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I moved from California to Texas but only stayed 4 months. Texas isn't much cheaper, and everyone was politics-obsessed.
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this post was submitted on 31 Aug 2024
343 points (96.7% liked)
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The idea of having to deal with Texas’s power grid scares me
Yeah, people call us the Texas of Canada but we've had no power interruptions during those -40 and below cold snaps. Part of that has to do with natural gas being our heat, of course. But if you've ever been outside in -40... I'll take the natural gas over that. It's cold like you've never felt it before.
Much of the US, even Texas uses natural gas for heating. Houses in much of the southern US aren't designed for cold weather so people add space heaters. Plus if I remember correctly the cold shut down the natural gas providers in Texas so that wasn't even working.
Yup, I believe ten years prior the federal government told them that the gas plants were susceptible to freezing pipes of incoming gas. Since texas grid is independent, they couldn't force the plants to winterize. After the shit show, the governor blamed windmills, even though they over produced, because a few windmills stopped working.
Alberta?
It's awful. We lose power if it's too hot, we lose power if it's too cold.
On the plus side, Ted Cruz leaves if it gets too cold
Wish he'd fucking stay gone.
Vote him out! Now's your chance!
Big Allred fan here! Im not squandering my chance to get Cruz out! <3
Thanks! It's past time for that soulless motherfucker to go.
Fucking utilities man. ERCOT has made so many recommendations over the years for the regional utilities to make changes and strengthen their grids, but short-term profit motive gets in the way of stability of an essential service. Why we privatized the grids in this country is beyond me
If I'm not mistaken, the thing that contributes to our instability is also what caused Texas to be at the front of renewables (for a while). What I've been told is that Texas' power grid is pretty loosely regulated, which was why renewables took off here; it was really easy for anyone to start their own power company so small companies were able to spring up and contribute solar, wind, etc.
This was great and fine so long as we weren't getting extreme, once-in-100-year weather every year. Thanks big oil and climate change. Anyway, now we need regulation to make power companies start planning for things they previously only needed to plan for every 100 years.
Good fucking luck.
Renewables took off in Texas because it's
It's pretty much heaven for solar and wind, both of which have no qualms building out in the middle of nowhere.
I wonder if anyone's going to attempt tide generators with our freshly roided up storm seasons. The whole East Coast has barrier islands that are all about to sink, so we won't even have to go down far to anchor them.
Windmills are taking off now in Wyoming, and I can't believe it took them this long, loaded down freighters get blown over hourly every fucking day in Wyoming. They built their freeways with massive shoulders just to wreck on. Windmill farms are all down central and Eastern Washington, central and eastern Oregon and California. I can't speak much to the Midwest but you can't drive 5miles thru Iowa without seeing 100windmills. In between houses and shit. I like the spirit but goddamn, Iowa needs to chill.
Solar is huge all along the sun belt. Shit I'm off-grid in Washington and I do it off 2500w of panels and 375ah of batteries. It's not as good as having a tap to grand coulee but I don't have an electric bill and that does more than just dry my tears, it actually makes happy.