By Ethan Miller and Pete Parsons
Being blamed for problems you didn’t cause is frustrating and can even be grounds for defamation. For the Texas renewables industry, it’s just another day.
On September 6, the Electric Reliability Grid of Texas (ERCOT) issued an Energy Emergency Alert Level 2 (EEA 2). An EEA 2 allows ERCOT to use power outages during peak demand to conserve electricity and protect the grid.[1] ERCOT avoided outages this time, but they’re becoming a frequent occurrence in the state; outages averaged 3 hours per capita in 2013. By 2021, it was 19.6 hours per capita, a 533% increase.[2]
Increased outages; 2021’s grid failure; conservation requests; and EEAs all point to a problem with the grid, but who or what’s to blame? Texas’ preferred boogeyman is the renewable energy industry. Pablo Vegas, President/CEO of ERCOT blamed renewables for the EEA 2 no less than 18 times on September 6.[3] His statements were unfounded – claiming low generation does not make it so. NPR reported, “there was, apparently, wind power being produced in the state on Wednesday.” If low renewable generation was the cause, ERCOT would have needed to increase power on the grid. Instead, ERCOT “cut about 1,000 megawatts.”[4]
Unfortunately, falsehoods about renewables do not address problems and cost taxpayers. The real reason an EEA 2 was issued was not because renewables were underperforming; quite the opposite. A transmission line between South Texas and Dallas was facing congestion. Congestion occurs when the lines don’t have enough space to move all of the electricity generated in one place to another. If too much electricity is on the line, it overloads and must be cut. Congestion is expensive, translating to price increases of $2B in 2021.[5] Rather than wind, the grid’s inadequate infrastructure and transmission capacity was the problem.
So why is Texas prone to congestion?
It may be the fault of our interconnection process. Most states use an ‘invest and connect’ “interconnection method in which grid upgrades are made before generators are interconnected. Texas instead uses a ‘connect and manage’ method, which allows generators to be interconnected quickly, but face curtailment (temporarily cutting a generator from the grid) if the grid has excessive power. It’s a double-edged sword; while ERCOT interconnects resources rapidly, it risks congestion.[6]
Ironically, renewables increase grid reliability in a taxpayer-friendly manner. Increased storage (batteries) allows local governments to quickly send power from virtual power plants (VPP). VPPs are 40-60% cheaper than traditional peaker plants (combustion plants that only operate when the grid exceeds peak demand or is under stress), and offer payouts to home/system owners.[7] Additionally, increasing transmission capacity puts more electricity on the grid. Greater capacity means renewables can sign favorable power purchase agreements (agreements between consumers – ERCOT, municipal utilities, co-ops, retail electric providers, etc. – and generators to purchase power) which keep electricity prices low.[8]
It’s past time to quit blaming renewables and address insufficient transmission. It’s imperative too; while primary energy consumption has been constant since 2000,[9] state population is expected to double from 2010 to 2050.[10] It’s inevitable that electricity demand will rise. Increased transmission will need to meet those demands. Changes to the interconnection process are paramount, lest we further waste taxpayer money and precious time pointing fingers.
[1] Buchele “ERCOT Can’t Move Energy Where It Needs to go, and it’s Putting the Grid at Risk” 2023.
[2] Stringer, et al. “Texas’ Winter Storm Sent Power Outages Soaring” 2023.
[3] ERCOT “News Releases” 2023.
[4] Buchele “ERCOT Can’t Move Energy Where It Needs to go, and it’s Putting the Grid at Risk” 2023.
[5] Ibid.
[6] Driscoll “Bringing ERCOT’s Speedy Interconnection Process to the Rest of the U.S.” 2023.
[7] Silverstein “Brattle Group Finds Virtual Power Plants as Reliable as Conventional Ones” 2023.
[8] Shea & Abbott “Renewable PPAs Are the Opposite of Risky Business” 2021.
[9] King “The Economic Superorganism” 2021.
[10] Murdock & Cline “Texas Population: Still Growing and Increasingly Diverse” 2022.