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Stories Tagged as

Electrical grid

Our old electrical grid is limiting how much wind and solar power we can use

by Caleigh Wells
Sep 17, 2024
It isn't easy to upgrade a 20th-century system of transmission lines, generating stations and home outlets for 21st-century needs.
Solar and wind power generate direct current, which must be converted to alternating current to "play well" with the existing electrical grid, historian Julie Cohn says.
Joe Raedle/Getty Images
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Texas' electric grid is feeling the strain, and it's not even that hot yet

by Elizabeth Trovall
Apr 16, 2024
A big part of the problem: Power plants usually go offline for maintenance in April.
April is annual maintenance time for Texas power plants, making it harder for the grid to handle a heat spike.
Brandon Bell/Getty Images
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An electrical transformer shortage has big implications for housing, renewables

by Justin Ho
Sep 19, 2023
You may not think much about electrical distribution transformers, but not having them can delay entire housing developments and grid updates.
"Typically on a utility pole they’re round, and they’re at the top of the pole," said John Kirk, managing director at Embrey, a multifamily developer based in San Antonio.
Robert Nickelsberg/Getty Images
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After a holiday marked by power failures, what's being done to ensure the lights stay on?

by Lily Jamali
Dec 27, 2022
Experts say the country needs more transmission lines to move power from where it’s being generated to where it’s needed.
A sign for a closed bar in Charlotte, North Carolina, on Dec. 24. Millions spent the holidays without power due to extreme cold.
Logan Cyrus/AFP via Getty Images
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A shortage of electrical transformers holds back utilities, businesses

by Andy Uhler
Nov 14, 2022
A utilities trade group has asked the Biden administration to help boost the supply.
Transformers act like an interface between the power grid and a home or business. The current shortage of transformers is frustrating for utility companies.
Justin Sullivan/Getty Images
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As a cold front moves in, Texas residents hope there's no repeat of last year's blackouts

by Andy Uhler
Feb 3, 2022
Despite efforts to strengthen the electric grid, Gov. Greg Abbott has said there's no guarantee that the power will stay on.
Snow blanketed Irving, Texas, on Thursday. The storm is reminding Texans of the deep freeze and grid failures that afflicted the state around this time last year.
John Moore/Getty Images
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