Wind Power in Texas Actually Lowering Electricity Prices

[OKIsItJustMe]

http://www.reuters.com/article/mnEnergy/idUS274367829220090811

Wind Power in Texas Actually Lowering Electricity Prices

Tue Aug 11, 2009 3:39pm EDT

By BC Upham

When the Wall Street Journal praises wind power for lowering electricity prices, you know we've reached a benchmark in renewable energy.

A recent report from Bernstein Research, cited by a startled Journal blog post, concludes that in Texas, wind power may actually lower prices at certain times of day, by obviating the need to switch on costly natural-gas fired generators.

This is not a story about lowering emissions, per se. As the Bernstein report explains, wind turbines, combined with nuclear and coal generators, should create enough electricity for the state at "hours of relatively low demand," e.g. at night and during the winter, when the winds blow stronger, and demand is weaker.

Natural gas provides nearly 50% of Texans' electricity, but that power is mostly "on the margin," meaning it is turned on when all other sources of power are at full capacity.

…

[NNadir]

1. So what's the theory here, that...

http://tonto.eia.doe.gov/state/state_energy_profiles.cfm?sid=TX">13.02 is less than http://www.eia.doe.gov/cneaf/electricity/st_profiles/texas.html">10.11?

Since when does anyone take the Wall Street Journal, a wholly owned subsidiary of Fox News, seriously?

It seems to me that electricity prices in Texas have never been higher than they are right now, probably because wind power has done zero to phase out dangerous natural gas burning in Texas, with all respect to his holiness the natural gas salesman and natural gas billionaire T. Boone Pickens, whose been selling his gas promotional wind energy scheme loudly while selling, um, gas.

[DCKit]

3. Oh. You Again.

Just read up a bit on your pet "Wave/Sodium" nuclear reactors and, may I say, they scare the shit out of me - as they would if they were built 12,000 miles from anywhere I might possibly be on the face of this planet.

But the moon's just begging for that kind of technology.

[nosmokes]

2. Same here in Oregon

When we got the option three years ago to get100% of electric from wind we took it, even though we were supposed to be paying a premium surcharge on it. At the end of the first year we got refund of the full surcharge and then some because the wind was cheaper(albeit that included tax incentives and such) than the reglar juice.