Legalectric

Minnesota Libraries can apply to be a part of this program, and need to apply and if participating, comply with reporting requirements:

https://files.dnr.state.mn.us/destinations/state_parks/partnerships/vehicle_permit_library_application.pdf

There are two main requirements to participate:

Red Wing Public Library did check this out, and Red Wing Public Library’s “director looked into the program and found that we cannot participate because Goodhue County does not meet the required demographic criteria.”

Well, drat…

Early on in the Grant County solar project, we dug into “heat island effect” and learned it is real and very little study has been done, and what has been doe has been in the desert, not in midwestern climate, not with midwestern vegetation. Everything says “more study is needed.” Yet Wisconsin, and to a lesser degree Minnesota, are siting LARGE solar projects without that “more study.”

Today an article popped up, and the timing is interesting, as just the last two weeks this has been raised in solar dockets in Wisconsin, the Grant County Solar (PSC Docket 9804-CE-100) and Wisconsin Power & Light’s docket to acquire SIX solar projects, including Grant County Solar (PSC Docket 6680-CE-182).

The article referenced this study, released in December, 2020:

There are a few parts that are striking, this sentence in particular:

Solar farms tend to promote more favorable conditions for tropical cyclone development.

This is testimony from Wisconsin PSC’s Burtley regarding heat island effect in the PSC’s 6680-CE-182 docket:

Well, that’s pretty clear!!

We put some studies into the Grant County Solar docket, 9804-CE-100:

These are, individually 5 a, b, and c, above:

More study, NOW! And yet, knowing there is not enough info, that more info is needed, Wisconsin’s Public Service Commission is siting thousands of acres of solar, ignoring the brownfield statute that would facilitate distributed generation, impacts be damned!

UPDATE: IT’S BAAAAAAAAAAACK!

Try www.nerc.com and this is what you get today!

And if you want the 2020 Reliability Assessment, at https://www.nerc.com/pa/RAPA/ra/Reliability%20Assessments%20DL/NERC_LTRA_2020_Errata.pdf, here’s what you get:

Here’s the downloaded NERC Long Term Reliability Assessment 2020:

OH NOOOOOO, I DIDN’T DOWNLOAD IT!! Here it is, thanks to Wayback:

NERC completely disappears. Is that weird or what? I’ve been posting the 2020 Reliability Assessment all over, because the extent of misinformation being pushed, folks trying to blame blackout on wind is absolutely a disinformation campaign, and the clear denial of ERCOT of any potential for reliability issues is stunning.

Here’s the ERCOT generation mix, p. 140 of the NERC Long Term Reliability Report:

And delusional paragraph on upper right of p. 140:

Got that first sentence? “ERCOT does not foresee any adverse reliability concerns for the Texas RE-ERCOT assessment area associated iwth fuel supply or fuel deliverability constraints.” Ummmmm… right…

Xcel Energy’s 10-K for 2020 is out:

Peak demand remains under 9,000MW:

Note the peak was 2006, we got close in 2011, but not above that 2006 peak. Right now, we’re 1,200MW below that 2006 peak, essentially the equivalent of Prairie Island nuclear plant’s two reactors.

We’ve got the surplus generation to make some choices, folks…

That’s the ERCOT LMP map as of 9:53 a.m., 2/17/2021:

Texas largely relies on natural gas for power. It wasn’t ready for the extreme cold.

From the article:

Yes, Texas is heavily reliant on natural gas, so when natural gas fails “in the most spectacular fashion,” Houston, we have a problem:

That chart is from the NERC Reliability Assessment 2020, and the Texas (ERCOT) section begins on p. 137. Note this tidbit on p. 140 — clearly not effective:

Ummmm… “ERCOT does not foresee any adverse reliability concerns for the Texas RE-ERCOT assessment area associated with fuel supply or fuel deliverability constraints.”

But millions across Texas are not laughing… and some have died.

The Texas blackout crosses the border, where’s that wall when they need it:

Natural gas shortage in Texas causes blackout in Northern Mexico

Texas’ natural gas production just froze under pressure

From the article:

Natural gas wells and pipes ill-equipped for cold weather are a big reason why millions of Texans lost power during frigid temperatures this week. As temperatures dropped to record lows across some parts of the state, liquid inside wells, pipes, and valves froze solid.

Ice can block gas flow, clogging pipes. It’s a phenomenon called a “freeze-off” that disrupts gas production across the US every winter. But freeze-offs can have outsized effects in Texas, as we’ve seen this week. The state is a huge natural gas producer — and it doesn’t usually have to deal with such cold weather.

…

They aren’t the only problem when it comes to energy in Texas. The power outages have also stopped natural gas pumping facilities. In fact, over the past few days, just about everything that could go wrong has failed spectacularly. And the finger-pointing is only getting started. Texas Gov. Greg Abbott called for an investigation into why blackouts were so widespread.

“This was a total failure by ERCOT,” Abbott told KTRK Houston. “ERCOT stands for Electric Reliability Council of Texas, and they showed that they were not reliable.”

And here’s the gas industry downplaying and butt covering:

No Easy Answers as Texas Power Grid, Natural Gas Market Rocked by Unprecedented Cold Snap

And there are many mothballed gas plants around Texas with lots of transmission, the perfect place for siting wind and solar without a need for more transmission — the infrastructure is their waiting to be used. From Legalectric in 2007:

At least 11,500MW mothballed in Texas

And for those participating in the disinformation campaign, REAL NEWS:

Why Wind Turbines In Cold Climates Don’t Freeze: De-Icing And Carbon Fiber

p.s. Here’s MISO LMP at 10:55 a.m. 2/17/2021 — why orange up here, what’s that about: