Wind power experts say Texas grid needs work
HOUSTON, TEXAS - Problems integrating a rising amount of wind-generated electricity into the Texas wholesale power market may slow short-term development, but won't deter long-term prospects for local wind generators, industry sources said.
Strong spring wind production in West Texas has been trapped as major transmission lines undergo seasonal maintenance. The lack of sufficient transmission capacity to move wind power from sparsely populated West Texas to densely populated North Texas has led to low on-peak prices and some negative off-peak prices in trading in the ERCOT West zone and for "seller's choice" power.
"Small companies may get spooked" by the low prices, said Declan Flanagan, chief executive of E.ON Climate & Renewables North America which hopes to double its U.S. wind generation to 1,150 megawatts by early next year.
As market participants and regulators develop large, new transmission lines to take advantage of the state's wind resource, the market for wind will stabilize, Flanagan told the Gulf Coast Power Association conference in Houston.
"Long-term, ERCOT is a growing market, driven by natural gas" that will continue to attract thousands of megawatts of new wind generation," he said.
Related News
Power outage update: 252,596 remain without electricity Wednesday
EASTERN CAROLINA - Power is slowly being restored to Eastern Carolina residents after Hurricane Florence made landfall near Wilmington on Friday, September 15.
On Monday, more than half a million people remained without power across the state.
As of Wednesday morning at 1am, the Dept. of Public Safety reports 252,596 total power outages in North Carolina.
More than half of those customers are in Eastern Carolina.
More than 32,000 customers are without power in Carteret County and roughly 21,000 are without power in Onslow County.
In Craven County, roughly 15,000 people remain without power Wednesday morning.
Many of the state's outages are effecting the Wilmington area,…
