- cross-posted to:
- technology@lemmy.world
- cross-posted to:
- technology@lemmy.world
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Texas power prices soared 20,000% Wednesday evening amid another brutal heat wave.
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Spot electricity prices topped $5,000 per megawatt-hour, up more than 200 times from Wednesday morning.
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The state’s grid operator issued its second-highest energy emergency, then later said conditions returned to normal.
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Hey little buddy, how’s the independent grid working out for you?
Jesus Christ.
Texas: Big government is evil!
Also Texas: Big government, the climate change weve been denying is boiling us please save our freedom grid
I want a book that’s just passive aggressive notes signed by Jesus
"Bet it all on the Steelers huh? Bet your wife is going to be real happy about that.
-Jesus Christ"
"Oh you sure showed that group of children who’s boss yes sir.
-Jesus Christ"
Pray for Elon to help the poor
As a lib, I feel so owned.
I’m glad I live in Washington state with our cheap renewable energy.
You are kind of owned, since these red states fucking up just means that more of your tax money will go to saving these idiots from themselves through federal aid
As another fellow Washingtonian, I’m getting pretty tired of subsidizing willful stupidity.
Red states are a luxury we can’t afford anymore. They need to pull themselves up by their freedom bootstraps and start turning a profit, or the spigot turns off.
I can only vote blue so many times. If I didn’t laugh, I’d cry.
Man, red states are much different here and there. Here red state means communist state, in US it is exact opposite.
honestly it’s not willful for a lot of residents there because of gerrymandering instead of redistricting.
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But does it includes government-protected monopolies?
Never should have let the southern states back in like we did.
We should have hanged every last confederate.
It’s not too late though.
This is definitely not an unhinged comment. Not at all.
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Texas has plenty of power. Their problem is the delivery network. Their prices surge because power can’t be delivered to everybody, not because there isn’t enough for everybody.
I need you to explain this further? The price goes up because the demand on the grid goes up, and as the price goes up, typically additional generation comes online to take advantage of higher rates. I’m not saying it’s a good system by any means, but I don’t understand what you mean saying “power can’t be delivered to everybody”
Transmission lines have maximums and the Texas power grid is a shambles.
Here’s a recent article that explains a little more: https://www.kut.org/energy-environment/2023-09-08/ercot-texas-electric-grid-congestion-at-risk-energy-emergency
I’m abreast of this specific grid situation, and there’re absolutely improvements that need to be made, and also no, it’s not “a shambles.” Yes, there was a bottleneck this time, but also everyone’s power stayed on just fine
Oh cool, so nobody died this time.
Give it a few months when they start dying of exposure. At least once a year I see stories about Texas’ power grid shitting the bed and people dying as a result.
How’s all that freedom going?
But Texas also has plenty of space and sunlight for other renewables.
They lead the nation, iirc. Not just in the space for it, but for the actual amount that’s been implemented.
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If you had the same amount of heat, you’d have more sunlight hours and thus better conditions for solar power. If you had more wind, wind power etc.
There’s no scenario anywhere in the world where the entire energy consumption and more can’t be supplied via renewable sources. All that’s missing is the political will to go against the fossil fuel industry.
You ever been east of the mountains? It’s going to be over 90 where my parents are today. It was over 100 for quite a bit this summer.
Texas actually does better in the renewable energy front than you may expect.
A quarter of the state’s energy is produced through wind and solar. The biggest bottleneck preventing more wind adoption is the capacity of transmission lines up and the lack of energy storage.
The advantage of natural gas is that it can be dry up pretty much anywhere and isn’t dependent on weather.
The biggest problem Texas has right now regarding energy (and housing costs, and inflation, and municipal planning, and traffic, etc) is its extremely rapid population growth.
Yes, the heat wave is historic and ERCOT is awful, but even in perfect weather the grid is being stressed from the sheer number of people and businesses moving here
Don’t forget natural gas lines can freeze. Remember Ted Cruz going to Cancun? Pepperidge farm remembers.
While a lot of shitty things happened regarding ERCOT and that freeze (and ESPECIALLY the lack of response to prevent the next 2 freeze emergencies), Snovid was a perfect storm. And again a lot of the issues were from transmission problems when lines iced over and tress took out transmission lines.
We’re lucky the 2023 freeze was as short as it was, because it’s impact on the grid was almost as severe even though it was shorter and not nearly as cold. It was an ice event instead of snow, and had a much larger impact on trees and therefore transmission lines. Some people were without power for 3-4 times as long as with the 2021 storm despite it being a much milder event.
As an engineer, critical infrastructure should very much be designed with redundancy and failsafes to prevent failure from any reasonable risk. Cold weather impacting natural gas supply is reasonable risk that can have a catastrophic impact on people’s ability to heat their homes and it’s mind blowing how those failures have happened more than once in recent years. Utilities should be held to much higher standards and immediate action taken after failures to prevent the same from happening again.
Completely agree. But Snovid was a case of multiple system failures. It wasn’t just gas lines freezing,. It was increased demand, frozen equipment, inoperable windmills and solar panels, trees on transmission lines, road inaccessibility for repair crews, and informational gaps.
Ummmm they use cardboard for their new construction sheathing, new construction r value code is 30-39 compared to 49-60 for Washington.
Welcome to Cascadia, land of trees, salmon, and hydroelectric dams.
and while its not renewable and there’s a big question on how effectively its stored, nuclear power is sustainable.
Heard a piece of NPR about how our green grid is actually having a lot of trouble keeping up because climate change is fucking up our rainfall, and hence our hydro electric. Even if you do it right, you end up paying for the greed of everyone else.
Are you idiots Great Again yet?
hey the rest of the american grids are fine. Texas didn’t want to follow certain governemnt regulation so they made their own grid.
With blackouts. And hookers.
With blackouts. And lobbysts.
C/unexpectedfuturama
c/CommunitiesAsHashtags
I was talking directly to the women hating, book banning, brown people fearing , maga-loving, selfish ignorant racists that vote in Texas.
Love it.
I remember my parents planning to retire to Texas about 10 years ago, I told 'em “that state’s going to be unlivable b/c of climate change pretty soon, don’t buy land there”.
They’re Republicans so pish-tosh. They have spent weeks this summer essentially unable to be outside anywhere.
Retiring somewhere where you can be burned by the pavement if you fall over? That’s an interesting choice.
Mmm, pan seared grandma
Big Weather man, they’re part of the deep state that’s silencing conservative voices by stopping them from going outside.
Maybe stop electing Republican orcs and your state will improve.
I’m trying so hard… I swear, our ballot boxes should be called wishing wells to better curb my hopes…
The problem is Texas Democrats and those who’d stand against Republicans don’t vote. I don’t feel like digging out the exact numbers, but the 2022 gubernatorial race shows it best. Abbott got nearly 80% of the votes Trump did in 2020. Beto got 60% of the votes Biden did. Republicans show up, Democrats don’t. Until that changes. nothing in this state will change.
Wow, I’m so shocked that Democrat turnout is depressed in *checks notes… states that go out of their way to gerrymander so only the Republicans can win, and use authoritarian tactics and putting Yes Men in key positions, have laws like it being illegal to give water to people standing in the voting line, and in general violently repress their Democratic constituents.
Gee I wonder why those votes might be depressed! It certainly has nothing to do with a system that has already been rigged against them! /s
Being real though, that’s purposeful on the part of Republicans. They want Democrats to lose hope. Makes their job easier.
have laws like it being illegal to give water to people standing in the voting line
That was found unconstitutional at least.
When has the Constitution ever stopped Republicans from violating the Constitution?
Right, but the fact that people in red states have to fight that buffoonery tooth and nail every day is part of why they’re tired and feel like voting is hopeless.
You know what’s been shocking to me in my last two elections? How much fear I felt turning in my ballot that someone would attack me after. I’d rather die than lose my freedom to vote blue, but I’d rather not die…
The Governorship isn’t gerrymandered. That’s a literal turnout issue. You HAVE TO vote to not be overlorded by fascists. @
Texas is so gerrymandered that even when new maps are made anyone opposing Republicans gets annihilated by districting.
Democrats protest, Republicans vote. One of the primary lessons of high school AP Government 25 years ago.
The problem is dems keep running Beto instead of making one of the Castro brothers run.
Voter suppression is big in Texas.
Republicans in Texas still blame liberals for the grid problems for some reason.
The “some reason” is because it works.
True. They need a scapegoat so they know if they say “low wind and unexpected thermal outaged”, they know people are too stupid to realize they’re saying its NG and/or coal plants playing a large role in the shortfalls and that centralized power NG/coal/nuclear power plants also have unpredictable swings in power (sometimes a 2-3 GW on/off if a large plant shuts down). Yet you can look at the comments on ERCOT to find plenty of people blaming renewables and saying we need to build more of those power stations that failed us in the winter storm in 2021 and have be causing issues this summer as well.
Why you gotta insult orcs like that?
Aaahhh, the free market economy at work without limits, without government planning, regulations, or interference.
Government regulations bad! It means we can’t squeeze our customers, we can’t fuck up on an hourly basis, we can’t be dicks!
And in before the commies start… No. Bad dog! Get out with your “we need to become Communist hippie communes!” comments, please
We need to put reasonable rules and limits to a capitalist system. Regulate big companies, regulate infrastructure, tax the rich, use the money for social platforms
I’m with the commies on this one. We need to nationalize utilities like energy distribution. No reason to have a profit seeking entity in charge of necessities like electricity.
In sane parts of the US, utility companies are technically private entities, but they’re related so much they pretty much operate like government agencies.
The big difference being a drive toward profit. Nationalizing energy production and distribution would be a slam dunk for everyone except the people at the top of these energy companies and their shareholders.
Probably. But the people who cry about socialism would be technically correct for once if that happened.
Take a look at how the Georgia Public Service Commission is regulating the finances of the new nuclear reactors (Plant Vogtle 3 and 4) and then try to keep a straight face and tell me it’s working.
In all fairness, Texas has an incredibly weird, idealistic, view of the value of market forces and their government utterly fails in its job as a result.
It’s not just power lines. It’s everything. They distort their market on ideological lines and then assume that’s the best case.
Too be fair, it is the best case if you’re one of the rich assholes who owns everything and just wants to squeeze the poors.
Sure but that is not the role of government lol
Says who?
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If only there was some kind of energy source that worked best during intense sunlight.
Good thing they got rid of all those pesky regulations or the poors would be using the power.
As a former Texan this breaks my heart. Alot of innocent and less well off people will suffer due to entrenched corruption.
I moved away because of this exact kind of shit.
Where’d u go? We came up to Portland.
I moved to the PNW as well. I hate the bureaucracy, and miss the barbecue, but they can have the rest. The bureaucracy you have to tolerate because it helps maintain the balance of divided people making the best choices. Much better path than down south where the road to hell is paved with red intentions.
Idk about the bureaucracy being useful, maybe it just needs tuning. But rn Portland (or maybe it’s the county) has $10million set aside for homeless services/projects and no plan for any of it.
Exactly, they move slowly, but it’s better than the southern plan.
Philadelphia, it’s paradise.
EMERGENCY!
YOU ARE IN TEXAS!
oh my God!
Texas is trying to attract crypto miners, I hear.
…
giggle
Crypto miners say “ok you need power so we will stop our servers” and Texas gov gives them millions of $ to thank them.
Wasn’t the whole point in investing in oil in Texas to keep the energy prices low?
How is that working out for em?
Actually, pretty well 99.9% of the time. And if a few people die here or there in a freeze or heatwave, well they shoulda use some of those electricity savings on a generator or something.
^ How the conservatives in Texas feel about the situation
Oh, again?
Meanwhile in reality:
Texas is 1st in the nation in renewables (thanks Obama).
3000Mw battery storage averted this emergency, and there’s a ton more of that on the way (thanks Biden).
The reason Texas is #1 in renewables is actually Rick Perry, bless his heart. He pushed for a massive expansion of wind generation capacity back in the early 00s and was instrumental in building high voltage transmission lines between west Texas wind and the more eastern population centers. He would be drummed out of today’s Republican party
When wanting to eliminate the Dept of Education is too woke…
Oh he didn’t mean that, he just wanted to be president and thought that’s how he’d get there. He wasn’t the brightest bulb
Which is why he became Secretary of Energy under Trump. Also I think he was kicked off Dancing with the Stars in one of the early rounds. Certainly makes him qualified to occupy the same chair as Steven Chu.
Texas, Kansas, Oklahoma have the best onshore wind power potential. Pretty good solar too. And they’re tapping in to it.
People will soon be living in Texas no power year around when they throttle you and charge you thousands for power every month of the year because either A) ITsSS TWOooh HAaAWwTT or B) TtThEEee GGRiiIdD IIsSSnnTT Winterized. What a joke
If Texas is anything like Mississippi, you’re not allowed to live without electricity. You’ll be evicted, AKA homeless…
