How are State Grids Doing This Summer?

Now that summer is underway, all eyes are on the grid to see if they will hold up under the heat. With 50 states, the US has different energy systems and climates. This reality has invited a lot of reporting on these stories for the positives and negatives of how state grids are doing. Below are some of those updates.

The first story notes that Texas’s grid is holding up under the extreme heat that Texas is accustomed to receiving. This is a big deal for any state, but especially Texas because they are known to have intense heat in the summer and the state has so many people. Furthermore, everyone still remembers their grid problems from the winter. Interestingly, sources are accrediting the grid’s survival partly due to the use of solar panels. In the US, people often consider solar power to be some “left-wing” solution, and while Texas has gotten less conservative in the last few years, it still has a lot of conservative policies. Moreover, many consider the Texas industry to being all about fossil fuels.

This is particularly interesting since some of these fossil fuel plants have actually crashed amid increases in energy use. Solar energy has been picking up the slack. In fact, the use of solar power is twice what it was in early 2022. It has accounted for 15 percent of Texas’s energy. Part of the success is attributed to improvements in battery storage. Texas is only behind California in terms of capacity of battery storage. Logically, things should work this way because Texas has the second largest number of people living there behind California. Additionally, Texas and California are known for having a lot of sun, so they likely can consistently make use of solar more than most other states.

Many on the left seem quick to have an “I told you so” attitude for those on the right that doubted solar energy. Perhaps some of that is called for. But Texas still does use a lot of energy that people on the left oppose. So it would be interesting to see a breakdown of Texas’s energy sources and see what states have wildly distributions from source. It would also be interesting to compare Texas’s climate to other states. On one hand Texas has a lot more solar availability, but that solar availability does drive the need for air conditioning.

Up in Wisconsin, there is the typical story of people in the state fearing the grid crashing if heat gets worse. Many on the right are blaming renewable energy. Wisconsin, like much of the midwest, has extreme winters and summers. For now, most energy officials feel the grid is fine, but if heat spikes, then things could get worse. 

Despite the outcry it seems the state is moving towards a solution. Over the last decade Wisconsin had a Republican Governor and state legislature, and though they have a Democrat Governor now, they still have a Republican state legislature. So this has forced a more moderate and encompassing energy plan. Everyone in the state seems in agreement that nuclear energy is worth pursuing. Additionally, really the groups pushing to decrease fossil fuel are energy companies that are also developing new forms of energy.

These stories can seem sensational and be annoying, but if they encourage people to come up with new sources of energy, they are not the worst thing.

Finally, in Tennessee, the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) says that the state’s grid should be able to handle the increased heat. Tennessee also has hotter summers and the TVA sometimes has to ask people to voluntarily assist in reducing the strain on the grid, but they have not had to do that so far. The TVA has also assured people that they are investing in further ways to increase the sustainability of the grid. 

The TVA has existed for about 90 years, it is well-versed in adapting to changes. Still it is best to not just assume the TVA has it covered, so it is good they are putting out announcements. It would be interesting to see what they are doing in terms of new developments, and how they compare with other states.