"The Texas grid is isolated from the rest of the U.S., so transmission of power from other states was not available to relieve those stuck in the cold."
Not quite true, as I understand it. We are able to buy from the eastern grid, but not from the western one. There is also a link to the Mexican grid.
There are questions about whether power could practically be imported to the Texas grid. Iirc, the interconnects exist but are undersized and not able to import the amount of power needed to replace that produced in the state.
How does it compare to a hydroelectric plant with a storage lake? IMO the hydro plant is an initially larger investment and has some impact on the surrounding area but it will last for generations. It can also run at full capacity within seconds and future efficiency improvements in generators are easily upgraded.
But it's over 50 years old at least and wouldn't have the control systems. Hornsdale has some pretty impressive software allowing it to go from charging to jumping in so fast.
Every power grid should be building a few of these installations at a minimum. They are just so effective at stabilizing grid frequency with sub-second response times between demand and load. With Texas wholesale power pricing and emergency rates I wouldn't be surprised to see smaller grid battery installations paired with existing natural gas generators to help improve their response to demand.
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[ 4.8 ms ] story [ 123 ms ] threadNot quite true, as I understand it. We are able to buy from the eastern grid, but not from the western one. There is also a link to the Mexican grid.
https://www.kut.org/energy-environment/2021-02-16/why-does-t...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pPkYoE8IYh8
But the Hornsdale unit has paid for itself multiple times, and shown how a battery at this scale can support every other asset on the grid.
https://reneweconomy.wpengine.com/tesla-big-battery-outsmart...
https://reneweconomy.wpengine.com/tesla-big-batterys-stunnin...
But it's over 50 years old at least and wouldn't have the control systems. Hornsdale has some pretty impressive software allowing it to go from charging to jumping in so fast.