Nat Treadway @nattreadway

This is ridiculously scary. Yes, we are currently talking about ballrooms and reflecting pools and inflation and Iran and Venezuela and Epstein and crypto grift and the moral rot of the @GOP. But all that is going to be forgotten soon. Shit is about to get real, as they say.

Governor Abbott has ordered PUCT and ERCOT to audit data centers seeking grid interconnection, including who owns and finances them, whether they are paying for required infrastructure, how much grid power and water they will consume, and what they are doing to mitigate community impacts. The immediate consequence = ERCOT has postponed the next stage of the Batch Zero process, which was due to begin on August 7, with no revised date yet. That creates uncertainty for projects whose power allocations and delivery schedules still depend on the study. Some takes from SS and news seem too aggressive, though: -Not a statewide moratorium on data center construction -Does not stop already energized, approved or fully islanded projects -Does not yet require every facility to provide its own power or water Also very misleading to describe this as Abbott halting +474 GW of credible demand. That figure is the entire ERCOT large-load queue, including speculative and duplicative requests. More relevant figures are the roughly ~65 GW potentially mature enough for Base Load treatment (per MS) and the approximately 27 GW of Texas capacity (per MS; Aterio has ~15GW under construction and 90GW+ pipeline) that may ultimately be built. Thus, the right framing is ERCOT now has to separate credible, financed projects from queue positions that lack customers, capital or a realistic path to power (which is actually a good thing). Some broader takeaways on future delivery -Projects will take longer to move from land and queue position to energized capacity, even in TX! (all roads lead to TX) -Developers will increasingly need to fund transmission, provide financial security and demonstrate credible tenants before receiving power (we already moving here) -More campuses will pair data centers with behind-the-meter generation, batteries, demand response or phased grid connections (we already moving here) +Strengthens the relative position of projects that already have approved interconnections, signed leases, financing and construction underway. +/= For merchant power, the read-through may still be constructive as demand continues to be strong. ="All roads lead to Texas” still holds. Texas has the land, energy resources, market structure and development ecosystem required to absorb an outsized share of U.S. data center growth. The road is just becoming narrower, more expensive and more selective. The ultimate build is likely still huge (and needs to be if the US wants to keep leading). The main changes will be how gets delivered, how it is powered and how far timelines move to the right. The August note reads more deliberate than the June note in my view (screenshots from both below), but shows that the political pressure and resistance is growing everywhere, even in the mighty state of TX.

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Everything’s pretty much as expected, except much worse: Sea surface temperatures totally out of control, & global surface temperatures crashing through 1.5°C warming Keep living in a fool's paradise, or phase-out fossil fuels now [Charts via @EliotJacobson and @hausfath]

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Oh, so you are "not against" that? My sense is that market decisions are driving this, and no on needs to be consulted as to "for" or "against" natural gas ... or did I miss some new order?

Elon Musk @elonmusk

2 weeks ago

@BasedMikeLee China’s biggest growth in electricity has come from solar, which has by far the highest potential. That said, I am not against using natural gas power as a bridge to solar and even using it long-term to some degree to help with the dip in solar power during the deep winter

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Texas is the #1 wind and solar growth state in the US Wind and solar met all the growth in electricity generation in Texas in the last decade, while gas replaced more expensive coal. Total electricity generation is up over 30% since 2015.

And every building is thermal energy storage -- and most of it is pretty bad. ... Wouldn't the grid be more efficient if those thermal batteries were all excellent and all tied into the grid! ... Wait, you mean demand response from every electricity consumer!? Why yes, yes I do.

Craig Lawrence @clawrence

2 weeks ago

About every six months I get to remind everyone that grid-scale batteries are generators, and the cognitive dissonance created is kind of fun to watch.

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When PJM neared its peak demand record, they declared an energy emergency. Texas has blown past its pre-2026 record 7 times this month, incl. today. No emergencies, not even close. The difference? Solar. New record in Texas today: 1st time >35,000 megawatts #txlege #txenergy

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Texas now has >100 gigawatts (!) of solar, wind & batteries. And it's a good thing, too, bc demand is forecast to exceed the pre-2026 record peak demand *every day* this week. Renewables will meet ~50% of the massive peak power demand. Batteries will reach ~10 GW every night. 1/

Thank you, Mr Governor. I appreciate that Texas is served by people who seek practical solutions to the people's problems. Solar, wind, & batteries are so economical, and there's no need for ideology to stand in the way. And, there's much energy efficiency that is even cheaper!

Greg Abbott @GregAbbott_TX

3 weeks ago

The Texas grid has never been stronger. Today it set a new record-providing more than 91 gigawatts of power. We had plenty of extra power-more than 20 GWs extra! (about 4 million homes extra). Texas is #1 for electric power. We provide more than the 2nd & 3rd states combined.

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Richard Nixon worried the United States would act like “a pitiful, helpless giant.” Under Donald Trump that is, sadly, what we have become. The path back will be steep and difficult. For now we have to minimize the damage. The first step is to end Trump’s disastrous Iran war now.

... it was the highest net load day ever. That's peak demand (all the use across ERCOT added together) minus wind and solar output. That record was also demolished by 3.5 gigawatts (more than Austin Energy's peak demand, for a sense of scale). 3/ gridstatus.io/records/ercot?…

Yesterday was notable not only for the all-time demand record (broken again today) and all-time solar record as detailed below, but also... (cont.) x.com/douglewinenerg…

Doug Lewin @douglewinenergy

4 weeks ago

Two Texas grid records today: Highest demand ever: 87, 340 megawatts at 4:45pm CT (beating the record by nearly 2 GW) New solar record at 34,665 MW The two go together! When it's extremely hot, as it often is in Texas, demand and solar production both shoot upward. #txenergy 1/

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Texas set a new electricity demand record Wednesday as extreme heat blanketed the state. ERCOT says the grid remained stable despite record usage. houstonchronicle.com/business/energ…

Last year, China installed more solar panels than the U.S. did in the last 20 years. China’s total installed solar energy capacity is now 600 GW. There is no time to waste. Time for every country to dump fossil fuels and embrace the renewable revolution. #ActOnClimate

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I know grassroots Republicans in Texas who would smash all those solar collectors to bits if they could. Idiocy. #txlege

Doug Lewin @douglewinenergy

4 weeks ago

Two Texas grid records today: Highest demand ever: 87, 340 megawatts at 4:45pm CT (beating the record by nearly 2 GW) New solar record at 34,665 MW The two go together! When it's extremely hot, as it often is in Texas, demand and solar production both shoot upward. #txenergy 1/

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Solar, wind, and batteries are leading the transition, and natural gas will help us get there! Is everyone happy? @ERCOT_ISO @PUCTX

Doug Lewin @douglewinenergy

3 weeks ago

Air conditioning demand in extreme Texas heat pushed the ERCOT grid beyond 91 gigawatts today. Before yesterday, we had never exceeded 86 GW so this record shatters the old one. Note there was >20 GW of buffer, no energy emergency, no conservation call. #txlege #txenergy 1/

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Ford F-150 owners are part of the #renewable energy, #battery, #electrification revolution.

Jim Farley @jimfarley98

3 weeks ago

Extreme weather and grid instability are unfortunately making power outages more common. Having an F-150 PowerBoost Hybrid or F-150 Lightning with a 240V Pro Power Onboard outlet means you can have a backup power source right in your driveway. To make this backup power solution

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ERCOT set a peak demand record exceeding 90 GW. Incredible. But batteries are still charging and prices are low.

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There's a new battery record in Texas. At 8:30 p.m. CT, 11,674 megawatts of batteries were discharging to the ERCOT grid. That beats the old record by 1,300 MW! Texas' record is now less than 1 GW behind California. #txlege #txenergy

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To save money, water, and electricity, please replace your sprinklers and monoculture grasses. Native (i.e. Texas) species are better for local ecosystems. (I speak as a former conservation expert testifying in the public interest, 1985-95.) #txlege #energyefficiency

Public Utility Commission of Texas @PUCTX

a month ago

#WaysToSave💡 Make sure sprinklers only cover lawn and landscaping, not sidewalks, patios, driveways or streets. Visit puc.texas.gov/waystosave/ for more tips! #txenergy #txlege

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