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Texas Blackouts

image credit: Donn Dears and Mark Mathis
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president Donn Dears LLC

Donn Dears began his career at General Electric testing large steam turbines and generators used by utilities to generate electricity; followed next, by manufacturing and marketing assignments at...

  • Member since 2010
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  • Feb 16, 2021
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Texas is now experiencing the blackouts predicted by the book, The Looming Energy Crisis, Are Blackouts Inevitable.

 

A new video, using the book as the source, explains why Texas is experiencing blackouts as cold weather and snow make wind and solar energy unworkable.

Watch the video to see why we are in danger of blackouts, not jut in Texas.

http://bit.ly/2NAEnbS

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Joe Butzer's picture
Joe Butzer on Feb 17, 2021

Texas generation knocked off line due to extreme cold: 26GW natural gas generation, 4GW wind generation. Renewables, today, is not the problem! Natural gas generation not designed for cold weather is the problem. 

Matt Chester's picture
Matt Chester on Feb 17, 2021

Seems a lot of effort is put in by people taking shots at one generation source or another for the shortcomings, but really there were failures across the board and instead we need to be looking to the system level to understand why and what can be done to prevent it further. The answer in this instance clearly wouldn't have been more thermal power generation nor more wind power generation-- so what would have prevented this best? 

donn dears's picture
donn dears on Feb 18, 2021

The basic problem is shown by the graph on page 63 of my book, on Reserve Margins.

The graph drawn in 2019 identified how there would not be enough reserve capacity if wind and solar were included in the reserve. 

If there had been enough reserve capacity from baseload power plants, any problems with gas or nuclear would probably have not caused blackouts. This is what the Attorney General should focus on.

Wind and solar are not reliable, and, believe it or not, are more expensive than Natural gas combined cycle or nuclear power plants.

Go to www.powerforusa.com, go to "Donn's Articles", and scroll down t find articles on LCOEs.

 

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