Category: ENERGY2021_MN Heat_MN TEXAS_MN

The operator of the Texas power grid is asking homes and businesses to cut back on electricity use Wednesday afternoon as a heat wave continues to smother the state.

Thus did the Saudi royal family mark the expansion of its far-flung petrochemical empire to San Patricio County, Texas, a once-rural stretch of flatlands across Nueces Bay from Corpus Christi. It arrived in the form of Gulf Coast Growth Ventures (GCGV), a plant that sprawls over 16 acres between the towns of Portland and Gregory. The complex contains a circuit board of pipes and steel tanks that cough out steam, flames and toxic substances as it creates the building blocks for plastic from natural gas liquids.

Crypto mining operations in Texas are tugging at their collars, now finding a reason to sweat other than the lingering crypto bear market. Temperatures in Texas are expected to go well over 100 degrees this week, and the lone star state’s electricity system kindly asked big energy users to kindly hop off the grid for when the power usage inevitably spikes. One of those big energy users is, of course, the crypto miners.

Wind power — a key source of electricity in Texas — is being sidelined just when the Lone Star State needs it most, with turbines generating less than a 10th of what they’re capable of.

Texans are cranking on the air conditioning this week amid an unusually early heat wave, setting new records for electricity demand in the state, which surpassed 75 gigawatts on Sunday and smashed the 2019 record. Texas grid operator ERCOT projects it could approach that peak again on Tuesday.

But unlike previous extreme weather events in Texas which led to deadly blackouts, the grid is holding up remarkably well this week. Several experts told CNN that it’s owed in large part to strong performances from wind and solar, which generated 27 gigawatts of electricity during Sunday’s peak demand — close to 40% of the total needed.

The Lone Star State is being pummeled by high temperatures and dry weather. The city of Austin is starting to feel the effects of the ongoing drought in the American Southwest. Earlier this week, Austin began restrictions as water that is stored in lakes Buchanan and Travis, dropped significantly, the Austin American-Statesman reported.

Texas’ power grid management agency has extended its warning of possible emergency conditions as residents turn to air-conditioning to cope with above normal temperatures. While temperatures are expected to remain high throughout the state, the agency overseeing the state’s power supply said there will be enough to meet demand.

During heavy storms, water overflows the dirt drainage ditch fronting his yard and the bayou at the end of his block — flooding the street, creeping up his front steps, pooling beneath the house, and trapping his family inside.

Heat records in Texas were toppled when temperatures reached as high as 112F (44C), setting off a heatwave that will engulf much of the central US.
The record-setting temperatures occurred on Saturday in Texas, but similar heat records may be felt in other US locales, including an