On Wednesday evening, spot electricity prices topped $5,000 per megawatt-hour, up more than 200 times from Wednesday morning.

  • Texas power prices soared 20,000% Wednesday evening amid another brutal heat wave.

  • Spot electricity prices topped $5,000 per megawatt-hour, up more than 200 times from Wednesday morning.

  • The state’s grid operator issued its second-highest energy emergency, then later said conditions returned to normal.

  • LibertyLizard@slrpnk.net
    134·
    1 year ago

    Solar is only half the battle though. There can often be a severe electricity shortage in the evening when solar power shuts off but temperates are still high. This issue is greatest in the late summer and fall because it’s still very hot but the sun sets earlier.

    There are solutions to this issue but they are fairly early in development and sometimes expensive. California is struggling with this issue currently. We’ve installed a huge amount of battery power over the last few years which has prevented several catastrophes so far but heat continues to get more severe, increasing energy needs as we are trying to shut down the state’s remaining gas peaker plants.

    • tryptaminev 🇵🇸 🇺🇦 🇪🇺@feddit.de
      3·
      1 year ago

      I fail to see the problem. You cool your house down while the sun is up and even if it is still hot outside, then your house gets a bit warmer, so what? Still it is comfy inside and in the night you can open everything up to get some fresh wind in.

      • LibertyLizard@slrpnk.net
        2·
        1 year ago

        This is what I do, but there are still problems. Some people are at work and don’t have programmable thermostats. If you have a poorly insulated house, even if you do pre-cool in the middle of the day, by the time late evening rolls around, it can be getting quite hot again. And during extreme heat waves, the overnight temperature can remain very high. Last night I went to open my windows around 10 PM but it was still hotter outside than in my house. And yesterday wasn’t even particularly hot where I live, the high was only in the low 90’s.

          • LibertyLizard@slrpnk.net
            1·
            1 year ago

            Even in the desert it can be an issue. Phoenix had an overnight low of 97 this summer. Soon that may be commonplace.

            Part of the problem is poor planning by utilities but our systems are also being tested by weather that is truly unprecedented in human history. Our grid, and our strategies for keeping cool were developed in a different climate than the one we now inhabit.

    • conditional_soup@lemm.ee
      2·
      1 year ago

      Not to mention Diablo Canyon. Last I heard, we were working on an expansion at Long Valley Geothermal station, but it won’t be ready before DCNR goes offline.

      • LibertyLizard@slrpnk.net
        1·
        1 year ago

        I think they’re going to postpone its closure which will be controversial but necessary to avoid burning more natural gas.

        • conditional_soup@lemm.ee
          3·
          1 year ago

          It’s 2018 and California has postponed the closure of DCNR. It’s 2020 and California has postponed the closure of DCNR. It’s 2023 and California has postponed the closure of DCNR. In the time we’ve been kicking the can down the road, we could have built a newer, better, safer nuclear power plant to replace DCNR. Instead, we keep pushing DCNR way past its intended service life, and we’re going to be shocked, shocked I tell you, when something finally cocks up.

    • blazera@kbin.social
      31·
      1 year ago

      This is solar’s half of the battle, high energy demand during bright sunlight.