The week in TexasNuclear NewsPower & OperationsFebruary 19, 2021, 11:55AM|Nuclear News StaffMaybe everything really is bigger in Texas, but that’s not necessarily a good thing. The brutal winter storm that hit much of the country earlier this week struck the Lone Star State with particular severity, leaving the power grid in shambles and millions of Texas residents without power, in many instances for days. On Tuesday, at the height of the power crisis, more than 4.4 million utility customers were without access to electricity, according to poweroutage.us.So what happened? The storm’s frigid temperatures—in some cases reaching rarely-seen-in-Texas single digits—caused electricity demand to soar to record winter levels and power generation units to trip off line, rendering them unavailable. The resulting demand-supply imbalance forced the state’s grid operator, the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT), to begin implementing rotating outages, also known as rolling blackouts, early Monday morning.While critics of renewables were quick to point an accusing finger at frozen wind turbines, ERCOT later confirmed that failures across the state’s natural gas operations and supply chains were the primary factor in the power supply drop. In times of extreme cold, natural gas suppliers often prioritize delivery to residential heating customers over power plants, exacerbating the shortfall for electricity generation."The blackouts were caused because Texas generates most of its electricity from natural gas and wind,” noted columnist James Conca in his February 19 post on Forbes. “Texas’s electricity mix is now 52 percent natural gas, 23 percent renewables (almost all wind), 17 percent coal, and 8 percent nuclear. In this cold snap, gas used for heating increased dramatically, removing much of it from generating electricity. Some pipelines froze up and couldn’t deliver, and there just isn’t enough pipeline capacity."By Wednesday evening, approximately 43,000 MW of generation had been forced off the system during the weather event—26,500 MW from thermal generators and nearly 17,000 MW from renewables, according to ERCOT.Even one of the state’s nuclear units succumbed: STP Nuclear Operating Company’s South Texas Project-1, located in Bay City, Texas. The company reported an automatic trip of the unit to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission early Monday. The cause, according to STP, was a cold weather–induced failure of a feedwater pressure sensing line. Rod Adams, on his Atomic Insights blog, noted, “Some people have wondered how [such lines] could have been affected by cold outside air temperatures. There are no turbine halls at STP; both of the steam turbines are out in the open air.”The unit reconnected to the grid Wednesday evening and was back up to 100 percent power on Thursday.“STP recognizes the hardships our fellow Texans are experiencing due to the combination of cold weather and not having electricity and heat in their homes and businesses,” said Jim Connolly, the company’s chief nuclear officer. “We have experienced an unprecedented cold weather event statewide, which presented a challenge to our systems. We will conduct a full review of the causes of this loss of generation and apply appropriate preventive and corrective actions to continuously improve the reliability of our units.”AbbotGrilling the grid keeper: Responding to the week’s grid failures in a local TV interview on Tuesday, Texas governor Greg Abbott called for resignations at ERCOT. “This was a total failure by ERCOT,” Abbott said. “ERCOT stands for Electric Reliability Council of Texas ... and they showed that they were not reliable. These are specialists, and government has to rely upon these specialists to be able to deliver in these types of situations.”Abbott also on Tuesday declared the reform of ERCOT an emergency item for the current legislative session. “The governor is calling on the legislature to investigate ERCOT and ensure Texans never again experience power outages on the scale they have seen over the past several days,” stated a press release from Abbott’s office.In addition, Abbott announced Thursday that he will ask the Texas legislature to mandate the winterization of the state’s power system and ensure the necessary funding for the project.Enter the feds: Because the Texas grid is an independent system, oversight of ERCOT lies largely with state lawmakers and the Public Utility Commission of Texas. The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, however, does enjoy jurisdiction when it comes to issues of electric grid reliability, and on February 16, FERC and the North American Electric Reliability Corporation announced that they would be opening a “joint inquiry into the operations of the bulk-power system during the extreme winter weather conditions currently being experienced by the Midwest and South Central states.” The regulators added that they “will work with other federal agencies, states, regional entities, and utilities to identify problems with the performance of the bulk-power system and, where appropriate, solutions for addressing those issues.”Some advice: At least one grid analyst, Meredith Angwin, author of the recent book Shorting the Grid: The Hidden Fragility of Our Electric Grid, looks at Texas—with its emphasis on large fleets of natural gas plants and wind turbines—and spots some obvious problems.“Fuel stored on site is, in my opinion, the most important thing that can keep the grid up,” Angwin told Newswire. “You can do that with nuclear, of course—that’s the best—but you can also do it with coal or oil. Plus, Texas depends too heavily on renewables, which aren’t very reliable, and on just-in-time natural gas, which can be interrupted in winter by a frozen valve.”ERCOT, FERC, and many other parties involved will put together a detailed list of lessons learned, but perhaps the main takeaway is this: In a world with Texas-sized polar vortices, reliability has never been more important.Tags:bulk-power systemercotfercsouth texas projectstp nuclear operating companyShare:LinkedInTwitterFacebook
FERC to look at grid reliabilitySpurred by last week’s power grid failure in Texas, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission on Monday announced that it will open a new proceeding to examine the threat that climate change and extreme weather events pose to electric reliability. The proceeding, FERC said, will investigate how grid operators prepare for and respond to these events, including droughts, extreme cold, wildfires, hurricanes, and prolonged heat waves.Go to Article
Gates highlights nuclear’s role in fighting climate changeGatesBill Gates is making the media rounds to promote his new book, How to Avoid a Climate Disaster: The Solutions We Have and the Breakthroughs We Need, which was released on Tuesday. Along the way, he’s been touting nuclear energy as part of his master plan for battling climate change.60 Minutes: Gates kicked off the week with an appearance on 60 Minutes on Sunday. During the nearly 15-minute segment with correspondent Anderson Cooper, Gates discussed TerraPower, the company he founded in 2006 that is dedicated to nuclear innovation. “Nuclear power can be done in a way that none of those failures of the past would recur, because just the physics of how it's built,” Gates said, referring to TerraPower’s Natrium reactor. “I admit, convincing people of that will be almost as hard as actually building it. But since it may be necessary to avoid climate change, we shouldn't give up.”Go to Article
ANS touts benefits of nuclear energy in letter to FERCThe American Nuclear Society recommended that the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) consider recognizing the reliability and resiliency benefits that carbon-free nuclear electricity generation provides to the bulk power system. ANS President Mary Lou Dunzik-Gougar and Executive Director/CEO Craig Piercy submitted these comments in a letter during a FERC meeting on Thursday morning.Go to Article
Glick chosen to head FERCGlickThis morning, on his first full day in office, President Joe Biden appointed Richard Glick chairman of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. Glick joined FERC as a commissioner in late 2017, having been picked for the job by President Trump in August of that year. His term ends June 30, 2022.“I'm honored President Joe Biden has selected me to be @FERC Chairman, thank you Mr. @POTUS,” Glick tweeted. “This is an important moment to make significant progress on the transition to a clean energy future. I look forward to working with my colleagues to tackle the many challenges ahead!”Go to Article
Senate approves Trump’s FERC nomineesChristieClementsThe Senate has confirmed the nominations of Republican Mark Christie and Democrat Allison Clements to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission by voice vote, bringing the agency to its full, five-member complement for the first time since before Cheryl LaFleur departed in August of last year.The chamber’s Energy and Natural Resources Committee voted on November 18 to advance the pair to the full Senate for confirmation, following their testimony before the committee in September. President Trump announced his intention to nominate Christie and Clements in July.Go to Article
American Nuclear Society files FERC comments on Diablo Canyon’s early closureLa Grange Park, IL – The American Nuclear Society (ANS) has submitted comments to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) in favor of reconsidering the shortsighted decision to shutter prematurely California’s largest clean energy resource, Diablo Canyon nuclear power plant.ANS filed the comments on Nov. 12 in favor of an Oct. 26 complaint by Californians for Green Nuclear Power against the regulatory approvals of the 2016 decision by Pacific Gas & Electric Co. to permanently shutter Diablo Canyon Units 1 and 2 in November 2024 and August 2025, respectively. The complaint (Docket No. EL21-13-000) asked FERC to investigate whether the decision shuttering Diablo Canyon violates grid reliability standards. ANS agrees with the complaint that FERC ought to consider fully the negative consequences and reliability risks posed by a premature retirement of Diablo Canyon.Go to Article
ANS backs effort to save Diablo CanyonDiablo Canyon nuclear plant. Photo: PG&EThe American Nuclear Society has submitted a letter to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission in support of a complaint recently filed by a nuclear advocacy group regarding the 2016 decision to prematurely retire the Diablo Canyon nuclear plant.The letter was signed by ANS Executive Director and CEO Craig Piercy and President Mary Lou Dunzik-Gougar.Go to Article
Chatterjee out as FERC chairman, Danly inChatterjeeThe Trump administration on November 5 removed Neil Chatterjee from the chairmanship of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, replacing him with fellow Republican James Danly, who was confirmed to a seat on the commission in March.Chatterjee joined FERC in 2017, serving as chairman from August to December 2017. He returned to the leadership role in October 2018, following the departure of Kevin McIntyre. In a tweet, Chatterjee said that he intends to complete his term, which expires in June 2021.Go to Article
Complaint filed with FERC to save Diablo Canyon from early closureA nuclear advocacy group is asking the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to review the approval by California regulators of the decision by Pacific Gas and Electric in 2016 to prematurely retire its Diablo Canyon plant—the Golden State’s only remaining operating nuclear power facility—in 2025.On October 26, the nonprofit organization Californians for Green Nuclear Power Inc. (CGNP) filed a 32-page complaint with FERC in the matter, listing as respondents the North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC), Western Electricity Coordinating Council (WECC), California Independent System Operator (CAISO), California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC), California State Water Resources Control Board (CSWRCB), and California State Lands Commission (CSLC).Go to Article
EIA: Nine of top 10 electricity generators in 2019 were nuclear plantsGraph: EIAOf the 10 U.S. power plants that generated the most electricity in 2019, nine were nuclear plants, a recent report from the U.S. Energy Information Administration states.These 10 facilities produced a combined 230 million megawatt hours of electricity last year, accounting for 5.6 percent of all electricity generation in the United States, according to the report. The report also notes a shift in the makeup of the top plants over the past 10 years, from a mix of nuclear and coal-fired generators in 2010 to nearly all nuclear in 2019.Coal’s share of U.S. electricity generation dropped from 45 percent in 2010 to 23 percent in 2019, the reports says. Stricter air emission standards and decreased cost competitiveness relative to other generators are given as the key reasons for coal’s decade of decline.Go to Article