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  • Texas grid failure fueled by rigid politics

    Greg Whiting|Jan 4, 2023

    The February 2021 Texas energy crisis affected millions of people for up to four days. Its worst effects was where the Electric Reliability Council of Texas manages an electric grid which operates independently from the much larger eastern and western U.S. electric grids. The crisis caused hundreds of deaths from the cold. Some individual homeowners’ monthly electric bills increased to thousands of dollars. The total economic cost was nearly $200 billion. It could have been worse. The c...

  • Big plants failed in Texas electric supply crisis

    Greg Whiting|Dec 28, 2022

    What caused the February 2021 Texas electric supply crisis? Prolonged, unexpected cold weather created unexpectedly high electric and gas demand. Supply systems could not keep up. If farmers grow too much wheat, you get a big pile of wheat. If utilities generate too much electricity, overproduction does not create a big pile of electricity. It just heats up the transmission wires. Electric storage systems exist, but Texas does not have the elevation changes required for large scale...

  • Texas regulations failed electricity customers

    Greg Whiting|Dec 21, 2022

    In February 2021, Texas had unusually cold weather, resulting in an electric energy supply crisis. Millions of customers were without power for up to four days, during the coldest days of the year. Retail prices went up dramatically, and some customers received monthly bills for more than ten thousand dollars. Initial news reports assigned the blame for both the reliability issues and the costs to Texas utilities increasing the amount of renewable energy on its grid. What really happened in the...

  • An all-electric future without oil is possible

    Greg Whiting|Dec 14, 2022

    Let’s update the energy independence question: Is it possible for the U.S. to develop and maintain stable supplies of energy, which are not subject to significant price volatility or the whims of foreign governments, and which are simultaneously low enough to maintain a modern, growing society? Yes. It is a convenient truth that doing so would also substantially reduce America’s carbon footprint. Eliminating the economic ups and downs caused by volatile oil prices; achieving security of ene...

  • The path to U.S. energy independence

    Greg Whiting|Dec 7, 2022

    The path to energy independence leads through "competition with oil," not "more oil." We've already seen such competition happen. In 1973, a sixth of U.S. electricity was generated using oil. Today, total generation has more than doubled, but almost no U.S. electricity is powered by oil. Think about that. In one of the four major energy sectors (electricity, domestic heat, industrial process heat and transportation) we are already energy independent. All U.S. electricity is produced in the US,...

  • U.S. cannot drill, frack and pump its way to oil independence

    Greg Whiting|Nov 30, 2022

    The United States can become energy independent. We can develop an energy infrastructure with stable prices low enough to support a modern, growing society. Although much of the discussion about energy independence revolves around increasing U.S. oil production, doing so is not sufficient to achieve America's energy independence goals. Increased domestic oil production cannot result in long-term low, stable oil prices. American production cannot stabilize oil prices, no matter how much oil the...

  • Would removing all limits on oil production make the U.S. energy independent?

    Greg Whiting|Nov 23, 2022

    Removing all limits on U.S. oil production will reduce oil prices, if other countries do not reduce their supplies to match our increased supplies. Is that energy independence? Energy independence in the United States offers three possibilities for us: low energy prices, stable energy prices and energy prices unaffected by the actions of foreign governments. How did energy independence become important? The price of oil was $3.38 a barrel in October 1973. Then, OPEC, the Organization of...

  • Coal costs more to generate electricity

    Greg Whiting|Nov 16, 2022

    Can you replace coal-fired electric generation with solar power even though the sun isn't up 24 hours a day? Are coal mines closing because of economics, or is it just politics? As mentioned in my first column, my father got a lifetime achievement award from the coal industry. I've been underground in coal mines. I grew up with positive dinner table talk about coal: The U.S. has hundreds of years of coal reserves. "Mine-mouth" generation was eliminating the need to ship coal before burning it....

  • Heat pumps practical for cooling, heating and reducing energy use and costs

    Greg Whiting|Nov 9, 2022

    Is it possible to reduce your energy bill and carbon dioxide emissions and get air conditioning for a home that didn't have it, all at the same time? Sometimes it is. Changing your home's climate control system to a heat pump, from the typical Washington combination of a gas furnace or electric resistance units and no air conditioner, may reduce your energy costs significantly even though doing this adds air conditioning. You are likely to save more energy during the heating season while the...

  • Get paid to use less electricity

    Greg Whiting|Oct 26, 2022

    Your electric and gas utilities will pay you to reduce your energy use. They will pay you to pay them less. Electric and gas utilities will often pay part of the cost of buying and installing new appliances, lighting and temperature control equipment in residential, commercial, government and industrial buildings. These programs are usually structured to encourage faster adoption of new technologies, but sometimes they provide incentives to replace particularly old technologies. Puget Sound...

  • Getting a charge from driving

    Greg Whiting|Oct 12, 2022

    Driving distances between charges (range), and charging station availability, are usually the biggest uncertainties people have about whether an electric vehicle (EV) will work for them. Both are improving fast. Almost everyone who owns an EV charges it at home or work. By charging during the workday, or overnight, you can start each day with the batteries at full capacity. However, most EVs won't need to be charged every day. In rural areas, American drivers average 49 miles a day. Practically...

  • Getting electric vehicles recharged

    Greg Whiting|Oct 5, 2022

    By Greg Whiting Where's the electricity for electric vehicles going to come from? Why has California recently asked people to stop charging electric cars and, at the same time, changed regulations so that only electric cars will be sold there in 2035? As EVs grow to a larger fraction of the vehicle population, they can be expected to help, not hurt, both power availability and grid stability. Most electricity for EVs can be produced simply by running existing power plants more. During non-peak...

  • Electric vehicles are in your car buying future

    Greg Whiting|Sep 28, 2022

    By Greg Whiting What's the quickest way to significantly reduce how much you pay for energy, make the U.S. more energy independent and reduce your carbon footprint? The answer is the same for all three questions. Buy an electric vehicle, called an EV, and use it as much as possible instead of a gasoline-powered car. (Hybrids will also help, but not as much.) If you haven't driven an EV, try one. They're fun. With no mechanical inertia, and instant torque at the wheels, a subcompact EV...

  • Locals advancing energy transition solution in the Skagit Valley

    Greg Whiting|Sep 7, 2022

    By Greg Whiting Do you want more control over your electric, heat and fuel bills? More stable energy bills? A more reliable and resilient power grid? Less dependence on foreign oil? Less acid rain? Reduced emissions of particulates and carbon soot (which cause lung issues)? Reduced carbon dioxide (which is a factor in climate and ocean acidification issues)? Such outcomes are nOt science fiction or an environmentalist's fantasy. They are attainable now, using existing, proven, cost-effective...

  • An insider's guide to our energy transition

    Greg Whiting|Aug 31, 2022

    Unpredictable gasoline and heating costs. Reliable electricity. Wars in the middle east and Ukraine. Energy independence. The environment. And more. The energy industry affects almost everything, from the price of groceries to geopolitics. People have reacted to energy issues by developing new technologies and policies for the production, delivery and use of energy. These innovations are being adopted faster than energy professionals believed possible 20 years ago. You are probably aware of...