Muni utility sues ERCOT as fallout from Texas’ electric power crisis continues
The utility alleged that ERCOT “ran up $20 billion in charges” for five days of energy supply due to its “lack of oversight, preparedness, and failure to follow its own protocols.”
Sunrise brief: Wärtsilä wins order for utility-scale energy storage to support Texas electric grid
Also on the rise: Hawaiian Electric says that developers and suppliers share the blame for its interconnection delays, Redflow will supply a 2 MWh energy storage system for a California microgrid, and FPL files for new base rates and solar project cost recovery.
Tesla unit eyes a battery energy storage system in Texas
The 100 MW battery storage system would provide black start and balancing services for a volatile node within ERCOT.
Sunrise brief: Community solar player Nexamp lines up $440m to fuel its growth
Also on the rise: Texas regulators rebuff a call to roll off $16b in storm-related charges, Enphase Energy supplies microinverters to a senior housing project, and Canadian Solar sells Japanese solar projects.
Sunrise brief: A Texas-sized ‘oops’ for grid operator ERCOT
Also on the rise: Researchers use AI to model how grid failures cascade in a disaster, VEIR raises capital for its novel transmission line technology, NV Energy issues a community solar RFP, Freedom Solar gains two new partners, and Daqo New Energy signs a polysilicon supply deal.
Sunrise brief: Hit with a $1.8 billion bill, a Texas co-op files Chapter 11
Also on the rise: Siemens Energy will assess its hydrogen technology to supply a Utah power plant, and Hyzon Motors will build a plant to bolster the fuel cell supply chain for big trucks.
An energy strategy worthy of Texas
Going it alone with the ERCOT market as currently structured and regulated has been tested and found inadequate, writes a former state utility regulator. “Texas should not waste this crisis.”
The Texas blackout is a man-made disaster of epic proportions
The ERCOT market has served Texans well, producing low energy costs and the nation’s leading market for renewable energy. This same system also failed the state’s residents and businesses spectacularly in a moment of great need.
Sunrise brief: Hoosier Energy signs PPA for 150 MW of Indiana solar
Also on the rise: EVs clawed out a tiny but growing market share in 2020, FERC chair suggested that Texas may want to rethink its go-it-alone model, and the race to sue over the ERCOT outages is on as a Dallas firm filed a lawsuit.
As Texas recovers, report warns grid operators to plan better for extreme weather
Grid planning fails to consider extreme climate scenarios that a resilient grid needs to handle, said EPRI’s president and CEO. “Traditional planning processes do not represent how resources actually perform under extreme conditions.”
