enthalpy

Friday, February 29, 2008


What happens when a stable, very predictable demand for energy is met with a supplier that comes and goes, literally, as the wind blows? This:
A drop in wind generation late on Tuesday, coupled with colder weather, triggered an electric emergency that caused the Texas grid operator to cut service to some large customers, the grid agency said on Wednesday.

ERCOT said the grid's frequency dropped suddenly when wind production fell from more than 1,700 megawatts, before the event, to 300 MW when the emergency was declared.
Get used to it, Texas, as this is the price we're going to pay for being the "largest wind-farm state" in the country. Or as the long-time reader who sent me this story asks, "if wind is so reliable, why don't the tankers that bring us oil have sails on them?"

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