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Category Archives: Grid instability
Challenges to making California’s grid renewable
What follows is a report from the California Energy Commission. But in less bureaucratic language, this may summarize it better (Petersen 2019): “I’ve always been amazed at a strange mental disconnect that’s common among renewable power advocates. On one hand, … Continue reading
Posted in Grid instability
Tagged california, grid, instability, intermittency, renewable, smart grid, solar, wind
2 Comments
Black starting the grid after a power outage
Black starts Large blackouts can be quite devastating and it isn’t easy to restart the electric grid again. This is typically done by designated black start units of natural gas, coal, hydro, or nuclear power plants that can restart themselves … Continue reading
Can the lights be kept on with distributed generation? 2015 U.S. House hearing on a reliable electric system
[ Corporate speakers testify – could they have any self-interest, hope for government grants? Since Congress often asks the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) to write unbiased papers on topics, why didn’t NAS and National Laboratory scientists speak? Corporations are … Continue reading
Posted in Congressional Record U.S., Distributed Generation, Grid instability
Tagged distributed energy, generators, house of representatives
Comments Off on Can the lights be kept on with distributed generation? 2015 U.S. House hearing on a reliable electric system
Underground pumped hydro storage is the only technology capable of massive storage for renewable electricity
[ Picard concludes that “None of the candidate technologies for massive-scale renewable and sustainable generation of ‘‘green’’ electricity deliver it in a form suitable for high-efficiency storage. None of the prospectively-massive storage modes for transformed electricity is at present well … Continue reading
Posted in Electric Grid, Energy Storage, Grid instability, Hydropower, Renewable Integration
Tagged energy storage, intermittency
4 Comments
Wanted: Math geniuses and power engineers to make a renewable grid possible
Figure 1. OPF solution of original seven-bus system with generator at bus 4 offering high [The U.S. electric grid produces over two-thirds of its power with finite fossil fuels, and another 20% from nuclear power. Since fossil fuels and uranium … Continue reading
Posted in Electric Grid, Grid instability, Renewable Integration, Smart Grid
Tagged electric grid, electricity, math, renewable integration, solar, stability, wind
Comments Off on Wanted: Math geniuses and power engineers to make a renewable grid possible
Why we need a diverse electricity generation portfolio: House hearing 2013
House 113-12. March 5, 2013. American Energy security and innovation. The role of a diverse electricity generation portfolio. House of Representatives. 135 pages. June 5, 2015. Proposed Clean Power Plan would accelerate renewable additions and coal plant retirements. U.S. Energy … Continue reading
Posted in Coal, Energy Independence, Grid instability, Natural Gas
Tagged diversity, electricity, new power plants
Comments Off on Why we need a diverse electricity generation portfolio: House hearing 2013
Why the Grid is getting less reliable. House Hearing 2013.
House 113-40. May 9, 2013. Grid reliability challenges in a shifting energy resource landscape. U.S. House of Representatives. 176 pages. Mr. Jonathan A. Lesser, President Continental Economics, Inc. [This is a really good introduction to how the grid works and … Continue reading
Posted in Grid instability, Infrastructure, Renewable Integration
Comments Off on Why the Grid is getting less reliable. House Hearing 2013.
CSP with thermal energy storage is seasonal, so it can not balance variable power or contribute much power for half the year
Concentrated Solar Power not only needs lots of sunshine, but no humidity, clouds, dust, smog or or anything else that can scatter the sun’s rays. Above 35 degrees latitude north or south, the sun’s rays have to pass through too … Continue reading
Posted in Concentrated Solar Power, CSP with thermal energy storage, Grid instability, Seasonal Variation
Tagged balancing, CSP, electric grid, energy storage, seasonal, solar radiation
Comments Off on CSP with thermal energy storage is seasonal, so it can not balance variable power or contribute much power for half the year
Short-circuiting a solar boom in Japan
Spain is still feeling the painful effects of the costs of overbuilt solar PV, and now Japan is finding itself in the same position. This article does a lousy job of explaining that the grid must be in exact supply … Continue reading
Posted in Distributed Generation, Grid instability, Photovoltaic Solar, Renewable Integration
Comments Off on Short-circuiting a solar boom in Japan
Extreme Events. CEC 2011. Variable distributed generation from solar and wind increase the chance of large blackouts
Morgan, M., et al. (Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Electric Power Research Institute, BACV Solutions, Southern Company, CIEE, University of Alaska – Fairbanks, and KEMA). 2011. Extreme Events. California Energy Commission. Publication number: CEC-500- 2013-031. Figure 18: BLACKOUT … Continue reading
Posted in Distributed Generation, Grid instability
Tagged blackout, branching process, cascading failure, contingency, critical, critical corridors, earthquake, electric, extreme events, grid, heavy tail, outages, power, risk, WECC
Comments Off on Extreme Events. CEC 2011. Variable distributed generation from solar and wind increase the chance of large blackouts