Who's Ready for Electric?

Only 853 megawatts of battery capacity exist in Texas today. That is enough to meet only one-to-two hours of energy supply during times when renewable resources are lacking. Spoiler alert: that’s not enough.

This statistic, from the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas, is part of a growing concern about the adequacy of the electricity grid in Texas. And it’s a sub-narrative to the broader concern about the ability for power grids worldwide to meet demand for an ‘all-electric’ future that some are envisioning.

But back to Texas, where the Federal Reserve of Dallas states that renewable electricity amounted to one-quarter of the power consumed in 2020, up from just 8% in 2010. With more on the way and the idea that availability can be intermittent, renewables will continue to require backup from traditional power plants to meet electricity demand.

But as the winter storm of 2021 showed, even the best laid plans are no match for those of Mother Nature. Prolific amounts of snow dropped on Texas from February 14–15, which led to huge demand for electricity to heat homes and businesses. Insufficient winterization of power plants and natural gas facilities caused plants to go offline for maintenance, and subsequently, renewable generation became extremely low (i.e., the aforementioned two-to-three hours of supply).

So, are we really ready for electric?

If we all switched on our electric cars tomorrow, what would happen to the grid?

As demand for lithium-ION batteries increases, could a material called graphene provide an alternative?

Tony and Jonathan ponder these questions and more in this episode of In The Now podcast.