Texas’ Transmission Troubles and CREZ II
Transmission towers and lines at sunset in East Texas (Credit: Matthew T Rader, MatthewTRader.com, License CC-BY-SA) By Ethan Miller Back in October, I wrote an article arguing that many of last summer’s electric reliability scares and energy price increases were not the fault of renewables (as ERCOT had claimed), but the fault of insufficient transmission […]
A Matter of Supply vs. Demand
by Patrice ‘Pete’ Parsons, TXSES Executive Director You’ve probably seen the headlines this past week from ERCOT (Electric Reliability Council of Texas), including: It all comes down to a very simply concept — Supply and Demand. When considering the problems ERCOT is having in trying to meet the growing demand for energy, it is time […]
Understanding the Cost of Grid Interruptions in Texas
By Ethan Miller and Mohammed Alkhabtib In our ongoing commitment to strengthen Texas’s energy infrastructure, the Texas Solar Energy Society is proud to update our members on a crucial initiative. Spearheaded by our research team, we have embarked on a project to estimate the economic impact of grid service interruptions across the state due to […]
Counting Texas’ solar rooftops. The numbers may surprise you.
Ethan Miller, TXSES Intern, and Larry Howe, Solar and Climate Solutions Advocate It’s not hard to find estimates for utility-scale solar capacity in Texas; ERCOT regularly releases that information.1 What has been harder to find are estimates of distributed (rooftop) solar. Up until now, getting a realistic idea of how many buildings had rooftop systems […]
Summer 2023: the bad, the ugly and the spectacularly good
Although this summer’s heat is behind us, the fragility of the Texas grid is right where we left it: front and center in our lives and livelihoods.
Transmission, Not Renewables, to Blame for Texas’ Summer Energy Woes
By Ethan Miller and Pete Parsons Being blamed for problems you didn’t cause is frustrating and can even be grounds for defamation. For the Texas renewables industry, it’s just another day. On September 6, the Electric Reliability Grid of Texas (ERCOT) issued an Energy Emergency Alert Level 2 (EEA 2). An EEA 2 allows ERCOT […]
All about ERCOT: a conversation with Beth Garza
By Jane Pulaski, TXSES Director of Communications Before Winter Storm Uri, few people knew about or had heard of ERCOT. But since then, and especially this summer, hardly a day goes by without press in state, national and international media reporting about how ERCOT continues to navigate the precarious balance between supply and demand. Recently on […]
The affordable future of grid resilience in Texas
Another week, another round of local, state and national news articles about how the Texas grid is trying to handle the relentless heat and keep up with increasing electricity demand.
Cheaper power, more resilient grid, climate change panacea: Texas reality or fantasy?
By Patrice ‘Pete’ ParsonsExecutive Director Following the nearly complete failure of the ERCOT energy grid during Winter Storm Uri, Texans have been awaiting legislation to protect the stability of the grid. Unfortunately, the actions of the Texas Senate reflect the desires of corporate insiders more than everyday Texans. Despite research that points to the failure […]
Rooftop solar: what you need to know when you buy or sell a solar home
Homeowners are keen on having solar on their roofs and taking advantage of the value that the system adds to their home while they live in it and when they sell it.