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I'm also surprised to see this in context of the mandate that came this week from California to retire fossil fuel vehicles. If current population and load is

I'm also surprised to see this in context of the mandate that came this week from California to retire fossil fuel vehicles. If current population and load is straining their power grid because it's hot they have some serious infrastructure to implement before 2035 rolls around. I'm sure it's not lost on anyone, just... the timing on the two articles is noteworthy.

manicdee 4y ago
A grid mostly powered by thermal electricity is going to struggle when it gets hot. California does have serious infrastructure issues, mostly due to deliberate lack of maintenance on the part f the commercial operators trying to squeeze every dollar of profit out of their ageing infrastructure. There’s an entire distribution grid that needs to be replaced before it literally falls apart. California has had problematic energy supply since the ‘80s. The problems have been getting steadily worse due to lack of maintenance, lack of upgrades, heat waves getting longer and more numerous, more frequent droughts, and poor water resource management. There are a lot of people pushing this article on every social network. It’s a rude awakening to see how many people just take the headline and run with it before they spend any time considering the claims in the context of reality.
- AnimalMuppet 4y ago
  > A grid mostly powered by thermal electricity is going to struggle when it gets hot. Maybe slightly. Britannica says (https://www.britannica.com/topic/coal-utilization-122944/Coal-combustion https://www.britannica.com/topic/coal-utilization-122944/Coa...) that most power plants limit steam temperature to 1000 F (540 C, 813 K). The efficiency difference when ambient goes from 300K to 310 K matters... a little. I think it's more a case of "A grid that powers a lot of peoples' air conditioners is going to struggle when it gets hot". That is, the issue is demand, not supply.
  - manicdee 4y ago
    The issue is very much about supply, and supply that sags when the ambient temperature is high and water supplies are low.

manicdee 4y ago

A grid mostly powered by thermal electricity is going to struggle when it gets hot. California does have serious infrastructure issues, mostly due to deliberate lack of maintenance on the part f the commercial operators trying to squeeze every dollar of profit out of their ageing infrastructure. There’s an entire distribution grid that needs to be replaced before it literally falls apart. California has had problematic energy supply since the ‘80s. The problems have been getting steadily worse due to lack of maintenance, lack of upgrades, heat waves getting longer and more numerous, more frequent droughts, and poor water resource management. There are a lot of people pushing this article on every social network. It’s a rude awakening to see how many people just take the headline and run with it before they spend any time considering the claims in the context of reality.

AnimalMuppet 4y ago
> A grid mostly powered by thermal electricity is going to struggle when it gets hot. Maybe slightly. Britannica says (https://www.britannica.com/topic/coal-utilization-122944/Coal-combustion https://www.britannica.com/topic/coal-utilization-122944/Coa...) that most power plants limit steam temperature to 1000 F (540 C, 813 K). The efficiency difference when ambient goes from 300K to 310 K matters... a little. I think it's more a case of "A grid that powers a lot of peoples' air conditioners is going to struggle when it gets hot". That is, the issue is demand, not supply.
- manicdee 4y ago
  The issue is very much about supply, and supply that sags when the ambient temperature is high and water supplies are low.