GUEST COMMENTARY
ERIC CHRISTOPHER
KENDALL COUNTY RESIDENT
In his Feb. 18 piece in the Boerne Star (“When fear replaces facts, Texas loses”), Larry Linenschmidt is correct that prudence is a virtue, and that protecting public safety should always come first.
Furthermore, I agree that we should care for God’s creation and for our neighbors and manage our resources wisely.
I believe, however, that in his commentary, Mr. Linenschmidt may not have considered all of the factors that affect the cost, efficacy and practicality of BESS (Battery Energy Storage Systems).
To begin with, a battery is a storage vessel for energy. It does not “work hard” or generate electricity. It merely stores energy that it receives from other sources for later use at a given rate of discharge for a defined period of time.
It’s great to be able to store energy, but the question is how much energy can “grid size” storage batteries store? Are grid-size batteries the answer to life threatening power outages?
To begin with, BESS systems are intended to bridge the shortfall of conventionally produced electricity during times of peak use. While the BESS batteries have the ability to stabilize the grid by feeding megawatts of electricity back into it, they can only do it for a short period, usually between 4-8 hours. At that point they need to be recharged.
On Feb. 14, 2021, winter storm Uri knocked out power for three days at my house, just north of Boerne. Even if I had eight hours of electricity provided by the grid battery, it would not have done me much good. I relied on the fireplace, a propane stove and trips to the pumphouse to keep things going.
Despite the relatively short output of grid batteries, BESS does have its place in our grid.
BESS systems are a good tool for short-term (4-8 hours) power balancing. They can provide additional energy capacity when the grid is experiencing overwhelming demand, such as such as afternoons on a hot summer day or during cold winter nights.
For a long-term solution however, we need a source of electricity that can run day or night regardless of the weather, that can recharge the BESS systems during low demand periods and that can come on line, as needed.
The Electric Reliability Council of Texas, ERCOT, in my opinion, is enamored with “renewable energy.” Between 2010 and 2023, taxpayers funded an estimated $76 billion for solar and $65 billion for wind nationally. Nuclear power — praised for its reliability and low emissions — received only $26 billion. That’s almost a 6:1 ratio. Why?
If we are to be good stewards of our environment, then rather than using thousands of acres of natural habitat for wind turbines and solar panels, I would suggest that we use low-emission natural gas to generate baseload electricity, optimize and expand the use of “no emission” nuclear power and develop our battery storage systems (such as flow batteries) to bridge the gap between base needs and higher usage periods.
Large scale wind and solar farms are part time, unreliable, expensive (without the government subsidies), deadly to wildlife (bird strikes and whales) and are made overseas.
With reliable base-load generation and BESS available for short peak periods, Texas will be ready the next time a storm like Uri or another natural disaster hits us.
Eric Christopher is a Kendall County resident.
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