Hope other states follow. The fact Arizona is still 80%+ non-renewable is just such a missed opportunity.
California Grid Breezes Through Heatwave with Batteries
21–30 of 120 posts
Re: California Grid Breezes Through Heatwave with Batteries
#22Compare and contrast with Texas.
I dislike right-wing silliness as much as anyone, but this whole hate against Texas is just weird. We had Montana winter weather for a week and our grid went down. I had a business partner in California during a period a few years back and we had to reschedule meetings around when he would have electricity. We should just focus on doing better instead of fighting.
Re: California Grid Breezes Through Heatwave with Batteries
#23Compare and contrast with Texas.
Why? Why does this new innovation in the california grid have to be all about dunking on texas? (As a californian) It's especially annoying coming from anyone californian, the state of Enron and PGE wildfires. Like we are so caught up in the vanity of comparison that we quickly rush to forgive our past sins while condemning the mistakes of others for forever and ever. How about as technologists, we just focus on inno…
Because, despite having vast amounts of renewables, Texas is a key political contributor to our lack of a cohesive national strategy for ditching fossil fuels. Its national politicians regularly insist that climate change is a hoax.
If a few decades of trying to use rationality have failed, I'm all for calling attention to their own local failures. If "dunking" on them is in bad faith, it is only because good faith arguments have failed so consistently.
Re: California Grid Breezes Through Heatwave with Batteries
#24No heat wave in SoCal yet. Let me know when the grid breezes through all of LA and OC having a heatwave.
It was 121º in Palm Springs and 100º in Riverside last Monday. I don't know what the population-weighted temperature was that day but that's pretty hot?
Re: California Grid Breezes Through Heatwave with Batteries
#25I work in the power generation industry. The large scale introduction of Battery Storage is going to be a game changer for renewables since it will allow overproduction during the day to be stored for the evening peak. I think the current fad of peaking plants is somewhat overblown, as the average large scale battery storage system will not face the issues with starting reliability that can be present on large gas tu…
Why can't anywhere that has significant elevation should just pumped storage of water during the day and use hydro on the way back down?
Re: California Grid Breezes Through Heatwave with Batteries
#26Earlier quoted context omitted.
Why? Why does this new innovation in the california grid have to be all about dunking on texas? (As a californian) It's especially annoying coming from anyone californian, the state of Enron and PGE wildfires. Like we are so caught up in the vanity of comparison that we quickly rush to forgive our past sins while condemning the mistakes of others for forever and ever. How about as technologists, we just focus on inno…
I’m in Europe and I can pick on Texas all day on energy. The separate grid is a self-inflicted gunshot wound in both feet.
Then you should also know the way they run their energy network is similar to our euro free energy markets. Many many people in Europe pay spot price, the kind that people on HN freaked out when the pricing went crazy is pretty normal in EU.
Re: California Grid Breezes Through Heatwave with Batteries
#27The big wattage numbers are great - but it is unclear how many watt-hours can be supplied - how many hours can California's grid run with batteries?
It appears that the batteries are 4 hour batteries. Two questions: is there excess solar capacity in the winter to charge the batteries? How do the batteries perform in the winter - total storage capacity and discharge rate?
It is misleading to compare a battery array that lasts for 4 hours to a nuclear powered electric plant that supplies energy at a constant 24/7.
https://www.pv-magazine.com/2024/05/01/california-crosses-10...
"Developers plan to add 6,813 MW of battery projects in the California Independent System Operator's (CAISO) domain this year, dominated by four-hour lithium-ion systems, roughly double their additions in 2023, according to an analysis of S&P Global Market Intelligence data."
Re: California Grid Breezes Through Heatwave with Batteries
#28I work in the power generation industry. The large scale introduction of Battery Storage is going to be a game changer for renewables since it will allow overproduction during the day to be stored for the evening peak. I think the current fad of peaking plants is somewhat overblown, as the average large scale battery storage system will not face the issues with starting reliability that can be present on large gas tu…
> I think the current fad of peaking plants is somewhat overblown
Do you mean peak powerplants will become obsolete? As far as I know, in many places peak powerplants are hydroelectric, which in the future, aided by local batteries, will allow filling the reservoir lakes to higher limits and covering greater peaks - eg. malfunctions - which in turn will make grids more stable.
The big unknown, as far as I understand, is whether or not we have enough rare minerals to cover enough TWh of the daily peaks of energy-demands so we can have a flat daily curve. I'm sure in 10-15 years time the "renewables" will look a bit different than what we expect them today.
Re: California Grid Breezes Through Heatwave with Batteries
#29Earlier quoted context omitted.
Why? Why does this new innovation in the california grid have to be all about dunking on texas? (As a californian) It's especially annoying coming from anyone californian, the state of Enron and PGE wildfires. Like we are so caught up in the vanity of comparison that we quickly rush to forgive our past sins while condemning the mistakes of others for forever and ever. How about as technologists, we just focus on inno…
I’m in Europe and I can pick on Texas all day on energy. The separate grid is a self-inflicted gunshot wound in both feet.
How so? Would the Federal regulators have done a better job of making CenterPoint invest the right amount of money into tree trimming and placing lines underground?
California is under Federal regulation and has significant problems where PG&E hasn't invested enough in reliability.
If California just breezed through every natural disaster with no power outages and lower than Texas energy prices it would truly be a no brainer.
But Texas has retail power rates in the $0.10-$0.20/kwh range. From what I understand $0.20 would be an absolute bargain in California and that $0.30-$0.50 per kwh is more what folks out there pay.
It's not so compelling in that case. Of course I could have missed something. Please do let me know if I have.
Re: California Grid Breezes Through Heatwave with Batteries
#30I work in the power generation industry. The large scale introduction of Battery Storage is going to be a game changer for renewables since it will allow overproduction during the day to be stored for the evening peak. I think the current fad of peaking plants is somewhat overblown, as the average large scale battery storage system will not face the issues with starting reliability that can be present on large gas tu…
Why can't anywhere that has significant elevation should just pumped storage of water during the day and use hydro on the way back down?
I’m not an expert on this topic, but I think it comes down to cost and scalability. You have to construct a new project with custom specs for the exact site you’re on, and the permitting for a large environmental change is another drag. For large scale batteries, they all are a somewhat complex power electronic wrapper around mass produced battery cell cans or pouches that can be dropped anywhere. The cost declines of batteries are undeniable and are not stopping anytime soon.