As millions of people in Texas lost heat and electricity during a historic cold earlier this week, the future of renewable energy in the large and growing state and elsewhere drew fresh control, aided by images of frozen wind turbines.
But blaming renewable energy sources at a time when they need more, not less, the nation’s power system to modernize is short-sighted, especially since it is probably a more extreme weather because of the changes. climate analysts, energy analysts said.
Read: Millions in Texas still without energy amid record cold
For starters, the blame for the Texas power crisis, at least according to the first readings of Texas officials, and supported by analysts, was multiple. Only this should stimulate the pursuit of a diversified energy portfolio and an improved network to help the US control emissions that contribute to global warming and keep energy relatively low, especially for vulnerable communities.
“The dangerous situations in Texas and Oklahoma underscore the urgency of the climate crisis and the need to make transformative investments in our country’s infrastructure, including the electricity grid,” said Lori Lodes, chief executive of Climate Power. Climate Power, originally named Climate Power 2020 because of its focus on the 2020 elections, is a policy project created by the Center for American Progress Fund for Action, the Conservative Electoral League and the Sierra Club.
Politicians and industry leaders loyal to fossil fuels have backed this action against renewable energy sources this week, using the fact that wind power is an energy source, such as solar energy, that requires planning for intermittent generation. Meaning: he is not always completely trustworthy.
They have doubled down on the fact that fuel sources, including natural gas, will have to appear alongside wind, solar, nuclear and other options, even as the US tackles climate change and states, including Texas, embrace more sources. renewable.
Without natural gas NG00,
industry claims, the power grid will risk frequent outages, such as those in Texas and other states in most of the plains. Current views in California last summer were partly related to the withdrawal of gas plants too soon, while the state was pursuing a clean energy agenda. In fact, Texas Sen. Ted Cruz saw criticism reappear on Twitter during his week because more than 4 million Texans remained powerless.
So what was the source behind the Texas mess?
“The Texas crisis was not caused by the state’s renewable energy industry. The biggest generation loss came from gas-fired power plants, with wind farms long gone, “said Ed Crooks, vice president, America, along with Wood Mackenzie.
The use of natural gas for residential heating competes with its use in electricity generation, and this use has been extended to Texas, usually hot. The deficit may be attributed to extreme weather conditions or may be the first sign that winter planning for a renewable mix of fossil fuels needs consolidation.
Texas utilities, which rely primarily on natural gas and wind throughout the year, have already reduced their wind energy plans before the storm, as is usually the case in the winter. Summer is the maximum energy consumption, and the wind comprises only 25% of the state’s energy mix during the winter. Wind power during the ice storm has fulfilled what is usually needed at this time of year, officials have suggested. Most of the outages occurred in parts of the Texas grid that rely on natural gas, coal and nuclear power, which together account for more than two-thirds of winter energy production.
The cold story was unique, but so is the Texas utility network.
Almost all of Texas operates as a single power grid that is not integrated with the surrounding states. This network is administered by the Texas Electric Reliability Council, ERCOT, a non-profit organization controlled by state law and without national regulations. At its best, it creates large price fluctuations in both directions; in the worst moments, like this week, homes and businesses become dark and cold.
Read: Texas’ energy markets are in chaos. Here are two stocks to watch out for
The American Gas Association said that the exact dissection of what did not work in Texas during the frost and what actions to take from this experience could inform any change in the use of natural gas for electricity in the future will take longer.
National GMS data showed that as the cold covered much of the country, 151.7 billion cubic meters of natural gas were delivered to the United States on February 14 and 149.8 billion cubic meters were delivered on February 15th. Sunday was the biggest delivery day ever and the two days combined set a record for the highest demand for a two-day period. The group represents about 200 local energy companies, including some in Texas, that supply natural gas to utilities. Finally, approximately 71 million customers in the United States use gas from the companies that the GMS represents.
The discussion in the coming days, weeks and months “should include how we use and value the role the system plays in the coldest days of the year … taking into account severe weather disruptions and events,” said Richard Meyer. , Director General of Energy Markets, Analysis and Standards with the GMS.
Read: Deep freezing of US causes natural gas rally and uranium prices melt
Renewable sources also need a rethink.
“The loss of electricity was a warning of the issues that will be raised as the proportion of renewable energy on the grid increases,” said Crooks of Wood Mackenzie.
Generation, transmission and distribution equipment and electricity market design will become even more important to meet the challenges posed by a strong grid of renewable sources.
“Distributed resources, including storage and demand response, will also have to play a greater role. Texas’ renewable capacity should increase more than 10 times to provide the same amount of energy produced by the fossil fuel fleet on Monday, even at low levels, “said Wood Mackenzie analysts.
As this would prove excessive at certain times of the year, storage will matter a lot, including batteries, hydrogen or other technology.
Wade Scheur, director of research for America at Wood MacKenzie, said there are some specific lessons in Texas. First, the state has several large population centers, but renewable energy groups are far from large cities, requiring several kilometers of potentially vulnerable transportation lines.
And there is no winter reliability mandate for the state-run utility system, such as in other parts of the US regulated
“There are few incentives for renewables, or even other sources, to increase capacity. Many energy sources are seasonally modified from October to May, ”said Scheur. “Perhaps the capacity and incentives to be able to produce better in the winter require further analysis.”
This could be true in Texas and elsewhere. In a comment, weather-related power outages are on the rise in the United States as climate change causes more extreme storms and temperature changes, writes energy resource professor Michael Webber of the University of Texas at Austin.
“States that design their buildings and infrastructure for hot weather may need to plan more big chills, and cold weather states can expect more heat waves,” he said. “As the Texas conditions show, there’s no time to waste being better prepared for the weather.”