Author Topic: Tesla request reveals deep divide among agencies over battery power  (Read 259 times)

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Offline Elderberry

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Houston Chronicle by  L.M. Sixel May 18, 2020

A simmering dispute between the state’s electric grid manager and the Public Utility Commission has burst into view over a request by Tesla to make it easier to develop battery storage systems in Texas.

The electric carmaker’s request before a committee of Electric Reliability Council of Texas, wouldn’t normally attract much attention. But Texas regulators and ERCOT have been struggling for more than two years over how to accommodate developing battery storage technology that experts predict could accelerate demand for renewable energy sources and ultimately reduce electricity prices.

Large batteries can be charged from solar units or other forms of energy at night when power is cheapest and the stored energy sold when prices peak during midday. But Texas has been slow to adopt the technology, treating battery storage as a form of power generation and retail consumption with big cooling systems instead of just one integrated network.

One Texas regulator said he’s embarrassed by the time it has taken for the state to nimbly embrace new technology.

“This is the kind of thing Texas should be able to adopt to,” Commissioner Arthur C. D’Andrea said. “When there is a new technology, a new way of doing things, we embrace it and pull it into the market and we make it work.”

More: https://www.houstonchronicle.com/business/energy/article/Tesla-request-reveals-deep-divide-among-agencies-15278296.php