The Texas energy crisis reminded us how precarious energy systems are and how costly failure is. At least 58 deaths are confirmed [1] , over 17M homes lost access to clean water [2], and $200B in property damages[3] are projected. As an energy efficiency startup, COI is writing this retrospective analysis to clearly present what went wrong and share the technical solutions we’re developing for energy resilience and sustainability.
American infrastructure has a troubling history of being crippled by extreme weather. The latest Texas crisis was an extreme recapitulation of when cold air masses disabled the Texas grid in 2011 and 1989 [4]. Warning signs were dismissed, as they have been elsewhere: consider the Northeast’s heat-induced grid failure in 2003[5], California’s rolling summer blackouts [6] and countless related incidents.
These incidents demonstrate how blackouts will become regular occurrences until energy systems are better weatherized. Weatherization is the process of making systems resilient to extreme conditions; winterization is the form of weatherization that protects infrastructure from cold temperatures, e.g. with insulation. Due to a systemic lack of winterization, Texas’ energy systems failed when the cold front hit. While other regions of the nation are better winterized, none are fully prepared to withstand the climate change-driven epidemic of extreme weather. Recurring blackouts will continue and intensify until the status quo is changed.
Any grid network could fall victim to the circumstances in Texas. The cold temperatures caused energy demand to skyrocket [7], as do heatwaves every summer [8]. Extreme temperatures cause spikes in energy demand that are exacerbated by poor equipment like electric resistance heating and plug-in air conditioning [9]. Such demand spikes must be powered by highly polluting “peaker” plants, which provide the energy to avoid blackouts.
With the grid pushed to its brink, point failures occur and risk snowballing into systemic collapse. In Texas, the cold weather and inadequate winterization disabled some of the electricity generation capacity. Combined with the demand surge, losing peak supply led ERCOT to induce rolling blackouts as a last resort to prevent total grid failure [10]. Yet the initial outages brought energy infrastructure offline, disabling more suppliers and proliferating power outages. Ultimately, Texas’ systemic lack of winterization caused 40% of online generation capacity to fail. Of this failure, 60% was due to losses from fossil fuel supplies [11], dispelling the disingenuous claims that renewable energy sources were responsible for the crisis.
Many energy system choices can address the root causes of blackouts. As a smart grid and energy efficiency provider, COI innovates in many of these solutions and directly supports the remainder. While there is no one-size-fits-all technology, many emerging tools will contribute to more reliable grids. These include clean and distributed energy generation, local energy storage, improved energy efficiency, and digitally aggregated energy systems.
Clean energy generation is needed to limit greenhouse gas emissions and mitigate the severity of climate change-induced weather events. Distributed generation is needed to safeguard against centralized plant failure or locally extreme weather. COI manages clean and distributed energy assets to help store power or share it with those in need. These innovations will enhance energy security by reducing our reliance on fuel imports and centralized distribution channels.
Energy storage resources are needed to compensate for intermittent generation (the sun doesn’t always shine) and manage demand spikes. COI optimizes the charging and discharging of storage resources according to forecasted electricity supplies and demands. These innovations will enable clean energy sources to more completely deliver systemic energy needs.
Energy efficiency resources are needed to reduce energy demand and accelerate the decommissioning of dirty energy sources. COI eliminates energy waste and monetizes energy efficiency through our real-time demand management and measurement and verification tools. We recruit and engage flexible resources to shave, shift, shape, and shimmy demand peaks. These innovations will reduce the power burdens required of clean energy solutions.
Digitally centralized systems are needed to maximize the utility of distributed energy resources. COI is developing a real-time transactive energy marketplace that will integrate energy systems across scales, from microgrids to bulk power networks. This network will aggregate energy generation, storage, and efficiency assets into a dynamic marketplace to ensure reliability while minimizing cost and carbon emissions. These innovations will permit clean energy solutions to deliver all the services of centralized power plants.
Only with broad adoption of these solution sets can we safeguard energy systems against future power crises. Stay tuned as COI continues to innovate and expand the market footprint of diverse cleantech solutions.
ABOUT COI ENERGY
COI Energy is a digital energy management platform that offers energy efficiency, carbon management and capacity trading services. COI engages utilities, governmental, commercial, and industrial organizations to drive building efficiency, optimize the electric grid, and minimize energy waste.
Contact:
Jake Rabinowitz, COI Energy, jake@coienergy.com
