The demand for electricity is generally at its peak during summer afternoons, when many people use their air conditioners. Until this year, the bulk power system — the network of generators and transmission lines — met this demand through hydropower and fossil fuel generation. What a shift this past summer … [continued]
Last summer, U.S. electricity demand in the Lower 48 states was greatest at 6:00 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time on July 15, 2024, when it reached about 745 gigawatthours (GWh), based on data in our Hourly Electric Grid Monitor. In our analysis, we calculate each day’s peak according to the hour with … [continued]
The beleaguered Texas power grid could get some much-needed help from the proposed Southern Spirit transmission line, except for a monkey wrench thrown into the works by state legislators in Louisiana.
In the United States, electricity consumption is growing fastest in Texas, where the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) manages 90% of the load on the state’s power grid. One of the main sources of growing demand for power is large-scale computing facilities such as data centers and cryptocurrency mining operations, … [continued]
We are pleased to announce a new study that examines the value of adding batteries to wind and solar plants located in areas that face transmission congestion. We examine two types of areas facing transmission congestion. These areas represent portions of Regional Transmission Organizations (RTOs) or Independent System Operators (ISO) territory selected … [continued]
Small-scale solar arrays, wind turbines, and other distributed resources are turning ratepayers from consumers into renewable energy heroes.
Renewable energy makes strange bedfellows, as illustrated by the hookup between Texas, the proposed new TXSE exchange, and the ESG-friendly financial powerhouse BlackRock.
The Renewables and Wholesale Electricity Prices (ReWEP) visualization tool from Berkeley Lab has been updated with nodal electricity pricing and wind and solar generation data through the end of 2023: https://emp.lbl.gov/renewables-and-wholesale-electricity-prices-rewep. ReWEP users can explore trends in wholesale electricity prices and their relationship to wind and solar generation. ReWEP includes … [continued]
The electricity mix of energy sources in Texas, managed by the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) electricity grid operator, changed noticeably in 2023. Although wind power remains the largest source of renewable power in the state, the installation of new wind turbine capacity slowed in 2023, while additions of … [continued]
Texas continues to rack up the renewable energy wins with a record-breaking month for solar power capping a surge past coal.
