Posted on 02/20/2021 7:44:24 AM PST by madison10
Knowing Michigan’s weather, DTE makes sure the equipment is able to handle temperatures as low as -30 degrees Celsius... Knowing Michigan’s weather, he said DTE equipped their wind turbines across the state with what are called “cold weather adaption packages.”
He said that provides heat in the turbine to prevent them from freezing up and failing to operate.
Almost exactly two years ago, in 2019, Michiganders dealt with a Polar Vortex that brought bitter, cold and record temperatures.
While the situation was certainly not as drastic as what our neighbors to the south are experiencing, energy companies did ask their customers to lower their thermostats and minimize their electricity usage. That was a direct result of a fire at a Consumers Energy gas compressor station in Macomb County.
At that time, DTE shared “DTE Gas did not have a shortage in 2019. This was a Consumers Energy issue that stemmed from a fire at one of their facilities. In fact, DTE Gas aided Consumers Energy with additional supply to address that shortage.”
One type of energy they didn’t have any concerns with? Renewable.
In 2020, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, renewable energy made up a little more than 6-percent of Michigan’s energy. 60-percent of that energy was generated by wind turbines.
“We’ve been very happy with our wind investments,” Harwood said. “They’ve operated very well for us. The first one came online in 2012. And, we’ve been adding projects online almost every year since.”
Harwood said wind energy, combined with solar energy from DTE’s solar panels installed across the state, powers half a million homes.
And, DTE plans to double that energy generation, powering one million homes, with new projects over the next 2 years.
While the sun doesn’t always shine and the wind doesn’t always blow, Harwood shared these sources of energy do not pose any serious challenges.
Something he said the 2019 Polar Vortex confirmed for DTE.
“With respect to our renewables, I think if anything else, it was, it was just a verification that the cold weather packages and the preparations that we had designed into our systems, actually worked very well and gave us confidence that we were on the right track,” he said.
Because, despite what we may think, the solar panels actually operate more efficiently in cold weather.
“As long as there’s, there’s a little bit of light that gets to the panel, even through a snow layer, it’ll generate a little bit of heat,” he explained. “And that heat will, within a day or so, slide that snow right off the panel. And so we don’t we don’t have any, you know, maintenance activities where we send people out to, you know, brush snow off a panel. It pretty much takes care of itself.”
Which is why, on top of these energies being safer, cleaner and better for the environment, Harwood said wind turbines and solar panels are the future.
“We don’t do projects in communities that don’t want the project. There may be a few people here and there that are opposed to it; but if the community generally is supportive, then, then we’re interested in coming there and building a project,” Harwood said. “These packages include additional heating components for hydraulic and lubrication oil systems and in other critical components; but, you know as a result, our turbines have been operating very well over the last few weeks, and last few days,” Harwood said. “And even if you go back to the Polar Vortex in late January a couple years ago, our wind fleet operated just as expected, right through that with no issues.”
Don’t get smug, Michigan. It can happen to you as well.
Nobody expects once in 100 year storms.
I bet the energy costs in Michigan are double that of Texas.
The variability of wind still makes the grid more unstable, it’s the nature of the beast.
Texas-Style Blackouts are the Future
https://freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/3936278/posts
Oh, no smugness. It is an answer to the question. We do not want the darn things ruining the views to be honest.
Why would Texas windmills need a “cold package” if it rarely gets cold enough for them? Same with water pipes, and natural gas pipes. There would be extra costs not really needed.
With all the Democrats convinced of man made global warming why would they even expect Texas to need winterizable wind turbines?
It’s not needed, until it is. How many of those windmills need to be replaced because of that once in a lifetime storm? Will replacing them be cheaper than having outfitted as a precaution or is it cheaper to replace as such storms come up?
T Boone Pickens screwed us.
Maybe so. We gave at least two power companies here.
Gas bill last month: $73 (no vortex yet and natural gas). Electtic: $139
Enrico Fermi nuclear plant is still online, though.
DTE sucks.
The grid goes down with hugh impact every time with wind kicks up.
Everybody in my old neighborhood owned back up generators and you could look up and down the street and see every house with the garage door open and the gas generators running.
If you looked closer you could see power cords stretch across the street to those that didn’t have them to run their sump pumps.
DTE sucks
It all froze in Texas. The wind plants, the gas plants, the coal plants and even nuclear.
Not right now it isn’t. And ours is actually on.
CC
Consumers is not great either. DTE is better than they used to be, not saying much.
Enrico Fermi nuclear plant
Fermi II
Is that due to Michigan’s cold weather materials and prep? Heard they were having to boil water probably due to water main breaks. The mains break here for sure, but maybe they are down in the ground further to start with due to frost line?
Whatever. We just call it Fermi.
It regularly gets very cold there, not so much in Texas.
“Don’t get smug, Michigan. It can happen to you as well.”
Texas screwed up in countless ways. For starters if Texas was tied into other states power grid none of this would have happened. By being “Independent” it will cost you more in the long run.
I drove through W.Va 3 days ago. 30+ windmills on one ridge were working just fine in 5 degree weather and snow coming down like hades.
Living in Michigan, I’d have to say that Texas either really didn’t factor in near zero temperatures in its infrastructure or the whole power grid failure is staged and planned.
I’m more inclined to claim that the Power grid failure is some kind of sabotage, but if you guys truly didn’t plan for the 100 a year cold and snow, please fire almost everyone working the grid.
A Hurricane would have taken you out.
My sister lives by Consumers old coal fired Weadock plant in Bay City out by the Bay.
If that ever comes up as a trivia question, “What decommission coal fired power plant does Eddie01’s sister live by? You’ll have the answer.
You’re welcome.
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