4 ms·

How well did natural gas do when it was unseasonably cold and the wellheads froze over? I don’t see a single person in this thread commenting in good faith who

How well did natural gas do when it was unseasonably cold and the wellheads froze over? I don’t see a single person in this thread commenting in good faith who’s not in favor of a robust energy mix. But you’re deluding yourself if you think that the political body that is ERCOT is acting solely (or even primarily) toward the establishment of a robust grid based on apolitical engineering and a variety of predictably reliable sources of energy without regard to how that power is generated.

perrygeo 3y ago
ERCOT is definitely concerned with how the power is generated, I made no claim to the contrary. They just don't have the luxury of seeing it as a mutually exclusive choice based on morals. Sure, there's a political bias towards phasing out fossil fuels. Most of the new construction is in renewables. Anyone in the energy industry knows that depletion, EROI descent, and climate change are real problems associated with long-term fossil fuel usage. There are also well-known mineral resource limits and intermittency/storage issues with renewables. There are voices, on the right and the left, that take extreme positions on the role of renewables and fossil fuels. Maybe not anyone in this thread, but the world at large is full of people advocating for an energy mix that uncompromisingly reflects their moral philosophy. Fossil fuels bad. Renewables will save us. Or vice-versa. My point is that these extreme positions tend to dominate social media and news cycles - but they don't reflect the actual development of our energy systems, which take a more nuanced and balanced approach by necessity. ERCOT is beholden to actual results, unlike political advocates.
- nocoiner 3y ago
  I appreciate the thoughtful response. You raise a lot of good points. I think we may just agree to disagree on ERCOT’s current role. For a nearly lifelong Texas resident, I always thought of them the way you’re describing them. Given the events and outages of the last three years, my perception of them now is that they are much more of a political animal than I had previously understood and frankly are not doing that great of a job of delivering actual results. Again, reasonable people can disagree here, but for me personally, the Texas grid has gone from a point of pride about a well managed system that reliably delivers power to some of the most energy intensive industries in the country (to say nothing of a fast growing population in a not exactly temperate climate) to a creature of the governor and the legislature that’s failing at job one.

perrygeo 3y ago

ERCOT is definitely concerned with how the power is generated, I made no claim to the contrary. They just don't have the luxury of seeing it as a mutually exclusive choice based on morals. Sure, there's a political bias towards phasing out fossil fuels. Most of the new construction is in renewables. Anyone in the energy industry knows that depletion, EROI descent, and climate change are real problems associated with long-term fossil fuel usage. There are also well-known mineral resource limits and intermittency/storage issues with renewables. There are voices, on the right and the left, that take extreme positions on the role of renewables and fossil fuels. Maybe not anyone in this thread, but the world at large is full of people advocating for an energy mix that uncompromisingly reflects their moral philosophy. Fossil fuels bad. Renewables will save us. Or vice-versa. My point is that these extreme positions tend to dominate social media and news cycles - but they don't reflect the actual development of our energy systems, which take a more nuanced and balanced approach by necessity. ERCOT is beholden to actual results, unlike political advocates.

nocoiner 3y ago
I appreciate the thoughtful response. You raise a lot of good points. I think we may just agree to disagree on ERCOT’s current role. For a nearly lifelong Texas resident, I always thought of them the way you’re describing them. Given the events and outages of the last three years, my perception of them now is that they are much more of a political animal than I had previously understood and frankly are not doing that great of a job of delivering actual results. Again, reasonable people can disagree here, but for me personally, the Texas grid has gone from a point of pride about a well managed system that reliably delivers power to some of the most energy intensive industries in the country (to say nothing of a fast growing population in a not exactly temperate climate) to a creature of the governor and the legislature that’s failing at job one.