Tesla Virtual Power Plants Get Approval In Texas

[RV_]

Texas has their utilities in the hands of private billionaires who to date have not hardened their gas cooling valves and other shortfalls. The more Powerwalls there are in Texas the better for all Texans. 

https://cleantechnica.com/2023/09/02/tesla-virtual-power-plants-get-approval-in-texas/

[Chalkie]

On 9/3/2023 at 4:55 PM, RV_ said:

Texas has their utilities in the hands of private billionaires who to date have not hardened their gas cooling valves and other shortfalls. The more Powerwalls there are in Texas the better for all Texans. 

https://cleantechnica.com/2023/09/02/tesla-virtual-power-plants-get-approval-in-texas/

This is an interesting article and it is basically formalizing with ERCOT what has been around for years allowing home solar to feed excess back to the grid. I do wonder where you got the idea that the Texas utilities are in the hands of private billionaires. Most Texas utilities are publicly traded companies or cooperatives. And could not the same be said of Tesla? I mean two individuals that own the most Tesla stock (as individuals, not investment groups) are Elon Musk and Larry Ellison.

[Kirk W]

Quote

Who Controls the Texas Electric Grid? ERCOT runs most of the Texas power grid, managing electric delivery and payments for 90% of the state's population. They schedule and dispatch electricity on a daily basis, coordinating power stations and electric utility companies (TDUs) in the state.

Quick Energy

Quote

ERCOT is a membership-based 501(c)(4) nonprofit corporation, governed by a board of directors and subject to oversight by the Public Utility Commission of Texas and the Texas Legislature.

About ERCOT

 

[RV_]

2 hours ago, Chalkie said:

 And could not the same be said of Tesla? I mean two individuals that own the most Tesla stock (as individuals, not investment groups) are Elon Musk and Larry Ellison.

Whataboutisms?  I'll stay on topic with Texas sources.

Excerpts:

Jerry Jones Bragged he hit the Jackpot:

https://www.dallasnews.com/business/energy/2021/02/17/jerry-jones-natural-gas-company-hits-jackpot-as-texas-freeze-drives-up-prices/

"One utility, CPS Energy, is blaming Energy Transfer for its woes. The company’s CEO, Paula Gold Williams, has said the pipeline company engaged in “blatant unlawful price gouging” and used the cold snap to “generate more than two years’ worth of profits from intrastate gas sales in just the first quarter of 2021.” CPS is suing Energy Transfer to recoup a portion of the $1 billion it lost during the storm. In a statement to Bloomberg, Energy Transfer co-CEO Tom Long blamed the utility’s “miscalculations of the severity of the storm and their lack of competent planning.”

https://www.texasobserver.org/after-kelcy-warrens-energy-transfer-partners-made-billions-from-the-deadly-texas-blackouts-he-gave-1-million-to-greg-abbott/#:~:text=No one won bigger than Dallas pipeline tycoon,bounty soon trickled down to Governor Greg Abbott.

Excerpt from the Texas Observer:

"The Texas electric grid collapse during the February winter storm killed hundreds of Texans and caused an estimated $295 billion in damages, while generating seismic gains for a small and powerful few. The natural gas industry was by far the biggest winner, collecting $11 billion in profit by selling fuel at unprecedented prices to desperate power generators and utilities during the state’s energy crisis. No one won bigger than Dallas pipeline tycoon Kelcy Warren: Energy Transfer Partners—the energy empire Warren founded and now is executive chairman of—raked in $2.4 billion during the blackouts."

https://www.texasobserver.org/after-kelcy-warrens-energy-transfer-partners-made-billions-from-the-deadly-texas-blackouts-he-gave-1-million-to-greg-abbott/#:~:text=No one won bigger than Dallas pipeline tycoon,bounty soon trickled down to Governor Greg Abbott.

 

 

[RV_]

56 minutes ago, Kirk W said:

 

Kirk any comments on what your Texas papers reported above? Don't look behind that curtain. It's your energy Charlie Foxtrot, not mine. There's dozens.

[Chalkie]

Derek,

What in particular do you not like about Texas? You happen to be living in a city that owns its own utilities. Given the size of the US that is one of a fairly small number. Just outside your city limits are some of those dreaded utilities in the hands of billionaires, such as Xcel Energy (which is also in Texas) and owns 36,000 miles of pipeline. 

I think that Tesla getting the deal is great, it is also spit in the bucket in the overall scheme of things, but it is a start.

[Kirk W]

Quote

Confirmation bias is our tendency to cherry-pick information that confirms our existing beliefs or ideas. Confirmation bias explains why two people with opposing views on a topic can see the same evidence and come away feeling validated by it.

 

Edited September 6, 2023 by Kirk W

[Vladimir]

On 9/6/2023 at 4:52 AM, Kirk W said:

 

Yes, but there is a difference between a professional expressing their opinion and an article written by a journalist or lawyer, that never took ONE class in either economics, statistics, or the sciences.

As a forester for 50 years, I have no credibility with the media since it does not fit the current narrative.  Instead we have lawyers and journalists practicing forestry without a degree or a professional license.

I remember a Sierra Club lawyer when he found out I owned a off-grid home.  He asked if I heated my hot water with the solar panels.  I told him that I could not even support a Mr. Coffee with my 1.5 KW solar system.

He was surprised at that information.  And there you have it.....confirmation bias simply because he had no clue about the science or energy generation behind solar panels.

He is still a "recognized" expert in Washington state when it comes to alternative energy.

[RV_]

On 9/5/2023 at 8:17 PM, Chalkie said:

Derek,

What in particular do you not like about Texas? You happen to be living in a city that owns its own utilities. Given the size of the US that is one of a fairly small number. Just outside your city limits are some of those dreaded utilities in the hands of billionaires, such as Xcel Energy (which is also in Texas) and owns 36,000 miles of pipeline. 

I think that Tesla getting the deal is great, it is also spit in the bucket in the overall scheme of things, but it is a start.

Chalkie why do you do a personal attack to accuse me of not liking Texas? Did you stop beating your wife? Same kind of question. Perhaps I do not like some Texans Like Jerry Jones in the article below. The topic is the approval by the Texas Utilities commission to allow Texans to benefit by allowing Tesla Powerwall owners to sell back electricity which can then be used by their fellow Texans. Tesla did not get the deal, Texans with Powerwalls and their neighbors who might have more power available as the power augmentation by individuals works.

I realized too late that the link was behind a paywall. Here is that article in the clear:

https://www.nbcsports.com/nfl/profootballtalk/rumor-mill/news/texas-freeze-allows-jerry-jones-natural-gas-company-to-hit-jackpot#:~:text=Cowboys owner Jerry Jones owns a Frisco-based natural,northern Louisiana at premium prices the past week.

Let me know how that article indicates I do not like Texas.

 

[RV_]

I posted an article to answer this post above showing Jerry Jones as published in the Dallas Morning news that ERCOT had nothing to do with price gouging. Here are search results with hundreds of articles about it.

https://www.bing.com/search?form=MOZLBR&pc=MOZI&q=As+Texans+went+without+power+some+companies+made+billions

However with the news daily of Texas power grid about to fail from the heat wave I thought since more than a few folks on here actually live in Texas I am all for anything that could help Texas. And this thread was about Texas approving some relief and making it a win for Texans with Powerwalls and Texans struggling with inadequate electric infrastructure for peak electric demands with the increasingly crazy summer heat and increasing witer killing cold.

[RV_]

I applaud Texas for allowing Texans with Powerwalls to get paid and add their excess power to the Texas grid. If being empathetic for Texans struggling and many dying in winter and summer because their grid can't handle demand is confirmation bias then I am guilty. If any disagree please say with which fact or assertion in the links and your source of different assertions. I am always willing to change my mind given new facts. Say so and hearsay and claptrap are not new facts.

The article I started with is good news for Texas. And Jerry Jones did say what he said as quoted by a lot of Texas sources. What you do with that info is up to you.

 

[RV_]

1 hour ago, Vladimir said:

Yes, but there is a difference between a professional expressing their opinion and an article written by a journalist or lawyer, that never took ONE class in either economics, statistics, or the sciences.

As a forester for 50 years, I have no credibility with the media since it does not fit the current narrative.  Instead we have lawyers and journalists practicing forestry without a degree or a professional license.

I remember a Sierra Club lawyer when he found out I owned a off-grid home.  He asked if I heated my hot water with the solar panels.  I told him that I could not even support a Mr. Coffee with my 1.5 KW solar system.

He was surprised at that information.  And there you have it.....confirmation bias simply because he had no clue about the science or energy generation behind solar panels.

He is still a "recognized" expert in Washington state when it comes to alternative energy.

Vlad where is your Kirk quote? It is blank!

Do YOU think it is a good thing for Texas to allow Texans with Powerwalls to sell their excess back to the Texas grid?

Be well.

[Chalkie]

2 hours ago, RV_ said:

Chalkie why do you do a personal attack to accuse me of not liking Texas?

That's pretty easy. Any time there is a difficulty, real or perceived, about the grid in Texas you point it out. But Texas is not the only place that has the potential for issues with the grid this summer, you focused on ERCOT and lead in with billionaires being in control. NERC has warned that 2/3s of the country are at risk of blackouts this summer, specifically pretty much everyone west of the Mississippi, and that is sure a lot more than Texas, yet Texas was the topic. The head of the Texas PUC is pushing for more natural gas power plants and batteries because he is not sure wind turbines can meet demands. So the article about Texas and the Tesla VPPs is welcome news that did not need to start out with the bashing or naysaying. I am not going to waste my time going back through all your posts to tally the Texas comment but there have been enough to bolster the perception by myself and others. 

[RV_]

1 hour ago, Chalkie said:

That's pretty easy. Any time there is a difficulty, real or perceived, about the grid in Texas you point it out. But Texas is not the only place that has the potential for issues with the grid this summer, you focused on ERCOT and lead in with billionaires being in control. NERC has warned that 2/3s of the country are at risk of blackouts this summer, specifically pretty much everyone west of the Mississippi, and that is sure a lot more than Texas, yet Texas was the topic. The head of the Texas PUC is pushing for more natural gas power plants and batteries because he is not sure wind turbines can meet demands. So the article about Texas and the Tesla VPPs is welcome news that did not need to start out with the bashing or naysaying. I am not going to waste my time going back through all your posts to tally the Texas comment but there have been enough to bolster the perception by myself and others. 

The topic is in the first link. Everyone can read it. 🖖

[Randyretired]

To think that using these power walls will have any measurable or perceived benefit during days of overload isn't reality.  Per the article the average power wall is 5kwh.  When compared to the average daily home usage in Texas of more than 39kwh and the few power walls available it is like using an eye dropper to fill the ocean.  It is a stretch to suggest it is worthwhile news and to use it to open with derogatory remarks as if this will make a difference is way beyond.

[RV_]

2 hours ago, Randyretired said:

To think that using these power walls will have any measurable or perceived benefit during days of overload isn't reality.  Per the article the average power wall is 5kwh.  When compared to the average daily home usage in Texas of more than 39kwh and the few power walls available it is like using an eye dropper to fill the ocean.  It is a stretch to suggest it is worthwhile news and to use it to open with derogatory remarks as if this will make a difference is way beyond.

Randy, so you said the demand across Texas daily is 39kWh, and Powerwall's are 5kWh? Then it will only take ~ 8 Powerwalls? That doesn't sound right.