Wholesale energy prices in Texas nearly hit the offer cap of $5,000/MWh last night. Simultaneously, battery discharge to the grid peaked over 2,000 MW, a level that has happened only once before. While that represents only 4% of the total load, it is the highest percentage ever recorded in ERCOT according to the data we track at Grid Status. Perhaps more noteworthy for what's to come: it's the fourth time that particular record has been broken this month alone. Looking ahead to the week, there is an active notice in ERCOT for a possible 'Emergency Condition of Reserve Capacity Deficiency' that starts tonight and continues through Wednesday evening.
When the masses realize they will revolt. If wind and solar, and batteries are all viable, then make the batteries part of the wind and solar dispatch. If they create the problem, they should foot the bill, not the ratebase. JMHO 🤔
The situation in Texas underscores the critical role that energy storage, particularly batteries, plays in stabilizing the grid during peak demand periods. The fact that battery discharge peaked at over 2,000 MW, while representing a new high in terms of percentage of total load, is a significant milestone for ERCOT. This not only highlights the growing dependency on renewable energy solutions but also the challenges that come with integrating these systems into the grid. The repeated breaking of this record within the month indicates a trend that might continue as energy demands evolve. With the notice of a possible 'Emergency Condition of Reserve Capacity Deficiency,' it’s clear that the balance between supply and demand is delicate, emphasizing the need for robust grid management strategies and further investment in energy storage solutions.
Is it possible to calculate an average battery plant revenue of that discharge per MWh? Just to understand, more or less, in how much time you payback the battery installation (with such crazy days).
The question is why such high demand or is the generation lagging? The weather for Texas was not a heat wave.
Right, and no doubt this will be celebrated by the in-the-tank renewables cheerleaders both inside and out side the industry. In reality, what's it's really doing is signaling to merchant natural gas peaker developers *not* to build assets on the Ercot grid... because peak-shaving opportunities are being given to expensive four-hour batteries.
This is a link to my LinkedIn post from a week or so ago: https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:7189304456503513089/ A particular risk I could foresee is that traditional spring powerplant maintenance, which has been delayed or even cancelled in Texas due to recent warm weather demand, will very likely lead to key plants failing during summer peak utilization.
4th time this month.
At some point the citizens of Texas will realize the damage that's been done by the political science team, will be a whale of a tea party
AAN: Arcane Alchemist Network: A mystical group that claims to use the power outages to conduct secret experiments, blending science and magic to discover new forms of energy.
Sr. Electrical Engineer at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (Retired)
2moMaybe it's as simple as the lack of infrastructure, both transmission and generation after decades of focus on minimizing costs and not maintaining infrastructure. There's an old phrase there's no such thing as a free of lunch. Everybody's looking for it but nobody will find it. People don't learn from history very well- the 2000 power crisis in California was case in point. Enron gamed the system and some folks were showing as early as 96 The potential to do that if the rules weren't put in place. This looks like another case of privatization of profits and the socialization of losses. Those losses could be reduced with energy storage. The issue is always who pays and who benefits and has the political power to sway the regulations.