Power Failures Amplify Calls for Utility to Rethink Gas

[mahatmakanejeeves]

Source: Associated Press, via USN&WR

Power Failures Amplify Calls for Utility to Rethink Gas

A federal utility’s decision to resort to rolling blackouts after coal and natural gas units went offline during dangerously cold conditions has intensified questions about the Tennessee Valley Authority’s recent decision to double down on fossil fuels

By Associated Press | Dec. 31, 2022, at 10:56 a.m.

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — A federal utility’s decision to resort to rolling blackouts after coal and natural gas units went offline during dangerously cold conditions has intensified questions about the Tennessee Valley Authority's recent decision to double down on fossil fuels.

TVA experienced its highest ever winter peak-power demand on Dec. 23 as an arctic blast brought blinding blizzards, freezing rain and frigid cold from Maine to Seattle. The Tennessee Valley Authority said in an email that a combination of high winds and freezing temperatures caused its coal-burning Cumberland Fossil Plant to go offline at one point when critical instrumentation froze up. A second coal-burning plant, Bull Run, also went offline, TVA spokesman Scott Brooks said in an email, although he did not provide details. The utility “had issues at some of our natural gas units” as well, Brooks said.

“The Tennessee Valley Authority’s coal and gas plants failed us over the holiday weekend. People across the Tennessee Valley were forced to deal with rolling blackouts, even as temperatures plunged into the single digits,” Southern Environmental Law Center Tennessee Office Director Amanda Garcia said in an email. “Despite this obvious failure, the federal utility is still planning to spend billions to build new gas plants and pipelines."

TVA provides power to 10 million people in parts of seven Southern states. The federal utility issued a statement on Wednesday saying it takes full responsibility for the rolling blackouts on Dec. 23 and Dec. 24, just as many customers were preparing for Christmas. ... “We are conducting a thorough review of what occurred and why. We are committed to sharing these lessons learned and – more importantly – the corrective actions we take in the weeks ahead to ensure we are prepared to manage significant events in the future,” the statement read.

{snip}

Read more: https://www.usnews.com/news/us/articles/2022-12-31/power-failures-amplify-calls-for-utility-to-rethink-gas

[progree]

1. "the federal utility is still planning to spend billions to build new gas plants and pipelines"

Last edited Sat Dec 31, 2022, 03:58 PM - Edit history (2)

Not to mention the impact of fossil fuel burning (greenhouse gasses) on climate change.

Edit Replaced the original title line,
“Despite this obvious failure, the federal utility is still planning to spend billions to build new gas plants and pipelines."

by removing the "despite the obvious failure". Thanks to the comment downstream. I am fully aware -- having worked as an engineer in the power supply planning and in the system operations planning for a utility in Minnesota for 17 years, that natural gas plants and instrumentation can be designed to work perfectly well in sub-freezing conditions.

I'm simply pointing out that we are still planning to build fossil fuel burning plants, and, yes, I'm fully aware that if it really is a one-to-one replacement of coal plants, that natural gas plants have about half the carbon emissions as coal plants, though there's some additional methane gas leaking into the atmosphere with natural gas infrastructure, and estimates of the amount keep increasing.

It is arguable how much of the replacement of coal-fired plants needs to be done with new natural gas plants, and how much can be done with solar and wind and batteries and nuclear and customer efficiency improvements like heat pumps-- and the timing of all that -- we're having that debate in Minnesota. About a year or so ago, Xcel Energy backed off on building a new 600 MW natural gas-fired power plant.

[Alexander Of Assyria]

2. Think lot of that is natural gas to replace the coal...this was all caused by instruments freezing.

Natural gas still needed in the transition to reliable clean energy, more so in frigid areas…even if frigid for a week every year.

How does instruments freezing causing failures at the gas and coal plants tie in to stopping future natural gas plants replacing coal plants? Does tie in to replacing the instruments.

[dalton99a]

3. Kick

[ProfessorGAC]

4. While I Support Alternatives To Fossil Fuel Generation...

...there's nothing in that article that pins the cause of the problem on the fuel.
Aside from nuclear, if hardware isn't properly protected against cold and ice, outages could still occur.
Not sure that having them burn renewables solves their issues. And solar could be an issue as they clearly don't understand winterizing well enough. Installing solar or wind generation doesn't logically lead to being smarter about avoiding weather related issues.
Last point, combustion of renewable fuel is not a great alternative to natural gas. The ratio of power produced to CO2 generated is far inferior to methane. 1# of methane generates 2.75# of CO2, but provides about 52 million Joules. Biodiesel only makes 2.67# of CO2 per pound of fuel, but would only provide about 18 million Joules. So, the CO2 per unit energy is worse by around 2.5.
Alternative fuels are not a climate change solution.

[oldsoftie]

6. Too many just dont want to accept reality.

I've been preaching it for years but what power do I have other than my one vote!
Nuclear is currently the ONLY way to go.

[Maggiemayhem]

5. My daughter is on natural gas .

The furnaces today don’t work when the power is out. This is something no one talks about.

[70sEraVet]

8. Installing a wall-mounted, natural gas non-venting space heater in a central location

would be a cheap solution.
We've used them for years, and these days they have good safety features.

[cstanleytech]

7. How about simply updating the power grid?

[jmowreader]

13. You need something to put in the grid

[myohmy2]

9. to me...

...this just amplifies the need to expedite the building of fusion reactors...

...didn't they just prove they can produce 1/3 more energy output than they put in...?

...unless it's bullshit, that should be good enough to start prototyping something...

...let's go...

[airplaneman]

10. Fusion has always been 50 years away - it still is 50 years away n/t.

There are 2 Q's
The fusion itself which has barely broken even or a Q(plasma) of about 1.
The Q(total) for the whole system - you must be greater than (plasma)30 to make more energy than you put in and actually add power to the grid.


There are some good video's on Youtube about this

-Airplane

[paleotn]

15. Maybe you'll live long enough to see that...but I'd bet serious money you won't.

[myohmy2]

17. +1...

...

[Kennah]

11. Hydrogen fuel cells are 10 years away

And they've been 10 years away for the last 50 years.

[IronLionZion]

12. GOP is blaming the nonexistent green new deal

They're falsely claiming green energy failed causing blackouts.

[paleotn]

14. Fossil plants operate just fine in places where those temps are common in the Winter.

And they're not THAT uncommon in the Tennessee Valley. I grew up there and well remember cold snaps that were even worse, yet we had no rolling blackouts. Sounds like poor maintenance and design decisions in my mind. TVA is skimping...Again!

[hunter]

16. Some magical thinker decided proper winterizing would cost too much.

Thoughts and prayers are no replacement for solid engineering.

[twodogsbarking]

18. Gas bill Dec 2021 $115. 2022 $289. Same usage.

Living in Pa where gas is more than plentiful.