In a hushed control room near Austin, about a dozen technicians sitting among banks of computer screens watch the power flows and conditions, as more wind farms pump current into the system. The new lines are meant to handle up to 18,000 megawatts — millions of households. While there are still problems — the wind generally does not blow strongly on the hottest days, when its power generation is needed most, for example — scientists say that the supply will become somewhat more stable as more transmission lines, and more wind farms, are built in diverse locations.
It would be nice to find a way to store the energy until its needed.
Carol Biedrzycki, executive director of the Texas Ratepayers’ Organization to Save Energy, and a customer of Austin’s municipal utility, said that she supported more renewable energy, but that “we’re supposed to have an electricity market where the power producers are taking the risks.”
Instead, the $7 billion is being paid for by all customers, under the regulated portion of the Texas system, which covers transmission and distribution. The Texas Public Utility Commission said the typical residential ratepayer was charged an extra $6 a month or so. “There are some things about the CREZ lines that can leave a bad taste in your mouth,” Ms. Biedrzycki said. But proponents say the lines have cut electricity costs by more than the $6.
See this is what I mean when I say 'do not as TX says but as they do'. And bet taxpayers end up paying for some of the hi speed rail line between
Dallas and Houston. |
