Fogbow

filly wrote: ↑Fri Mar 26, 2021 12:58 pm And nothing will be done about this.

As Texas was crippled last month by frigid temperatures that killed more than 100 people and triggered widespread blackouts, drilling companies in the state’s largest oil field were forced to burn off an extraordinary amount of natural gas — on the worst day, an amount that could have powered tens of thousands of homes for at least a year.

The need to intentionally burn off, or flare, an estimated 1.6 billion cubic feet of gas in a single day — a fivefold increase from rates seen before the crisis, according to satellite analysis — came as the state’s power plants went offline and pipelines froze, so the wells simply had no place to send the natural gas still streaming out of the ground. As a result, the gas had to be set ablaze, fueling towering flames, the highest of which can reach hundreds of feet into the air.

“This is clearly one of the highest spikes” in flaring ever observed in the Permian Basin, said Mark Omara, a senior researcher at the Environmental Defense Fund who led the analysis, which was based on satellite data from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. “And it could be an underestimate,” he said.

The trends were corroborated by Mikhail Zhizhin, a researcher at the Colorado School of Mines, who pioneered the use of satellite observations to measure flaring. There were some uncertainties and limitations to using satellite data, he said: Clouds could obscure the view, for example, and smaller flares, or ones that are lit only for shorter periods of time, could be missed. And calculating volumes of gas needed to be calibrated for specific oil fields.

zekeb wrote: ↑Fri Mar 26, 2021 2:07 pm

filly wrote: ↑Fri Mar 26, 2021 12:58 pm And nothing will be done about this.

Sure it will. They'll keep working to keep your electric rates low and out of the hands of federal regulators.

MN-Skeptic wrote: ↑Tue Apr 13, 2021 8:37 pm I normally get paper grocery bags with handles at my favorite grocery store. Ever since the Texas storms, they've only had grocery bags without handles. They have signs at the checkout lanes saying that the Texas storms affected the supply of adhesives available for grocery bags and that, for the time being, only handle-less bags are available.

I just thought that was an odd outcome of the storms.

Texas gov knew of natural gas shortages days before blackout, blamed wind anyway
Official's phone logs offer blow-by-blow account of the disaster as it unfolded.

TIM DE CHANT - 5/21/2021, 4:04 PM

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, according to documents obtained by E&E News and reviewed by Ars.

Abbott’s office first learned of the likely shortfall in a phone call from then-chair of the Public Utility Commission of Texas DeAnne Walker. In the days leading up to the power outages that began on February 15, Walker and the governor’s office spoke 31 more times.

Walker also spoke with regulators, politicians, and utilities dozens of times about the gas curtailments that threatened the state’s electrical grid. The PUC chair’s diary for the days before the outage shows her schedule dominated by concerns over gas curtailments and the impact they would have on electricity generation. Before and during the disaster, she was on more than 100 phone calls with various agencies and utilities regarding gas shortages.

After the blackouts began, Abbott appeared on Fox News to falsely assert that wind turbines were the driving force behind the outages.

Wind turbines were a factor, but only a small one. Wind in Texas doesn’t produce as much power in the winter, and regulators don’t typically rely on wind turbines to provide significant amounts of power. Instead, regulators anticipated that natural gas and coal power plants would meet demand.

In public, Bill Magness, then-CEO of ERCOT, the state’s electric grid regulator, didn’t seem concerned about the approaching weather. In a virtual meeting on February 9, Magness said, “As those of you in Texas know, we do have a cold front coming this way... Operations has issued an operating condition notice just to make sure everyone is up to speed with their winterization and we’re ready for the several days of pretty frigid temperatures to come our way.” During the two-and-a-half-hour public portion of the meeting, Magness devoted just 40 seconds to the unusual weather.


https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/202 ... nd-anyway/

A report released Wednesday by the authority that regulates electric reliability in North America warns that Texas is at an “elevated risk” of energy shortages and potential power outages this summer.

That warning comes just a little more than three months after the worst energy crisis in Texas history, the February winter storm power outages that left millions of Texans freezing inside their homes, caused more than $100 billion in damage, and contributed to more than 150 deaths.

In its 2021 “Summer Reliability Assessment” the North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC) said the Texas grid managed by ERCOT should be able to supply enough power under normal expected operating conditions.

But the report cautions that Texas is expected to see above-normal temperatures this summer and a higher risk of drought across much of the state, potentially increasing demand for power and putting more strain on the grid.

Volkonski wrote: ↑Mon Jun 14, 2021 2:20 pm Texas at ‘Elevated Risk' of Summer Power Shortages, Potential Outages, Regulators Warn
NERC warned that the highest risk of forced power outages in Texas would likely be from 3 p.m. to 8 p.m., the hours when demand typically peaks

https://www.nbcdfw.com/investigations/t ... n/2642319/

A report released Wednesday by the authority that regulates electric reliability in North America warns that Texas is at an “elevated risk” of energy shortages and potential power outages this summer.

That warning comes just a little more than three months after the worst energy crisis in Texas history, the February winter storm power outages that left millions of Texans freezing inside their homes, caused more than $100 billion in damage, and contributed to more than 150 deaths.

In its 2021 “Summer Reliability Assessment” the North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC) said the Texas grid managed by ERCOT should be able to supply enough power under normal expected operating conditions.

But the report cautions that Texas is expected to see above-normal temperatures this summer and a higher risk of drought across much of the state, potentially increasing demand for power and putting more strain on the grid.

I blame Gov. Abbott and the Republicans in the legislature.

Happily we are safely on Long Island for the summer.

Volkonski wrote: ↑Mon Jun 14, 2021 2:25 pm Newschannel 6
@Newschannel6Now
·
5m
They are asking people to conserve electricity through Friday, June 18.

Volkonski wrote: ↑Mon Jun 14, 2021 2:25 pm Newschannel 6
@Newschannel6Now
·
5m
They are asking people to conserve electricity through Friday, June 18.

zekeb wrote: ↑Mon Jun 14, 2021 5:41 pm Dishwashers use less water than hand washing the dishes. Perhaps ERCOT thinks people hand wash their dishes in cold water.

Volkonski wrote: ↑Mon Jun 14, 2021 4:45 pm By the 18th generating capacity currently offline is expected to be online again.

ERCOT has asked people not to use dishwashers, washing machine, dryers, pool pumps and other appliances that use a lot of electricity. After a few days dishes and laundry will pile up and pools will begin to turn green.

The current record high temperatures should cool a bit by the weekend.

Texas needs to spend more money on electricity infrastructure.

FiveAcres wrote: ↑Tue Jun 15, 2021 9:02 am If they overwhelm the power grid and take it down again, more people will die than last February. Heat is a killer without air conditioning or even fans.