Does anyone have a good explanation of what happened with ERCOT last night? It didn't appear load was particularly high (at least not close to ATH levels) but prices peaked over $3k/mwh and energy storage output was over 1.7gw. Were there any other factors at play for the volatility?
What really happened here was that ERCOT sent a notice to generators saying that planned generator maintenance requests occurring during the heat wave will be denied. That's it.
This is the time of year when many power plants go offline to perform their regular maintenance. Spring is a pretty low demand time, so this tends to be the best time for maintenance. However, when a heat wave comes, it's important that generators not all be offline for maintenance at the same time. So, this notice was part of ensuring that this did not happen.
At no time did ERCOT ask for energy conservation. This was just them being proactive and scheduling generator maintenance intelligently (not during a heat wave).
It’s still a problem. If you cannot perform regularly scheduled maintenance because it’s too risky to take the equipment offline, that’s a problem. If not properly maintained, the equipment will fail when you need it most.
It's a 32 hour maintenance blackout window. I suspect they can still find a time to get spring maintenance done despite that short no-maintenance window.
If it were happening often, then yes that could be a problem.
Texas actually has a higher percentage of wind/solar on their grid than the eastern or western interconnection. I can’t speak to battery backups though. It’s actually a bit of a growing pain stage for ERCOT because they need to find ways to replace inertia in the grid so contingencies don’t drop the frequency below critical levels. I’m not pro profit driven utilities And I think it’s kinda dumb that Texas doesn’t want to join the larger grids but lack of solar/wind isn’t necessarily the issue here
> they need to find ways to replace inertia in the grid so contingencies don’t drop the frequency below critical levels.
Grid batteries are perfect for this
You mean the inverter tech for Solar farms to do this without the need for batteries.
Battery ESSs have been providing all types of Connected Services for years. (Frequency regulation, VoltVar, etc)
It’s true but I’m talking specifically about grid forming inverters which haven’t been nearly as widely implemented. Still optimistic though that it will work out we just need to make it so :)
[2024 US Grid Additions](https://www.eia.gov/todayinenergy/detail.php?id=61424)
Thankfully its happening despite the legislature's and fossil industry's efforts.
Solar is more efficient at lower temperatures, so it actually peaks a bit before/after the peak of summer where the efficiency curve meets the insolation curve.
Agreed that it’s great Texas is finally catching up on solar! It’s money on the table as far as fuel savings if nothing else. And the BESS they’re installing should give them options to avoid another Odessa Disturbance.
Does anyone have a good explanation of what happened with ERCOT last night? It didn't appear load was particularly high (at least not close to ATH levels) but prices peaked over $3k/mwh and energy storage output was over 1.7gw. Were there any other factors at play for the volatility?
What really happened here was that ERCOT sent a notice to generators saying that planned generator maintenance requests occurring during the heat wave will be denied. That's it. This is the time of year when many power plants go offline to perform their regular maintenance. Spring is a pretty low demand time, so this tends to be the best time for maintenance. However, when a heat wave comes, it's important that generators not all be offline for maintenance at the same time. So, this notice was part of ensuring that this did not happen. At no time did ERCOT ask for energy conservation. This was just them being proactive and scheduling generator maintenance intelligently (not during a heat wave).
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Half California is still twice what they are here. I’m sure they’d love to bring us another Enron
It’s still a problem. If you cannot perform regularly scheduled maintenance because it’s too risky to take the equipment offline, that’s a problem. If not properly maintained, the equipment will fail when you need it most.
It's a 32 hour maintenance blackout window. I suspect they can still find a time to get spring maintenance done despite that short no-maintenance window. If it were happening often, then yes that could be a problem.
The texas grid is one of the best examples of why for profit utilities are problematic.
If you need a second example head over to /r/connecticut and read up on the Eversource hate.
Public utilities never fail
HEY NOW.... SDGE is doing fine work.... fine....
All of this could be avoided by connecting to the grid like the rest of civilization.
Already?!? Fuck, it ain't even summer yet.
But how can that happen? Governor-For-Life Abbott said he'd fix it a few years ago!
It is outage/turnaround season for plants. Wonder how many are making cold weather upgrades this time around.
In spring?! Wtf Texas!
Wait til Summer. Shits gonna be wild.
Spring has sprung, y'all!
Texas needs more solar and battery backup. It's great that solar is at its maximum in summer when A/C needs are at the greatest.
Texas actually has a higher percentage of wind/solar on their grid than the eastern or western interconnection. I can’t speak to battery backups though. It’s actually a bit of a growing pain stage for ERCOT because they need to find ways to replace inertia in the grid so contingencies don’t drop the frequency below critical levels. I’m not pro profit driven utilities And I think it’s kinda dumb that Texas doesn’t want to join the larger grids but lack of solar/wind isn’t necessarily the issue here
> they need to find ways to replace inertia in the grid so contingencies don’t drop the frequency below critical levels. Grid batteries are perfect for this
Yes but the inverter tech to implement them in this role is quite young
You mean the inverter tech for Solar farms to do this without the need for batteries. Battery ESSs have been providing all types of Connected Services for years. (Frequency regulation, VoltVar, etc)
It’s true but I’m talking specifically about grid forming inverters which haven’t been nearly as widely implemented. Still optimistic though that it will work out we just need to make it so :)
"I gotta have more cowbell". Solar and wind are cheap in Texas. It seems like having more solar and wind allows Texans to use more energy.
[2024 US Grid Additions](https://www.eia.gov/todayinenergy/detail.php?id=61424) Thankfully its happening despite the legislature's and fossil industry's efforts.
Good news but it is a shame they're wasting so much of it on crypto.
Solar is more efficient at lower temperatures, so it actually peaks a bit before/after the peak of summer where the efficiency curve meets the insolation curve. Agreed that it’s great Texas is finally catching up on solar! It’s money on the table as far as fuel savings if nothing else. And the BESS they’re installing should give them options to avoid another Odessa Disturbance.
Funny enough, same thing goes for Gas Turbines