About these "rolling blackouts"

[FoxNewsSucks]

It was announced yesterday that we'd have them here. I just saw a thread about North Dakota. I've read several threads about this, and what I don't quite understand is how this is a more severe strain on electricity than the massive heatwaves in the summer. Shouldn't it be less? After all, only about 35% of US homes have electric heat. I'm pretty sure AC is almost 100% electric.

[Liberty Belle]

1. We switched an electric stove to gas, since our oven is electric,

In hopes that with future power outages we'd at least be able to cook and heat water. We're in California, which has had plenty of blackouts not only during Enron but more recently to prevent wildfires.

We also have a wood-burning fireplace for warmth in winter and an outdoor charcoal BBQ, the latter can be used to cook outdoors in warmer weather power outages.

I don't know why someone hasn't invented a battery-powered portable heater to at least keep one room warm if the power goes out.

A lot of people here who are fed up with repeated power outages have invested in solar panels with backup battery storage and people have told me these worked great to keep the power on during SDG&E outages. Worth the money if you can afford it and have a place for it all. The battery storage storage units can go on a garage wall, solar on a roof or freestanding on a slope, for instance. But they might not work in a blizzard.

In Texas it's been so cold that even wind turbines froze up, a downside of this form of renewable energy apparently. Guess they need de-icers like they use for airplane wings!

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

5. We have wind turbines in Minnesota and they don't freeze up,

even though it's much colder here, all the time, every winter. If they're freezing in TX it's because somebody is doing something wrong.

[Liberty Belle]

11. Texas didn't reqiuire de-icing on its wind turbines - other cold places have them working fine:

https://www.forbes.com/sites/scottcarpenter/2021/02/16/why-wind-turbines-in-cold-climates-dont-freeze-de-icing-and-carbon-fiber/?sh=536dbc531f59

For the record, I'm not a fan of wind turbines in some areas like ours where they've exploded several times, caused brush fires, and hurled off multi-ton blades. I do support solar and wind done right - just not too close to homes or in high fire areas.

But freezing IS a solvable problem. And Texas didn't just blow it with wind turbines, but other types of power plants offline now too including gas and nuclear. They didn't have the proper de-icing gear required because they wanted to keep energy as cheap as they could and not cost industry a penny extra.

Sadly now they are getting what they paid for.

[NutmegYankee]

2. Heat pumps are now using resistive electric heating.

That's far worse for electric usage than air conditioning.

[TexasProgresive]

3. From what I read it the problem, in Texas anyway, is more to do with natural gas.

Many power plant use natural gas to generate electricity. There is an extremely high demand of the natural gas supply for heating causing problems with generating plants. I bet they wish all that gas the Permian Basin had been wasted was collected and processed for use.

[underpants]

4. Yep. Part of it. I just read a great DU - Daily Kos thread.

Really good information here

https://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=view_post&forum=1078&pid=51486

[coti]

6. Yeah, this is third-world stuff.

We've had idiot deregulators and profiteers in power positions and making decisions for so long, things are starting to fall apart.

We should have started decentralizing our power generation, storage and distribution with renewables many, many years ago. We could have avoided a lot of this.

[KY_EnviroGuy]

7. One serious factor is....

that those extreme temperatures cause many unscheduled outages in power plants of all types. Having worked in many plants, I've witnessed the madness in early winter in preparation for cold weather, mainly testing and repairing heat-trace systems. Frozen piping is a huge issue each winter in power plants. In time, all those plants that fail (including gas and wind turbines) will be repaired and placed back on-line.

Another factor is that the South is not prepared for this severe situation, so many people are supplementing their systems with portable heaters. So, the folks up North have to sacrifice some of their reserve generating capacity to help those in need.

North Dakota having rolling blackouts is likely a sign the national grid is at or near full capacity.

KY

[TexasProgresive]

8. Kentucky may be giving power to North Dakota but not Texas

We are on our own grid separate from the rest of the US because, well you know, because we are Texans.

[KY_EnviroGuy]

10. Some quotes on Texas by Texans.....

I learned two things growing up in Texas. 1: God loves you, and you're going to burn in hell forever. 2: Sex is the dirtiest and most dangerous thing you can possibly do, so save it for someone you love.
Molly Ivins

The fight for the future of Texas is just beginning.
Wendy Davis

The last thing Texas women need in their lives is Greg Abbott.
Wendy Davis

When Rick Perry says I can do for America what I've done for Texas, pay attention. That's no idle threat.
Jim Hightower

And a special complement from Ann Richards...

There is a special mystique to Texas. Texans represent many things to the uninitiated: We are bigger than life in our boots and Stetsons, rugged individualists whose two-steppin' has achieved world-wide acclaim, and we were the first to define hospitality.
Ann Richards

But these quotes apply equally to many states, just different names and places.....

KY........

[dalton99a]

12. +1. Molly Ivins on Cornyn's qualifications for senator:

“John Cornyn looks like a senator. I mean, he is the most senator-lookin’ sumbitch I have ever seen.”

[Bmoboy]

9. Electricity may not be all that

Even with an oil burning furnace, I need electricity to run the fan that circulates the heated air through my duct work.

And my electric stove, microwave, TV, internet, cell phone, and lights.

Even if solar, wind, and other renewables replace fossil fuels completely, we still need a power grid that generates huge amounts of electricity all the time.

The concept of small personal electricity generators is sexy, but what runs the magic generators?

... turtles all the way down!