Sadly, the Texas power grid continues to be national news. Fortunately, it seems to be holding up under stress of this heat dome. I did not know know that solar doubled in the last year and will double again in the next year. And that seems to be saving our bacon. I know from my own power bills that it’s all about air conditioning in the summer. I am also hearing batteries are ramping up quickly. My understanding is that they are being used for price arbitrage. They charge up when energy is cheap and sell when demand is high and (wholesale) prices high. Sometimes very high. Texas may succeed in spite of it’s leaders. My big question is what happens to all of that solar capacity on sunny days in the spring, fall and winter.

Lots in the press lately about the Wagner Group in Russia, a private army run by a politically connected friend of Putin’s. While everyone in the US shakes their heads, note that we have an identical situation here in the US with Blackwater (now called Academic).