This is a necessary shift to ensure abundant, reliable, and affordable electricity. My hope is that this shift expands to the rest of the nation. Natural gas just makes too much sense.
Absolutely true, Michael. As Robert Bryce said in his 2010 book, Power Hungry, "Natural gas and nuclear power are the fuels of the future because they have high power density, are relatively low cost, and can provide the enormous quantities of energy we need." Well, the future is now, and the US is on the right track, after a few years of diversion. Ed
Good news and yes the times are a changing rapidly!
With more gas generation I see the need for more micro-grids than the proposed 765 kV Permian Basin Transmission project ($33 billion) which will crisscross the state. i am also hoping data centers will get their own generation and pay for it themselves. That way we - the rate payers don't have to pay for their transmission like we do for renewables. That would also help with grid security.
Last month there were 19 project cancellations, the month before - 30 and I expect to see much more in July, but it may be a while before they scratch them. It's a wait and see. I'm waiting for the beautiful part of the bill - cancelling the IRA.
There are still over 1,000 battery projects and about 580 solar projects on the list, so I am not getting to excited yet. Our politicians think batteries will save the grid.
I heard that there is only a 19-20% completion average on the interconnect list, don't know if this is true.
I agree, Joanna. SB6, which takes effect today, encourages new large (75 MW) industrial customers to provide some of their backup capacity, and I expect microgrids will become more common in industrial areas. I also agree that running a 765 kV transmission line to the Permian Basin is crazy. After all, they are the largest natural gas field in the US, so why not locate a regional, natural gas-fired generation station in the Permian? Why ship natural gas out of West Texas, generate electricity, and then send it back on a high-voltage line? Electrifying oil and gas fields doesn't make sense in the first place! On battery projects, we will see how the Big Beautiful Bill comes out. If subsidies for batteries are eliminated, most of the proposed projects will vanish. Yes, politicians think batteries are great, so those subsidies may be difficult to get rid of. I appreciate your input and comments, Joanna. Ed
Having worked on "both sides," renewable cost have largely come down and we're either at or nearly at a point of standing on their own (depending on returns required by a particular investor) without special tax treatment. The bigger and more impactful issue is the tarrif value and their associated uncertainty. While I am all for onshoring/nearshoring, the new group in office is trying to turn around a boat that's still tied to port (and in another country). All to say that long term aspirations are great, but we are 50 years to deep into globalization to just pick up and run the other direction without major ramifications.
While the cost of "renewables" may have decreased, they are still unable to stand on their own. They still require backup because they depend on the wind blowing and the sun shining. All they do is destabilize grids and add cost. Reliable power grids require natural gas and nuclear power. Ed
No someone has to come up with a way to DOGE America's energy production and use. There is way to much waste happening.
How efficient are solar fields and the wind turbines at producing electricity (equal out a months worth of weather, sun and wind) and delivering it to the end customer. Can something be changed to improve creation to delivery?
How efficient are our natural gas power plants being operated? Is there waste on site that can be reduced? Processes that can be improved? (we know that natural gas is a fuel that can be consumed to near 100% efficiency. There is even water that can be recovered)
I believe this is our time to look at all these methods and situations, lay the cards on the table and go for what makes America the strongest nation on earth.
I'm in the UK. I'm not clear about battery storage. When they use the term Grid Scale batteries does that mean that the batteries are able to supply grid scale energy for significant periods of time like days or weeks? Or are batteries only required to stabilise the grid for short periods say up to an hour?
Steve, most battery storage systems, especially those using lithium batteries, charge for 4 to 8 hours and then discharge for 2 to 4 hours. None of the battery storage systems can discharge for days or weeks; they are designed to stabilize the grid for short periods. It is physically and financially impossible for a regional power grid to operate totally on batteries for even short periods. It is much more cost-effective and lower cost to use natural gas speaker plants. Thanks for your question, Steve. I appreciate you reading my Substack. I took a group of TCU graduate students to London in 2019 and met with what is now called the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero. They were trying to promote the domestic production and use of natural gas, but I don't think they were successful. Ed
Thanks Ed, that pretty much confirms what I thought but I'm pleased to have it confirmed. I'm not an expert by I take an interest. I think there's a lot of confusion about the real purpose of battery storage. It's often spoken of as a backup to renewables but I don't think that's true.
This is a necessary shift to ensure abundant, reliable, and affordable electricity. My hope is that this shift expands to the rest of the nation. Natural gas just makes too much sense.
Absolutely true, Michael. As Robert Bryce said in his 2010 book, Power Hungry, "Natural gas and nuclear power are the fuels of the future because they have high power density, are relatively low cost, and can provide the enormous quantities of energy we need." Well, the future is now, and the US is on the right track, after a few years of diversion. Ed
Good news and yes the times are a changing rapidly!
With more gas generation I see the need for more micro-grids than the proposed 765 kV Permian Basin Transmission project ($33 billion) which will crisscross the state. i am also hoping data centers will get their own generation and pay for it themselves. That way we - the rate payers don't have to pay for their transmission like we do for renewables. That would also help with grid security.
Last month there were 19 project cancellations, the month before - 30 and I expect to see much more in July, but it may be a while before they scratch them. It's a wait and see. I'm waiting for the beautiful part of the bill - cancelling the IRA.
There are still over 1,000 battery projects and about 580 solar projects on the list, so I am not getting to excited yet. Our politicians think batteries will save the grid.
I heard that there is only a 19-20% completion average on the interconnect list, don't know if this is true.
I agree, Joanna. SB6, which takes effect today, encourages new large (75 MW) industrial customers to provide some of their backup capacity, and I expect microgrids will become more common in industrial areas. I also agree that running a 765 kV transmission line to the Permian Basin is crazy. After all, they are the largest natural gas field in the US, so why not locate a regional, natural gas-fired generation station in the Permian? Why ship natural gas out of West Texas, generate electricity, and then send it back on a high-voltage line? Electrifying oil and gas fields doesn't make sense in the first place! On battery projects, we will see how the Big Beautiful Bill comes out. If subsidies for batteries are eliminated, most of the proposed projects will vanish. Yes, politicians think batteries are great, so those subsidies may be difficult to get rid of. I appreciate your input and comments, Joanna. Ed
Having worked on "both sides," renewable cost have largely come down and we're either at or nearly at a point of standing on their own (depending on returns required by a particular investor) without special tax treatment. The bigger and more impactful issue is the tarrif value and their associated uncertainty. While I am all for onshoring/nearshoring, the new group in office is trying to turn around a boat that's still tied to port (and in another country). All to say that long term aspirations are great, but we are 50 years to deep into globalization to just pick up and run the other direction without major ramifications.
While the cost of "renewables" may have decreased, they are still unable to stand on their own. They still require backup because they depend on the wind blowing and the sun shining. All they do is destabilize grids and add cost. Reliable power grids require natural gas and nuclear power. Ed
China has recently demonstrated the "major ramifications" of not choosing to "pick up and run the other direction".
Were*
No someone has to come up with a way to DOGE America's energy production and use. There is way to much waste happening.
How efficient are solar fields and the wind turbines at producing electricity (equal out a months worth of weather, sun and wind) and delivering it to the end customer. Can something be changed to improve creation to delivery?
How efficient are our natural gas power plants being operated? Is there waste on site that can be reduced? Processes that can be improved? (we know that natural gas is a fuel that can be consumed to near 100% efficiency. There is even water that can be recovered)
I believe this is our time to look at all these methods and situations, lay the cards on the table and go for what makes America the strongest nation on earth.
I'm in the UK. I'm not clear about battery storage. When they use the term Grid Scale batteries does that mean that the batteries are able to supply grid scale energy for significant periods of time like days or weeks? Or are batteries only required to stabilise the grid for short periods say up to an hour?
Steve, most battery storage systems, especially those using lithium batteries, charge for 4 to 8 hours and then discharge for 2 to 4 hours. None of the battery storage systems can discharge for days or weeks; they are designed to stabilize the grid for short periods. It is physically and financially impossible for a regional power grid to operate totally on batteries for even short periods. It is much more cost-effective and lower cost to use natural gas speaker plants. Thanks for your question, Steve. I appreciate you reading my Substack. I took a group of TCU graduate students to London in 2019 and met with what is now called the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero. They were trying to promote the domestic production and use of natural gas, but I don't think they were successful. Ed
Thanks Ed, that pretty much confirms what I thought but I'm pleased to have it confirmed. I'm not an expert by I take an interest. I think there's a lot of confusion about the real purpose of battery storage. It's often spoken of as a backup to renewables but I don't think that's true.