Tag Archives: wind energy

ERCOT and the AI demand boom

Posted on May 10, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

Once again we ask, can our grid keep up? The rapid expansion of data centers, fueled by the rise of artificial intelligence platforms and the increasing digitization of the economy, is driving a surge in electricity demand in Texas and … Continue reading →

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The IAH renewable project

Posted on October 8, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

I like this. Fresh off inking a new lease with the developers of a planned solar farm in Sunnyside, Houston officials hope to produce clean, reliable power on the grounds of the George Bush Intercontinental Airport. Airport officials are asking … Continue reading →

Posted in Elsewhere in Houston | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

New frontiers in propaganda

Posted on March 25, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

We are at the forefront, because of course we are. Readers of the daily email newsletter of one of the country’s leading right-wing, fossil fuel-funded think tanks were treated to a bizarre sight [last] week: an AI-generated image of a … Continue reading →

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More battery power coming

Posted on December 20, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

Now here is something that might actually help the grid. A surge of new battery projects is expected to come online on Texas and California’s power grids, as developers seek to store the excess electricity produced by those state’s sprawling wind and solar … Continue reading →

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The cryptomining surge in rural counties

Posted on November 22, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

Here’s one possible answer to that question I posed the other day. Jacob Rodriguez was driving a John Deere tractor in a West Texas cotton field when he received a phone call that would change his life. “I was pulling … Continue reading →

Posted in The great state of Texas | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Tell me again why we’re encouraging all these crypto-miners to come to Texas

Posted on October 4, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

Seriously, what are we doing here? Cryptocurrency miners are accelerating their push to expand in Texas far beyond what authorities had initially expected, threatening to send the state’s electricity use skyrocketing. Enough miners have applied to connect to Texas’s power … Continue reading →

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Texas will get a lot from the Inflation Reduction Act

Posted on August 20, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

Thanks, Biden! Texas’s clean energy sector is expected to be one of the largest beneficiaries of the climate and health care legislation President Joe Biden has signed into law, according to estimates released by the White House Wednesday. Over the next … Continue reading →

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When we say “fix the grid”…

Posted on August 8, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

This is one of the obvious ways we could attempt to do that. The state’s High Plains region, which covers 41 counties in the Texas Panhandle and West Texas, is home to more than 11,000 wind turbines — the most … Continue reading →

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Offshore wind farm proposed

Posted on July 25, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

Let’s do it. The Gulf of Mexico’s first offshore wind farms will be developed off the coasts of Texas and Louisiana, the Biden administration announced Wednesday, and together they’re projected to produce enough energy to power around 3 million homes. … Continue reading →

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Speaking of cryptocurrency and electricity usage…

Posted on February 21, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

Congress has a few questions. From wind farms in West Texas to an old aluminum refining operation outside Austin, crypto miners are flooding into Texas take advantage of some of the cheapest power in the country and positioning the state … Continue reading →

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How the grid held up

Posted on February 8, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

Basically, this cold front wasn’t anything like last year’s cold front. Texas’s power grid passed its biggest test since last year’s deadly blackouts, keeping most lights on during a wintry blast. This storm, however, was far less severe than last … Continue reading →

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A timeline of the blackout

Posted on August 9, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

Of interest. A new report from University of Texas at Austin energy experts lays much of the blame for power outages during the state’s deadly February freeze on the failure of natural gas producers to fully weatherize their facilities.” The … Continue reading →

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Abbott tells the PUC to, like, “do something” about electricity and stuff

Posted on July 8, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

He’s a Very Serious man making Very Serious proposals. Gov. Greg Abbott on Tuesday gave state electricity regulators marching orders to “improve electric reliability.” In a letter to the Public Utility Commission, Abbott directed the three-person board of directors, who … Continue reading →

Posted in Show Business for Ugly People | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

There’s still a lot of investment in renewables in Texas

Posted on June 17, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

Good to know. Four months after the failure of the Texas electric grid sparked a backlash against clean power, investors and developers have decided just what the state needs: more renewable energy. Much more. Texas is on pace to have … Continue reading →

Posted in Bidness, The great state of Texas | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

All juiced up with no place to go

Posted on June 9, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

Seems like there should be a better solution for this. In 2005, the Texas Legislature approved the development of a network of electric transmission lines to send wind and solar power from West Texas to population centers in other parts … Continue reading →

Posted in The great state of Texas | Tagged , , , , , , , | 8 Comments

Abbott knew the blackouts were coming

Posted on May 26, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

Good morning. Take a deep, cleansing breath, have a seat, and then read this. Texas Governor Greg Abbott’s office knew of looming natural gas shortages on February 10, days before a deep freeze plunged much of the state into blackouts, … Continue reading →

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The Big Freeze didn’t just screw Texas

Posted on May 12, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

I had no idea. Texas’ deep freeze didn’t just disrupt natural gas supplies throughout Lone Star country—its effects rippled across the country, extending as far north as Minnesota. There, gas utilities had to pay $800 million more than they anticipated … Continue reading →

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ERCOT roundup

Posted on April 15, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

Just a few stories of interest that I didn’t feel like putting in their own posts… ERCOT will argue it is immune from lawsuits. The Electric Reliability Council of Texas will argue that it has governmental immunity that protects it … Continue reading →

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The infrastructure bill and the power grid

Posted on April 3, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

Of interest. President Joe Biden’s $2 trillion infrastructure plan could help rebuild Texas highways and ports and push broadband into rural parts of the state, where up to 31 percent of residents do not have access to high-speed internet. It … Continue reading →

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Winter storm death count now at 111

Posted on March 28, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

A revision of the numbers. Expect this to happen at least once more. At least 111 Texans died as a result of last month’s winter storm, according to updated numbers released Thursday by the state Department of State Health Services. … Continue reading →

Posted in That's our Lege, The great state of Texas | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Republicans are determined to learn the wrong lessons from the blackouts

Posted on February 20, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

It’s kind of amazing, and yet completely on brand. With millions of Texans having lost power during the winter storms, key players in the Legislature say one of the most immediate reforms they will push for is recalibrating the state’s … Continue reading →

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It could have been worse

Posted on February 19, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

Hard to imagine, but this would qualify. Texas’ power grid was “seconds and minutes” away from a catastrophic failure that could have left Texans in the dark for months, officials with the entity that operates the grid said Thursday. As … Continue reading →

Posted in The great state of Texas | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 7 Comments

Winter storm/blackout/boil water situation, Day 439

Posted on February 18, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

I may be a bit off in my counting of the days, but it’s close enough. Between my house and my in-laws’ house, I have had power for maybe 14 hours total since Monday morning, with a bit more time … Continue reading →

Posted in The great state of Texas | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 28 Comments

So what’s going on with the power supply?

Posted on February 17, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

First, as a personal update, we have been without power at our house since about 7 PM on Monday, and we had no Internet on Tuesday morning. I’m writing this on Tuesday evening from my in-laws’ house, where they have … Continue reading →

Posted in The great state of Texas | Tagged , , , , , , , | 10 Comments

Beware of blackouts

Posted on February 15, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

This would not be great. The nonprofit organization that operates Texas’ power grid warned Sunday that it may be forced to impose rolling outages in the state on Monday and Tuesday as a major winter storm brings record low temperatures … Continue reading →

Posted in The great state of Texas | Tagged , , , , | 13 Comments

Beware the renewable energy disinformation

Posted on January 24, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

It’s out there, in more ways than one. David Dunagan doesn’t want a 760-acre solar power plant to be built across his fenceline. The Old Jackson Power Plant will replace farmland in Van Zandt County with gleaming, metal panels. Though … Continue reading →

Posted in The great state of Texas | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 27 Comments

Matt Glazer: To see boon, clean energy needs Congress

Posted on September 20, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

(Note: The following is a guest post that was submitted to me. I occasionally solicit guest posts, and also occasionally accept them from people I trust.) I’m a bit of an Austin-area expert when it comes to weird homes. So, … Continue reading →

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We can make the end of coal in Texas happen

Posted on January 20, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

It’s already happening. It just needs a bit of a boost. Texas might have the perfect environment to quit coal for good. Texas is one of the only places—potentially in the world—where the natural patterns of wind and sun could … Continue reading →

Posted in The great state of Texas | Tagged , , , , , , | 7 Comments

The war on coal is over in Texas

Posted on December 18, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

Coal lost, and good riddance. Wind power capacity edged out coal for the first time in the Texas history last week after a new 155-megawatt wind farm in Scurry County came online. The farm in question is the Fluvanna Wind … Continue reading →

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Getting the (wind and solar) power to the people

Posted on August 27, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

It’s all about the transmission lines. The Lone Star state is by far the largest state for wind power, with nearly 18,000 megawatts of wind generation capacity already built and another 5,500 megawatts—nearly equal to California’s total installed capacity—planned. The … Continue reading →

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Pity the poor utilities

Posted on April 23, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

Sorry, but low electricity prices, especially when they are aided by record amounts of wind power generation, are good news. Texas’ national lead in cheap wind power, combined with near historically low natural gas prices, mild weather, an abundant power … Continue reading →

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Dealing with climate change whether you believe in it or not

Posted on January 4, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

Writer Taylor Hill visits West Texas to talk about drought, wind energy, and the topic that dare not speak its name, also known as climate change. Actions, though, do speak louder than words. AzTx Cattle and other ranching and farming … Continue reading →

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Some power companies like the Clean Power Plan

Posted on November 21, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

Not that you’d ever know it. Thad Hill, in a split with many fellow power company executives, flatly opposes the lawsuits that Texas and 25 others states have filed to block the Obama administration’s Clean Power Plan. The plan, which … Continue reading →

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Georgetown goes all in on renewable energy

Posted on June 16, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

From ThinkProgress. Located about 30 miles north of the Texas capital in a deeply conservative county, the city of Georgetown will be powered 100 percent by renewable energy within the next couple years. Georgetown’s residents and elected officials made the … Continue reading →

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