Wind turbines freeze in Texas due to massive winter storm

RE: Wind turbines freeze in Texas due to massive winter storm

genebren — Sat, 20 Feb 2021 23:11:23 GMT

Just another perspective, from a Texan.... While there were plenty of power problems, there were more than enough other utility and infrastructure issues here. Over the course of several days, there were multiple issues that struck San Antonio, Texas.

All major freeways and most roadways were shutdown. The city has no snow removal equipment and very limited deicing capabilities.
A large portion of the city loss water for a few to several days. Power was loss to pumping stations (the water system relies on aquifer water), along with frozen pipes (both delivery and sewage) lead to massive issues. Water is mostly restored, but there still is a water boil order.
Due to the loss of power (due to a grid system that favors suppliers and not consumers or hardiness) and restricted travel (items 1 and 2), stores were soon short of basic supplies as the stores could not restock.

We never lost power, but we did loose water (2 days) and heat (4 days). The heat loss was due to having a non-winterized heat pump system (new and expensive) that could not generate heat with the low temperatures (great cooling efficiencies, but useless below ~40C - we were able to maintain 50-55C inside the home). We made it through it with little damage (a few broken pipes in the garden) and we were able to get out this morning, found some gas, and even got most everything we needed at the grocery store. I learned a lot of things that might help if we are faced with a similar situation and have a list of things that I need to due to be a little less reliant on the fragile utilities here.

I certain hope that everyone else is doing well out there and able to be fed and comfortable.

RE: Wind turbines freeze in Texas due to massive winter storm

colporteur — Thu, 18 Feb 2021 17:01:02 GMT

Enjoyed the read CA. I confess, it was reading the posts from other members that provided the most clarity.

RE: Wind turbines freeze in Texas due to massive winter storm

mp2100 — Thu, 18 Feb 2021 15:35:38 GMT

I do appreciate Cabe's news items on this site, but . . . when I was in school, we were told that the headline should summarize the information in the article. The article mentions wind turbine power and conventional power shutdowns. The magnitude of the two is significant:

Texas wind farms generate 25,100 megawatts of power. According to the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT), wind turbines had frozen over, which accounted for 12,000 megawatts of energy.

and

The wind is not entirely at fault for the outages. Around 27 gigawatts of coal, nuclear, and gas capacity are unavailable.

By my math (12000 megawatts / 27 gigawatts ) = 44 %. So I would say the significant information is the conventional power sources, and would have titled the article "27 gigawatts of coal, nuclear, and gas capacity are unavailable"

RE: Wind turbines freeze in Texas due to massive winter storm

dougw — Thu, 18 Feb 2021 13:55:46 GMT

What global warming?

RE: Wind turbines freeze in Texas due to massive winter storm

robogary — Thu, 18 Feb 2021 13:52:07 GMT

Feeling bad for Texan's situation, a perfect storm.

The houses are built for normal Texas weather, aren't built for sustained subzero weather.

The energy systems aren't built for sustained subzero conditions, and with an isolated grid, cant buy from other energy producers.

Historic Average Temperatures in Dallas, Texas (by Month)

Month Avg. High Avg. Low

Jan 55°F 36°F

Feb 61°F 41°F

Mar 69°F 49°F

Apr 77°F 56°F

The media is tending to focus on sharing the tragedy and blame. There are stories shared of good samaritans and short term solutions, which I hope get more media time and consideration.

RE: Wind turbines freeze in Texas due to massive winter storm

Fred27 — Thu, 18 Feb 2021 08:37:53 GMT

There's a lot of misinformation around this. There was actually a 30GW loss from non-renewables for similar reasons.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-56085733

It's true that you tend to spend money on what you're likely to need. We have a similar problem with UK trains and roads in cold weather despite generally colder countries being fine. However, we can cope with that. With something as essential as power generation, you'd expect a bit more headroom and planning for the worst.

RE: Wind turbines freeze in Texas due to massive winter storm

DAB — Wed, 17 Feb 2021 20:14:39 GMT

The current problems in Texas, yes pun intended, identify several important things to consider when working with renewable energy systems.

1. Have backups for on demand power in emergencies.

2. Conduct risk analysis of your power system and include weather effects.

3. Understand weather effects on your systems and prepare actions before the weather hits.

4. Decentralize your power grid so that you can maintain local power when the grid fails.

5. Plan for specific power saving actions other than blanket power brown outs or disruptions. Every house and building should have a preplanned power reduction priority plan in place that can be instituted automatically. I have this in place for my whole house backup generator. You do not need everything, but you need certain basic systems.

Green energy is great until the sun doesn't shine and the wind doesn't blow.

Plan accordingly.

DAB

RE: Wind turbines freeze in Texas due to massive winter storm

kellyhensen — Wed, 17 Feb 2021 20:08:06 GMT

It is Texas's traditional thermal power plants, which rely mostly on natural gas, that were supposed to provide the bulk of power during the harshest winter months, but failed to do so, according to Texas grid officials and outside energy experts.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2021/02/17/energy-202-frozen-wind-turbines-arent-why-texas-cant-keep-lights/

In reality, failures in natural gas, coal and nuclear energy systems were responsible for nearly twice as many outages as frozen wind turbines and solar panels, the Electric Reliability Council of Texas, which operates the state’s power grid, said in a press conference Tuesday.

https://www.chicagotribune.com/nation-world/ct-aud-nw-texas-power-grid-disinformation-20210217-q2yukdej5nbnhorudfwprmdyk…

RE: Wind turbines freeze in Texas due to massive winter storm

robogary — Wed, 17 Feb 2021 00:35:27 GMT

As the article states but doesn't emphasize enough. Wind Turbines have options for cold weather operation, higher wattage heaters, blade deicing hardware.

Cold weather countries purchase those options, warmer regions don't. Even with blade de icing there are weather conditions that keep the turbine from operating.

How many times in the last 50 years has Texas gone below zero ?

The moral of the story, don't put all your eggs in one basket, and always have a plan B fallback plan.

Even if the turbines are running, inclement weather also affects power lines. Again, have a plan B.