As Heat Waves Roast Texas, Batteries Keep Power Grid Humming
A surge in battery storage is helping Texas beat the heat without additional fossil fuelsBy Benjamin Storrow, E&E News on August 22, 2023 CLIMATEWIRE | A battery boom is helping to stabilize the Texas power grid, offering a template for utilities that want to cut their greenhouse gases even as air conditioners hum wildly during heat waves. The growth of […]
Big ideas are chugging into ‘The Station’
The flurry of ongoing activity at the corner of Frisco Avenue and Magnolia has certainlygiven the town something to talk about. The Menard Station (TMS) brings about greatspeculation and owners, Menardian descendant John Davis and his wife Jayne, are ready tolet everyone know what is coming to The Station. Think part store and part history; […]
Tesla says its Powerwall electricity customers can be paid to send power to the grid
Tesla is paying its Powerwall electricity customers in Texas to send excess power to the grid through a virtual power plant. By aggregating home solar and storage units, Tesla eases demand on the grid during high electricity usage periods. The program aims to reduce pressure on Texas’ taxed power grid while promoting clean energy practices. Customers will receive a notification when Tesla Energy’s Powerwall discharges electricity to the Texas grid, ensuring they have backup power reserves during outages. Tesla’s innovative approach advances renewable energy adoption and contributes to a greener future for the state.
How solar and wind energy are saving Texans from a record heatwave
The same sun that is scorching Texas is keeping the air conditioning running, no matter what certain Lone Star legislators say. PETER WEBER JULY 4, 2023 Texas has been breaking all sorts of records, and that’s mostly bad news. As a heat dome settled over Texas in June, trapping brutal heat and humidity underneath, high […]
Solar power proves its worth as heat wave grips the state
Texas has seen a boom in solar power in recent years, and experts say that’s helped the state grid weather an intense June heat wave. While Texans drag through another punishing heat wave, people have nervously watched the state’s power grid, hoping it will hold up as the triple-digit days wear on. Under the blazing […]
Texas leads way in battery storage growth, adding enough to power 100,000 homes
Texas led the nation in battery storage growth for the first few months of the year, adding enough utility-scale batteries to power almost 100,000 homes on a hot summer day, according to research and consulting firm S&P Global. The proliferation of renewable energy and the state’s competitive electricity market have attracted battery developers to Texas […]
Is the Texas Power Grid Fixed Yet?
What happened in the waning days of the Texas Legislature’s 88th Session and what it meansDOUG LEWINMAY 30 Texas’ gas supply remains vulnerable to extreme weather — just last December, during Winter Storm Elliott, gas output fell 32% and more than25,000 megawatts — one-third — of thermal power plants were offline at some point during […]
What’s the Matter with Texas?
One of the few positive stories in American politics in recent years is the GOP finding its voice on climate policy. The days of Republican lawmakers embracing “climate denial” are largely over. The argument that carries the day goes something like this: To the extent that climate change is a risk, the best way to […]
Octopus Energy is bringing clean, distributed energy to the masses
The clean-energy retailer is both serving and disrupting the utility sector — selling software, renewable power, smart home energy devices and more. When you think of electric utilities, the words fast, nimble, tech-savvy or cuddly probably don’t come to mind. Nor do those qualities often apply to the startups dragging the old grid into a […]
Conservatives Should Embrace Energy Facts Over Fiction
April 20, 2023 Josiah Neeley & Matt Welch The Texas energy grid may need a few precise improvements, but errant and unfounded advice isn’t going to help conservatives beat the top-down command and control left. The Wall Street Journal, for instance, recently published an editorial entitled “A Texas-Sized Energy Fiasco” which seeks to blame Texas’ […]
