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E&E News: Can Texas stave off its next grid emergency?

Posted by Jason Plautz on Sep 15, 2023

E&E News reports on the recent emergency sounded by Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) to stop a potential blackout. The article quotes Matthew Boms of Texas Advanced Energy Business Alliance (Advanced Energy United's Texas state chapter) on the importance of incentivizing demand response programs to curb the ever-growing energy demand in Texas.
 

The Texas grid operator declared an emergency last week, but it didn’t end up cutting off residents’ lights and air conditioning as the state roasted.

Next time, everyone might not be so lucky.

A combination of a growing population, a booming economy and a heat wave pushed demand on the state’s main electric grid to previously unseen levels this summer, including 10 all-time records for demand. That record demand was accompanied by repeated requests for customers to conserve their own energy. 

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Topics: United In The News, Texas Advanced Energy Business Alliance, Texas, Matthew Boms

The Weather Channel: Extreme Heat and Grid Demand in Texas

Posted by Jordan Steele & Felicia Combs on Sep 12, 2023

In a video interview with The Pattrn Show on The Weather Channel, Matthew Boms of Texas Advanced Energy Business Alliance - Advanced Energy United's Texas state chapter - emphasizes that wind, solar, and storage have played a pivotal role in ensuring Texans have reliable power this summer, consistently contributing over 30-40% of the state's total generation. Spotlighting Texas as a leader in advanced energy generation, Boms underlines that renewable energy technologies are mature, cost-effective, scalable, and critical for Texas’ energy future.

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Topics: United In The News, Texas Advanced Energy Business Alliance, Texas, Matthew Boms

Spectrum News 13: Texas, California, Missouri among states receiving $207M to modernize power grid

Posted by Reena Diamante on Jul 13, 2023

Spectrum News 13 reports on a hefty federal grant that will be dispersed across nine states and three tribal nations to improve grid resiliency, quoting Matthew Boms' hopes that this be a catalyst for more forward-thinking plans toward advanced clean energy technologies in Texas.

The triple-digit heat baking Texas is pushing demand for electricity to record levels, and to keep the power flowing during extreme weather, the Biden administration is providing tens of millions of dollars to the state — part of a $207 million total grant across nine states and three tribal nations — to improve the resiliency of the state’s beleaguered electric grid.

Operators of the Texas power grid say there is enough capacity to meet the expected demand for electricity during the brutal heat wave that's currently sweeping across the southern half of the United States. But the devastating power outages that struck during the 2021 winter storm, which caused a state-reported 246 deaths, continue to raise questions about the grid’s ability to withstand extreme weather.

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Topics: United In The News, Texas, Matthew Boms

Canary Media: Clean energy dodges a bullet in the Texas legislature

Posted by Jeff St. John on May 31, 2023

Canary Media reports on the outcome of the recently concluded Texas legislative session, quoting Matthew Boms on how the legislature avoided passing bills that would have derailed the state's clean energy industry's efforts.

The best thing that Doug Lewin, president of Texas-based energy consultancy Stoic Energy, can say about the just-concluded Texas legislative session is that it could have been much, much worse. 

Lawmakers failed to pass bills that would have helped stabilize and clean up the Texas grid, but at least they also, at the last minute, avoided passing bills that would have crushed the state’s clean energy industry.

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Topics: United In The News, Texas Advanced Energy Business Alliance, Texas, Matthew Boms