Free Republic
Browse · Search
News/Activism
Topics · Post Article

Skip to comments.

Loss of wind causes Texas power grid emergency
Reuters ^

Posted on 02/27/2008 5:19:12 PM PST by Sub-Driver

Loss of wind causes Texas power grid emergency Wed Feb 27, 2008 8:11pm EST

HOUSTON (Reuters) - A drop in wind generation late on Tuesday, coupled with colder weather, triggered an electric emergency that caused the Texas grid operator to cut service to some large customers, the grid agency said on Wednesday.

Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) said a decline in wind energy production in west Texas occurred at the same time evening electric demand was building as colder temperatures moved into the state.

The grid operator went directly to the second stage of an emergency plan at 6:41 PM CST (0041 GMT), ERCOT said in a statement.

System operators curtailed power to interruptible customers to shave 1,100 megawatts of demand within 10 minutes, ERCOT said. Interruptible customers are generally large industrial customers who are paid to reduce power use when emergencies occur.

No other customers lost power during the emergency, ERCOT said. Interruptible customers were restored in about 90 minutes and the emergency was over in three hours.

ERCOT said the grid's frequency dropped suddenly when wind production fell from more than 1,700 megawatts, before the event, to 300 MW when the emergency was declared.

In addition, ERCOT said multiple power suppliers fell below the amount of power they were scheduled to produce on Tuesday. That, coupled with the loss of wind generated in West Texas, created problems moving power to the west from North Texas.

(Excerpt) Read more at reuters.com ...


TOPICS: News/Current Events; US: New Mexico; US: Texas
KEYWORDS: electricity; energy; grid; power; powergrid; texas
Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first previous 1-2021-4041-6061-8081-84 next last
To: CindyDawg
They're all plain white. LOL

You have FReepmail.

21 posted on 02/27/2008 5:37:13 PM PST by SouthTexas (We are home.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 18 | View Replies]

To: SouthTexas

Thanks. Ugly aren’t they?. We should put them out to sea far enough to not affect the view. A storm coming in could give us enough energy for a year:’)


22 posted on 02/27/2008 5:40:11 PM PST by CindyDawg
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 21 | View Replies]

To: Sub-Driver

I have two thoughts about why this happened and what can be done to fix it.

1. I guess Odessa doesn’t suck any more.

2. Maybe we can fix the problem by calling a special session of the legislature. That ought to produce enough wind.


23 posted on 02/27/2008 5:40:30 PM PST by No Truce With Kings (The opinions expressed are mine! Mine! MINE! All Mine!)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Solitar

There’s some new battery technology in the offing that will help. In fact, creating effective storage for the energy generated by wind or solar is one of the major problems they need to overcome.


24 posted on 02/27/2008 5:40:52 PM PST by saganite (Lust type what you what in the “tagline” space)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 20 | View Replies]

To: CindyDawg

LOL, talk about your early warning system! When the lights go out, it’s time to duck!


25 posted on 02/27/2008 5:42:55 PM PST by SouthTexas (We are home.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 22 | View Replies]

To: Sub-Driver

Welcome to Lib-O-Power. Reliability in our power matches reliability in our logic. Wind power is neat, but we still need good storage (buffering) ability. It ain’t here yet.


26 posted on 02/27/2008 5:47:10 PM PST by Da Coyote
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Sub-Driver

Cutting power to large industrial customers for a few hours every few years my be a reasonably trade-off for not having to build the peakers needed to archive that last .01% of reliability to such customers.


27 posted on 02/27/2008 5:54:03 PM PST by M. Dodge Thomas (Opinion based on research by an eyewear firm, which surveyed 100 members of a speed dating club.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Sub-Driver

On Tuesday out here on the Texas High Plains, the wind generators probably blew over in our 60 mph winds. I needed to sweep out my shop so I just opened the front and rear doors and let ‘er rip.


28 posted on 02/27/2008 5:59:41 PM PST by Muleteam1
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: SouthTexas

The King Ranch and the Kenedy Ranch are at odds right now over a wind farm proposed on the Kenedy Ranch.
http://www.ens-newswire.com/ens/jan2008/2008-01-02-091.asp

Also I think I saw an article just a day or so ago about T Boone Pickens working on a large project for the Panhandle.
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1975560/posts

If we could harness the hot air around Austin when the Legislature is in session we may have a viable project there.


29 posted on 02/27/2008 6:05:44 PM PST by deport ( -- Cue Spooky Music --)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 11 | View Replies]

To: Sub-Driver

1100 megawatts in 10 minutes! Whoa!

That’s huge, folks. A heckuva lot of load to shed/accommodate in 10 minutes. That would be an enormous amount of rolling reserve.


30 posted on 02/27/2008 6:08:38 PM PST by FreedomPoster (Guns themselves are fairly robust; their chief enemies are rust and politicians) (NRA)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: SouthTexas

The wind stops and your power goes out????

Brilliant!


31 posted on 02/27/2008 6:12:08 PM PST by baclava
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 25 | View Replies]

To: Rte66

It’s a supplementary source. Notice it was a drop in wind plus other sources not providing the power that caused this.


32 posted on 02/27/2008 6:36:44 PM PST by antiRepublicrat
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 9 | View Replies]

To: Sub-Driver

The dirty little secret is that because “renewable” energy is not reliable, you still have to build back-up capacity using regular technology - i.e. fossil fuels or nukes. So you end up with double capacity.


33 posted on 02/27/2008 6:37:25 PM PST by Doodle
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: deport
I think those south will eventually after they finally settle on a location.

Saw him the other morning talking up the alternatives, but by now, they should have as many turbines out there as people.

Sadly, I'd say Austin will never allow their "view" to be cluttered, a la Ted Kennedy.

34 posted on 02/27/2008 6:44:19 PM PST by SouthTexas (We are home.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 29 | View Replies]

To: Sub-Driver

Why do I find myself thinking of the campfire scene in Blazing Saddles?


35 posted on 02/27/2008 6:46:05 PM PST by Rocky
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Sub-Driver

Wind adds power to the grid, not capacity. You still have to build the same number of *real* power plants to add capacity to the grid. Wind is a silly little affectation that is distracting from the real issue.


36 posted on 02/27/2008 6:51:20 PM PST by AdamSelene235 (Truth has become so rare and precious she is always attended to by a bodyguard of lies.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: AdamSelene235

We can send you Jennifer Granholm to your state.....she blows more than the wind.


37 posted on 02/27/2008 6:53:22 PM PST by Michigan Bowhunter (Democrat socialist liberal scumbags.....how did we let this happen!)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 36 | View Replies]

To: CindyDawg
We should put them out to sea far enough to not affect the view. A storm coming in could give us enough energy for a year:

They have a narrow range of peak efficiency. A big storm would be more likely to blow them down than generate useful power.

And there is no means of effectively storing the energy.

Its a sham and always has been a sham to anybody who can do the basic math.

38 posted on 02/27/2008 6:55:29 PM PST by AdamSelene235 (Truth has become so rare and precious she is always attended to by a bodyguard of lies.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 22 | View Replies]

To: Solitar

Welcome to the rat energy future. The glorious sun and wind will supply all of our energy. When there is a failure, just blame it on global warming.


39 posted on 02/27/2008 6:57:36 PM PST by businessprofessor
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 20 | View Replies]

To: saganite
Shh. Don’t tell em the wind doesn’t blow all the time. Don’t let em in on the secret, nukes run 24/7/365. We’ll keep it to ourselves and those boneheads will never figure it out.

BUMP!

40 posted on 02/27/2008 6:59:19 PM PST by Constitution Day
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 10 | View Replies]


Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first previous 1-2021-4041-6061-8081-84 next last

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.

Free Republic
Browse · Search
News/Activism
Topics · Post Article

FreeRepublic, LLC, PO BOX 9771, FRESNO, CA 93794
FreeRepublic.com is powered by software copyright 2000-2008 John Robinson