Natural Gas

Solar Power Could Undermine NA Grid Reliability

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Platts Gas tweet: “Increasing use of solar power could undermine reliability of the North American power grid, Accenture says in new study.”

In my opinion solar power will not become viable until there is a viable energy storage infrastructure. Solar power can vary depending on the sunshine in a given period. Some customers want to think of solar as a base source when it cannot be relied on.

Natural Gas

Platts Gas Forum Houston Takeaways

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Yesterday I attended the Platts Gas Forum in Houston. The presentations were informative and helped me to get a better understanding of the gas market. The presenters covered the gas grid, demand and supply and the information FERC gathers on the gas contracts.

The takeaways from the forum:

  • the gas grid has the same congestion issues as the electric grid.
  • supply is growing faster than demand.
  • opportunities to convert fuel users to gas are falling.
  • the northeast is resisting new pipelines that could reduce congestion.
  • FERC collects data but it is not all inclusive.