[StarvingLion]

I have no doubt whatsoever that very large explosions will be going off within Washington, DC no later than March 30, 2021. I stake my credibility upon it.

Because nothing else will stop Y-axis "investing" and endless piles of worthless money.

[kublikhan]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('OutcastPhilosopher', 'T')his just goes to show the futility of it all.

Wind/Solar will never be a replacement for Fossil Fuels.

[jawagord]

Texas wind power production less than 2 MW currently from ERCOT, from an installed base of 31 MW, online or off line, wind not producing much.

http://www.ercot.com/content/cdr/html/C ... P_HSL.html

Meanwhile in frigid Alberta our coal and gas fired generators are humming along (it’s called winterization), even our wind turbines are generating at a higher online percentage than Texas wind!

http://ets.aeso.ca/ets_web/ip/Market/Re ... ortServlet

[kublikhan]

That's because in Alberta they are used to frigid temperatures. But for Texas, this is highly unusual. Supposedly after this happened in 2011 Texas was supposed to winterize it's plants. But they were not prepared for this once in a hundred year event.

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', 'A')fter a cold event in 2011 that took power offline, power generators claim they did a better job of "winterizing" power plants, but Abbott says it didn't go far enough.

"I think after what happened in 2011, an assessment was not made to gauge for this type of event, because the last time we had this type of weather was more than 100 years ago," Abbott said. "We need to calibrate for this type of weather to make sure that the companies that are contracted with to provide the power generation in the state of Texas are going to be capable of providing power generation in these ultra cold temperatures."

[yellowcanoe]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('jawagord', 'T')exas wind power production less than 2 MW currently from ERCOT, from an installed base of 31 MW, online or off line, wind not producing much.

http://www.ercot.com/content/cdr/html/C ... P_HSL.html

Meanwhile in frigid Alberta our coal and gas fired generators are humming along (it’s called winterization), even our wind turbines are generating at a higher online percentage than Texas wind!

http://ets.aeso.ca/ets_web/ip/Market/Re ... ortServlet

[jawagord]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('kublikhan', 'T')hat's because in Alberta they are used to frigid temperatures. But for Texas, this is highly unusual. Supposedly after this happened in 2011 Texas was supposed to winterize it's plants. But they were not prepared for this once in a hundred year event.

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', 'A')fter a cold event in 2011 that took power offline, power generators claim they did a better job of "winterizing" power plants, but Abbott says it didn't go far enough.

"I think after what happened in 2011, an assessment was not made to gauge for this type of event, because the last time we had this type of weather was more than 100 years ago," Abbott said. "We need to calibrate for this type of weather to make sure that the companies that are contracted with to provide the power generation in the state of Texas are going to be capable of providing power generation in these ultra cold temperatures."

[kublikhan]

Exactly my point. Houston last got single digit temperatures 31 years ago. But single digits or lower hit Alberta every year. There is much greater incentive and return on investment to winterize power plants in Alberta that there is in Houston.

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', 'G')enerators in chillier regions are typically compelled by federal or state rules to protect their plants from the elements, Texas plants can leave their pipes, valves and pressure gauges exposed. It’s cheaper that way. “The power plants in the Northeast, we put exterior closures around it. They wrap a building around the plant.” “Some of it too is just the cost of capital,” said Joseph Triepke, founder of the industry research firm Infill Thinking. “We’re all trying to run so lean, and this kind of weather is a once-every-several-years or more kind of thing. You’re just not going to invest in having that winterization infrastructure on hand.”

[Pops]

The way I read it, the only reason wind isn't the main culprit is it isn't the main source.

Wind contributes 25% now but half is offline— to say it is only 10% of the problem is shortsighted. When it is 80% of the total and half offline...

Our distribution system badly needs upgrading, renewables are at the mercy of local conditions. Texas was all smug about CA's problem (Cruz tweeted: hope you hate a/c) but they have the same problem: CA couldn't import enough power because of a regional heat wave and TX can't because it isn't even connected outside the state. Here in SW MO there were about 4 hours of rolling blackouts yesterday during morning commute but they got everything balanced and discontinued them.

Hard to believe anything is going to happen for the good, ole tucker has already convinced his viewers that a) the cold disproves GW, b) it's AOCs fault c) windmills cause ice storms

[kublikhan]

It's not the wind turbines themselves that were a problem. It's the fact they were not winterized. Same problem as the fossil fueled plants. Winterized wind turbines run just fine in cold climates. So all Texas has to due to prevent this from happening again is winterize it's power plants.

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', 'w')hy don’t wind turbines fail all the time in colder climates, such as Canada, Sweden or the American Midwest?

The answer, in short, is that turbines in colder places are typically equipped with de-icing and other tools, such as built-in heating. In Texas, where the weather is almost never this cold, they usually are not.

“Cold weather kits can keep [wind turbines] operating when temperatures plunge. This is the norm in colder states and in Europe,” said Samuel Brock, a spokesman for the American Clean Power Association. “Historically in Texas, given the warm climate, it hasn’t been necessary.”

In Canada, where wind turbines can experience icing up to 20% of the time in winter months, special “cold weather packages” are installed to provide heating to turbine components such as the gearbox, yaw and pitch motors and battery, according to the Canadian government. This can allow them to operate in temperatures down to minus 22 degrees Fahrenheit (minus 30 Celsius).

To prevent icing on rotor blades — which cause the blades to catch air less efficiently and to generate less power — heating and water-resistant coatings are used.

One Swedish company, Skellefteå Kraft, which has experimented with operating wind turbines in the Arctic, coats turbine blades with thin layers of carbon fiber which are then heated to prevent ice from forming. Another method used by the company is to circulate hot air inside the blades. Major wind turbine manufacturers, such as General Electric GE -1.1% or Denmark's Vestas, regularly equip their turbines with such cold weather gear.

[Pops]

Texas has bigger problems:
$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', '�')��The City and County, along with power providers or any other service owes you NOTHING!” he [mayor of Gutwater, TX] wrote on Facebook. “I’m sick and tired of people looking for a d--- handout! If you don’t have electricity you step up and come up with a game plan to keep your family warm and safe.”

[aadbrd]

Texas blackouts fuel false claims about renewable energy

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', '
')“It’s really natural gas and coal and nuclear that are providing the bulk of the electricity and that’s the bulk of the cause of the blackouts,” Jacobson told The Associated Press.

[jawagord]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('kublikhan', 'E')xactly my point. Houston last got single digit temperatures 31 years ago. But single digits or lower hit Alberta every year. There is much greater incentive and return on investment to winterize power plants in Alberta that there is in Houston.

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', 'G')enerators in chillier regions are typically compelled by federal or state rules to protect their plants from the elements, Texas plants can leave their pipes, valves and pressure gauges exposed. It’s cheaper that way. “The power plants in the Northeast, we put exterior closures around it. They wrap a building around the plant.” “Some of it too is just the cost of capital,” said Joseph Triepke, founder of the industry research firm Infill Thinking. “We’re all trying to run so lean, and this kind of weather is a once-every-several-years or more kind of thing. You’re just not going to invest in having that winterization infrastructure on hand.”

[kublikhan]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('jawagord', 'n')o amount of winterization helps with the primary problem, which is the wind is blowing much less in winter. Texas chose poorly, just as California did, just as other jurisdictions are doing.

https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/ful ... 02/we.2427

[yellowcanoe]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('kublikhan', '
')https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/ful ... 02/we.2427

[jawagord]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('kublikhan', '')$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('jawagord', 'n')o amount of winterization helps with the primary problem, which is the wind is blowing much less in winter. Texas chose poorly, just as California did, just as other jurisdictions are doing.

https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/ful ... 02/we.2427

[Newfie]

Floating wind farms.

https://gcaptain.com/waves-and-seaweed- ... ting-wind/

[Subjectivist]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('KaiserJeep', 'T')hink of it as you would a bartered commodity that is never assigned any dollar price. You generate power on your roof, and use it in the house. It never goes through the power meter, it is never counted as income, it incurrs no tax liability. It reduces the amount of power you would otherwise withdraw from the grid, and pay for with money. If you have an EV, it allows you to drive on a road without paying any taxes for that, either.

You don't need a battery for this, as long as you are in a place (such as California) that mandates "net metering". The power grid is effectively a lossless free battery in such a net metering jurisdiction.

I've been doing this for years. California hit 60% solar energy this year, and exceeded 100% renewable energy, because last year was a wet one and lots of hydropower was online again. In prior years we were importing power from places like Texas, primarily wind. Now we have new renewables in-state and will soon be a net exporter of renewable energy. Most of California's new renewable capacity is solar, mostly residential and medium-scale (malls, parking lots, schools, misc. empty lots covered in solar panels, etc.).

So now California is going to mandate solar roofs on new construction residences. The next step would be net zero energy homes, and with EVs, all of a sudden, the suburban lifestyle is again practical, affordable, even ecologically sound.

[Newfie]

News tidbit.

https://gcaptain.com/jan-de-nul-wins-do ... w-jack-up/

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', '
')
“Dogger Bank Wind Farm is exactly the type of project we had in mind when we took the decision to build our Voltaire. The scale and characteristics of the offshore Dogger Bank and turbines offer the perfect challenge for this Next Gen Offshore Jack-Up Installation Vessel,” added Philippe Hutse, Director Offshore Division at Jan De Nul Group.

[Outcast_Searcher]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Subjectivist', '')$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('KaiserJeep', 'T')hink of it as you would a bartered commodity that is never assigned any dollar price. You generate power on your roof, and use it in the house. It never goes through the power meter, it is never counted as income, it incurrs no tax liability. It reduces the amount of power you would otherwise withdraw from the grid, and pay for with money. If you have an EV, it allows you to drive on a road without paying any taxes for that, either.

You don't need a battery for this, as long as you are in a place (such as California) that mandates "net metering". The power grid is effectively a lossless free battery in such a net metering jurisdiction.

I've been doing this for years. California hit 60% solar energy this year, and exceeded 100% renewable energy, because last year was a wet one and lots of hydropower was online again. In prior years we were importing power from places like Texas, primarily wind. Now we have new renewables in-state and will soon be a net exporter of renewable energy. Most of California's new renewable capacity is solar, mostly residential and medium-scale (malls, parking lots, schools, misc. empty lots covered in solar panels, etc.).

So now California is going to mandate solar roofs on new construction residences. The next step would be net zero energy homes, and with EVs, all of a sudden, the suburban lifestyle is again practical, affordable, even ecologically sound.

[vtsnowedin]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', 'T')he manufacture of cement produces about 0.9 pounds of CO2 for every pound of cement. Since cement is only a fraction of the constituents in concrete, manufacturing a cubic yard of concrete (about 3900 lbs) is responsible for emitting about 400 lbs of CO2.