Houston We Have A Problem: Texas Energy Blackouts Case Study

The Carbon Series caught up with Gavin Dillingham, Clean Energy Director, at the Houston Advanced Research Center (HARC) to discuss what led to the Texas Energy Blackouts in Houston and across the state. Extreme weather and frigid temperatures from winter storm #Uri lead to unprecedented circumstances and an energy grid that was ill prepared for such a series of events. The combination of failures in Oil & Gas, Wind, Nuclear, Storage, and Infrastructure led to a systemic failure leading to rolling blackouts and millions without power.

The perfect storm or what the industry calls 'Green Swan Events' made it clear that Houston, a US Energy Capitol, has a problem which requires immediate action on these 6 key takeaways from the conversation:

1. Establish standardized EERS's (Energy Efficiency Resource Standards) within the Public Utility Commission of Texas along with the Texas Railroad Commission, this includes setting minimum resiliency standards.

2. Integrate best available (downscaled) climate data and modeling into policy and infrastructure planning, with increased transparency.

3. Complete a full system-wide risk, infrastructure, and climate assessment.

4. Set passive survivability standards, meaning incentivizing residential efficiency standards like insulation and home improvements (windows) for shelter in place emergency situations.

5. Striking a balance between regulated and deregulated energy markets. Providing lowest price kWh has perks and is attractive for doing business in Texas, but has exposed systemic vulnerabilities to extreme weather events and a lack of emergency preparedness.

6. A blaring issue is the older generations in 'power' lacking genuine leadership. From an entrepreneurial standpoint this is an opportunity for the younger generations to solve these problems through mobilization and voter turnout ushering in new era of leadership. People and organizations with the energy and tenacity to drive the systemic change needed to increase capacity, build resilience, diversify the grid, and create an equitable energy system.

***Innovation comes from people, not institutions, not politicians, and occasionally from corporations. People with imagination, ambition, determination, and an impetus to provide sustainable solutions drive innovation and systemic change.***

Watch the full podcast episode here: https://youtu.be/NQJKjZChOck

Join us at the Carbon Summit to continue this conversation: www.CarbonSummit.org. The Carbon Summit is being designed to provide a promotional platform to identify and develop solutions through sustainable system design coordination.

HARC is a research hub providing independent analysis on energy, air, and water issues to people seeking scientific answers. HARC is developing Pythias Analytics as a data platform for climate risk analysis and modeling.

Visit www.harcresearch.org for more information on HARC's research projects like contributions made to the City of Houston Climate Action Plan or for help understanding Texas' Deregulated Energy Markets. You can also read Gavin's articles on Clean Energy here: https://medium.com/pythias