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.”
3 graphs that shed light on the ERCOT power crisis
Data firm Lium concluded that ERCOT “probably needed at least another 17 GW of generation” to meet demand as cold winter weather settled in over the state.
Probes launched as Texas works to get the lights back on
For many Texans, this week’s blackouts seem a lot like a 2011 winter storm that was supposed to have ushered in a host of reforms.
Sunrise brief: Texas grid struggles to recover from winter storm, massive outages
Also on the rise: Appalachian Power issues an RFP for 300 MW of renewables, Canadian Solar closes its Japan fund, and a battery recycler is acquired.
Four key solar market trends from 2020
Data firm REsurety identifies four trends that illustrate how solar power markets performed in 2020.
