7 votes

Texas’ “failsafe” generators failed, risking weeks-long catastrophe

5 comments

  1. [5]
    skybrian
    Link
    From the article: [...]

    From the article:

    More than half of the state’s 28 black start generators, which are crucial for bringing a collapsed grid back to life, experienced outages themselves, according to a new report by The Wall Street Journal. Of the 13 primary generators, nine encountered trouble, as did six of 15 secondary generators acting as backups in case the primary backups failed. Some had trouble getting enough fuel to run, while others were damaged by the cold weather.

    [...]

    While one black start generator is theoretically enough to bring a grid back to life, the process would take an exceptionally long time, which is why grids have many such generators standing by.

    1. AugustusFerdinand
      Link Parent
      The actual important bit: 28 black start generators, 15 use natural gas which was already limited and was the main cause of the statewide power failures. The 13 remaining used fuel oil instead of...

      The actual important bit:

      Texas no longer has any hydroelectric black start facilities. All of its black start generators use natural gas as a primary fuel, and only 13 generators at six sites can use fuel oil as a backup. When natural gas supplies run short, generators without an alternate fuel source are unable to provide vital services to the grid.

      28 black start generators, 15 use natural gas which was already limited and was the main cause of the statewide power failures. The 13 remaining used fuel oil instead of natural gas and so those were still online.

      4 votes
    2. [3]
      ImmobileVoyager
      Link Parent
      [Meta] I really don't see the point of copy-pasting exerpts of the linked article, even less so for an article published by a mass-media organisation such as Ars Technica. Don't you trust the...

      [Meta] I really don't see the point of copy-pasting exerpts of the linked article, even less so for an article published by a mass-media organisation such as Ars Technica. Don't you trust the Tildes crowd to comprehend a 1,000-word article on the website of a general-audience magazine ?

      4 votes
      1. skybrian
        Link Parent
        I like to do it as a way of emphasizing what I think is important about the article. In this case I think Augustus did a better job as I was skimming too much.

        I like to do it as a way of emphasizing what I think is important about the article. In this case I think Augustus did a better job as I was skimming too much.

        4 votes
      2. monarda
        Link Parent
        I'm someone who appreciates the excerpts. There are a lot of articles to read, and the excerpts can oftentimes give me an idea if I want to click through. I don't have the time to click and read...

        I'm someone who appreciates the excerpts. There are a lot of articles to read, and the excerpts can oftentimes give me an idea if I want to click through. I don't have the time to click and read every interesting title that I see through the day. I often post excerpts because I'm not so good with words, and I want to emphasize some of the bits I particularly liked, or give the potential reader an idea of what the article is about.

        2 votes