when you do the numbers is 80% of the problem in Texas at the moment.

Blaming this on windmills and solar panels says you are either trying to drive an agenda or stupid.

Whats your agenda here?

squeey, your not in the power industry so you have no clue what you speak.

 

[squeezer]

squeey, your not in the power industry so you have no clue what you speak.

Well... I am linking/quoting people who are in the industry so there’s that.

 

[Ace in the Hole]

Big thanks to Aces in The Hole for getting some water to my bro-in-law and my sister.

It was much appreciated and kind of you.

Will be in touch when I am in Boerne as mentioned earlier.....

Thanks again

Your BIL is a super nice guy, I'm glad I could help him out...he knows to call me if he needs more.

I look forward to having some beers!

 

[4Waters]

Well... I am linking/quoting people who are in the industry so there’s that.

What's wrong with natural gas

 

[Ace in the Hole]

What's wrong with natural gas

Ol' gal in his avatar likely creates a lot of it

 

[mash on it]

What's wrong with natural gas

Apparently it freezes? FuckifIknow.

Lived/living in a cooler climate. Never had natural gas, always propane and wood for heat and cooking.

Dan'l

 

[4Waters]

Ol' gal in his avatar likely creates a lot of it

He just avoids questions

 

[HNL2LHC]

Awesome......Sheeple were in line ")

You are as bad as Ace in the hole for cheering him on for cutting in front of those unfortunate souls in the drive thru line. :looking:

 

[zhandfull]

Attempted to try and get some supplies tonight...since we are now under intermittent water service and boil orders essentially everywhere.
Everything...and i mean everything is sold out everywhere..its a shitshow..HEB is closed...gas stations have bare shelves...even buccees was out of essentially everything.. Over half of NB is pitch black right now... So I spot the In&Out sign...and a line of maybe 100 cars lining all the way down the I35 side road...but the parking lot is empty. Parked in the lot next door since the karen's have the lot blocked off waiting to go through the drive through. Went in..ordered and was back in my truck in under 7 min... Once i walked out with bags...i bet 10 cars pulled off of the drive line to walk inside...kinda ridiculous that something so simple was so difficult to process for so many...there wasn't a soul in the lobby when i went in. Thanks for saving the day California! Dad's the hero at home tonight
View attachment 973715

I have nearly the same picture from California few months ago, It was because of COVID not weather though. Mile long drive through line and nobody inside. Lol

i

 

[rivermobster]

He just avoids questions

SOP for the squeeze.

 

[DILLIGAF]

You are as bad as Ace in the hole for cheering him on for cutting in front of those unfortunate souls in the drive thru line. :looking:

Shit.....this entire covid duration I always park and walk in. The lines thru the drive thrus are crazy. I don't get it but whatever. A few times at Dunkin Donuts I couldn't believe the line of cars. I walk in and I am the only one inside. Alrighty then.....

 

[4Waters]

Shit.....this entire covid duration I always park and walk in. The lines thru the drive thrus are crazy. I don't get it but whatever. A few times at Dunkin Donuts I couldn't believe the line of cars. I walk in and I am the only one inside. Alrighty then.....

The In-N-Out in Sherman Oaks and Mission Hills wouldn't let you in, they came to the door and took your order.

 

[4Waters]

Hey @squeezer answer the question

 

[Ace in the Hole]

The In-N-Out in Sherman Oaks and Mission Hills wouldn't let you in, they came to the door and took your order.

Biden voters...lol

 

[DILLIGAF]

The In-N-Out in Sherman Oaks and Mission Hills wouldn't let you in, they came to the door and took your order.

Well.....I was talking about AZ and TX

 

[4Waters]

Well.....I was talking about AZ and TX

Ahh, free America.

Our Simi (10 miles or less away) location you could walk into.

 

[4Waters]

Biden voters...lol

Kinda funny, we had a guy drive by the ROAD CLOSED sign and around our cones into our work zone today, I stopped him told him the road is closed as per the sign and that I will assist him in backing up and out of our work site. He proceeded to say he didn't know, sorry. As he was driving away I said to my coworkers "What's scary is he voted for Biden" our crew lib said "No, Biden voters aren't that stupid" I said "Really" while pointing at the back of his car as he drove away at the Biden sticker on the bumper of his car.

 

[HTTP404]

Hey @squeezer answer the question

Wasting your time with that highly trained parrot.

 

[4Waters]

Wasting your time with that highly trained parrot.

The dumbass backed himself into a corner and he knows it

 

[81Sprint]

Some of my family are about 45 min south of Austin in LaGrange, they have been without running water since saturday, power has been off and on. The city did not have generators to power the water pumps. My grandparents are in their 90's and live on a decent size ranch, dealing with this. They are very resourceful but did not see this coming, they have their own water well for livestock and landscaping but on rural water for fresh, they will be making some changes for sure after this.

 

[HNL2LHC]

The In-N-Out in Sherman Oaks and Mission Hills wouldn't let you in, they came to the door and took your order.

I had that a few times. Havasu In-N-Out required masks at the beginning. I was floored and about stopped going there. I Miguels in Corona does that to you. :cussing: