Now it is being admitted—the electric grid in Texas came oh so close to emergency action because of solar and wind power issues in the month of August.
The Electric Reliability Council of Texas confirmed this week it encountered multiple tight supply periods during the month because solar output dropped at night when the sun went down.
And on August 17, wind output failed to rampe up at night and ERCOT was forced to use every ancillary service available reported S&P Global.
On Wednesday, it was reported that ERCOT’s electricity demand nearly outstripped the available supply, forcing the grid operator to issue an Energy Emergency Alert Level 2. Level 3 would have been the next step, prompting rolling blackouts.
A report by KVUE TV news also showed dozens of unplanned generation outages are causing power shortages and driving up prices, with more than 11,000 MW of natural gas plants and 7,000 MW of wind and solar going down in mid-August.
Click here for KVUE
