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| Why Does Texas Have Its Own Power Grid? (Page 5/17) |
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blackrams
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FEB 18, 01:06 PM
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| quote | Originally posted by 82-T/A [At Work]:
I wasn't framing it in that perspective. The way I see it, there are two sides to this... (and then everyone else who doesn't really care one way or another).
- One side is pushing this failure as an example of green energy not working, and while they are pointing out valid arguments, they're ignoring the positives that otherwise come from wind farms.
- The other side is desperately trying to change the narrative to cover up for the failure of the wind farms, and in most cases actually lying and misrepresenting the failure.
My comment was that this is a freak situation, and we shouldn't really be blaming wind farms for the failure, but that we cannot simply lie and ignore that these wind farms didn't have a weakness in this completely unexpected and once in a quarter century weather occurrence.
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Oh, I like the wind farm idea also and hope they develop the solar option to a greater efficiency. I think both are great alternative energy power sources and can greatly supplement systems already on line. At least until something else comes along. What I think is foolish is standing alone. Every state has it's own issues, won't deny that. Don has recently become fond of pointing out Mississippi's short comings and that's OK. No where is perfect. It's the standing alone that I think is foolish but, that's just my opinion and it's not worth much to some.
Rams
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maryjane
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FEB 18, 01:19 PM
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| quote | Originally posted by blackrams:
Actually, Pearl River Power and we're doing fine (even though the PTO Generator is on the tractor and ready to do it's thing).
As I previously stated, the local news has asked that all Mississippians reduce their consumption so power can be shared with "other" states.
No idea who those other states are but, I'm thinking it probably isn't TX. But, that's just a guess on my part.
Rams
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And your guess would be wrong/don't believe everything you think. Pearl River Power is part of the same consortium the electric provider I buy from is.
Not all of Texas is part of ERCOT. My provider is Entergy and they opted out of ERCOT some years ago. They (and Pearl River) are part of MISO.
Mid Continent Independent System Operators.
All tho, are subject to damage from ice caused distribution problems, which is why I initially lost power. After I lost power and it was restored 36 hrs later, we went into rolling blackouts as all of MISO had to sell or buy power to/from areas in and outside of their usual customer base. (That mandatory' buying selling' of excess power is a federal thing)
Electric providers buy and sell power to other areas on a daily basis, based on projected estimated needs and supply.
Pearl is part of SME..Southern Mississippi Electric (now usually called Cooperative Energy) all of which is a member of MISO.
| quote | December 18, 2013
SME integrates into MISO, a regional transmission organization. |
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https://cooperativeenergy.c...line-of-our-history/
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blackrams
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FEB 18, 01:24 PM
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Appreciate the information. Didn't know that. At least, not all of it you posted. 
I surely won't get upset by any misplaced state pride.
At least our area is on a shared system.
So, that must mean a large part of Texas stands alone. Clearly by choice.
As has been said here many times previously, Choices have consequences.
Rams  [This message has been edited by blackrams (edited 02-18-2021).]
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82-T/A [At Work]
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FEB 18, 03:35 PM
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| quote | Originally posted by blackrams:
Oh, I like the wind farm idea also and hope they develop the solar option to a greater efficiency. I think both are great alternative energy power sources and can greatly supplement systems already on line. At least until something else comes along. What I think is foolish is standing alone. Every state has it's own issues, won't deny that. Don has recently become fond of pointing out Mississippi's short comings and that's OK. No where is perfect. It's the standing alone that I think is foolish but, that's just my opinion and it's not worth much to some.
Rams |
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A quick drive up and down I-10 will actually show that Texas has acres and acres of solar power farms as well... an unbelievable amount. Unfortunately, when they get covered with snow, they stop working.
All of the green energy programs were to support Texas with it's day to day operation, reducing dependence on fossil fuels... and it works spectacularly 99% of the time. But in this snow storm... which is a freak of nature here, the green energy failed horribly.
As I was saying, my frustration is that the greenies are outright lying about what's going on right now, because of ideology. We need to be honest with each other. If the greenies just said... "Hey, solar and wind are amazing 99.99% of the time... but this is a freak of nature storm," then we'd all be good. But they are totally misrepresenting and lying about the power grid and it's getting spread around that it's the fossil fuel plants that are failing.
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blackrams
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FEB 18, 03:48 PM
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| quote | Originally posted by 82-T/A [At Work]:
A quick drive up and down I-10 will actually show that Texas has acres and acres of solar power farms as well... an unbelievable amount. Unfortunately, when they get covered with snow, they stop working.
All of the green energy programs were to support Texas with it's day to day operation, reducing dependence on fossil fuels... and it works spectacularly 99% of the time. But in this snow storm... which is a freak of nature here, the green energy failed horribly.
As I was saying, my frustration is that the greenies are outright lying about what's going on right now, because of ideology. We need to be honest with each other. If the greenies just said... "Hey, solar and wind are amazing 99.99% of the time... but this is a freak of nature storm," then we'd all be good. But they are totally misrepresenting and lying about the power grid and it's getting spread around that it's the fossil fuel plants that are failing. |
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Makes sense to me. As I said previously, I'm in support of alternative renewable energy. 
Rams
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cvxjet
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FEB 18, 04:29 PM
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Teddy checked out and flew to Cancun for a vacation......He is a "Man of the People"......
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blackrams
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FEB 18, 04:52 PM
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| quote | Originally posted by cvxjet:
Teddy checked out and flew to Cancun for a vacation......He is a "Man of the People"...... |
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If he had needed a baggage carrier, I would have made myself available.
One of the things that go along with having a little money. No harm, no foul IMHO.
Rams
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Raydar
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FEB 18, 05:00 PM
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After listening to various sources for the past few days, I have come to a conclusion... Texas, for the most part, put all their eggs in one basket. And it came back to bite them.
They were banking largely on a technology called "combined cycle". (Google it. It's out there.)
Basically, the plants use natural gas to generate electricity. But that's only part of the equation. They use the waste heat from that process to fuel a secondary process that is capable of generating even more electricity. The problem is that combined-cycle plants hate cold weather. (One of my co-workers reminded me of this, earlier. And it makes sense. The cold temps reduce the amount of "useable" waste heat.) So THAT has impacted the generation capacity.
The other side of the coin is this...
Picture the typical heat pump HVAC system. It typically has to handle a maximum ~35 degree disparity between inside and outside temperatures. (105 degrees outside, to 70 degrees inside. Ballpark.)
What we're looking at is 0-to-10 degrees outside. Even with the the 35 degree "spread", it still only gets you to a maximum of 45 degrees. Send in the "aux heating systems".
Some of them are natural gas, which is already in short supply. Period. Some of them are "resistance wire" or "hot wire" heaters. Grossly inefficient, even compared to heat pump systems. There just isn't enough electricity to go around.
(I'll just make mention that, as I understand it, most Texas homes are designed to shed heat, which is the usual summertime scenario. Not to retain it, which would be preferable in the current situation. This was from an article I read. I have not verified this portion of the show.)
Add to that, that most of Texas just doesn't have the capability of "importing" electricity from other outside systems. By design.
The pathways (transmission lines) just arent there, in large enough numbers.
I might be wrong on certain points, but I believe it sums it up fairly well.[This message has been edited by Raydar (edited 02-18-2021).]
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blackrams
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FEB 18, 05:29 PM
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| quote | Originally posted by Raydar:
After listening to various sources for the past few days, I have come to a conclusion... Texas, for the most part, put all their eggs in one basket. And it came back to bite them.
They were banking largely on a technology called "combined cycle". (Google it. It's out there.)
SNIP
Add to that, that most of Texas just doesn't have the capability of "importing" electricity from other outside systems. By design.
The pathways (transmission lines) just arent there, in large enough numbers.
I might be wrong on certain points, but I believe it sums it up fairly well.
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Agreed.
Rams
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Raydar
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FEB 18, 06:42 PM
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| quote | Originally posted by blackrams:
Actually, Pearl River Power and we're doing fine (even though the PTO Generator is on the tractor and ready to do it's thing).
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I'm really surprised that you are not on MPC. We have a fairly large communications hub / presence in Hattiesburg.
But that might be the northernmost edge of where we serve. I've never been there.
We were under "conservative operations" (no unnecessary system changes, or "off-line" conditions) restrictions, until yesterday afternoon. But that's not unusual.
Other than that, I don't know of anything special that we've been doing, other than relocating line crews (to places on and off our system) to aid in restorations. But then, again, I'm not privy to all the inside scoop. If they tell us "Don't break anything", that's all the info we need to know.  [This message has been edited by Raydar (edited 02-18-2021).]
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