Texas As A New Energy Paradigm
Texas’s wind and sunlight complement each other exceptionally well. That’s huge for its grid. But is the state ready to reimagine its power grid?
Umair Irfan, January 8, 2019 (VOX)
“…The wind and the sun are some of the most abundant sources of energy in the world, and they’re free…[and, in] general, the sun shines during the day…[and wind] is usually strongest at night, so wind energy peaks after sunset…[But few places in America are lie Texas and might] have enough sunlight and wind to balance each other out…[Researchers at Rice University recently mapped out the ‘complementarity’ and found] that patterns of wind and sunshine in Texas complement each other exceedingly well, helping the grid provide enough power even at moments when electricity demand is highest, like during the searing summer heat when hundreds of thousands of air conditioners are switched on…[T]he findings don’t show that Texas could pull off a 100 percent renewable energy grid just yet. But they do show that renewables could replace a whole lot of dirty energy…
...[T]he conventional wisdom that wind and solar are too unreliable continues to permeate [Texas] planning discussions…[But Texas internal competitive power market, the Electric Reliability Council of Texas, or ERCOT, gives it] more room to experiment than other regions…[Research found solar and wind energy complement each seasonally as well as daily, which means] a network of wind and solar generators distributed throughout Texas can provide a remarkably steady stream of electricity with their powers combined, and that increasing renewable energy capacity can actually enhance grid stability…[At] about 80 percent penetration of renewables, some of the quirks that come with intermittent sunlight and wind become much more difficult to reconcile with how we use energy…[but the] bigger question is whether Texas and other states are willing to rethink the power grid…” click here for more
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