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To: real saxophonist

The “Green New Deal” was not actually in progress in Texas, but one of its important elements, reliance on wind and solar “renewable energy”, had drained away the resources that the ERCOT should have been applying to RELIABLE backup power, for when the windmills and solar panels froze over with a coating of ice. Further, there was no onsite storage for compressed natural gas, as the natural gas-fired generation stations were relying on the direct piping of natural gas to the turbines driving the dynamos delivering the primary power to the grid. The water vapor in the gas pipelines was freezing up and constricting or stopping the flow of the fuel in transit.

https://www.texastribune.org/2021/02/16/texas-power-outage-ercot/


14 posted on 02/18/2021 6:34:36 AM PST by alloysteel (Praise the Lord, and pass the ammunition.)
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To: alloysteel
...the resources that the ERCOT should have been applying to RELIABLE backup power...

I don't think ERCOT has any resources.

The power is generated by a bunch of smaller, independent producers who compete strictly on price. They have zero incentive to create redundancy or prepare for rare events so they don't deploy their resources to that end.

And up until now Texas has taken a hands-off attitude on regulating reliability, instead leaving it to the market.

51 posted on 02/18/2021 7:39:21 AM PST by semimojo
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