Today, the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT), the grid operator for most of Texas, released an analysis of the potential impacts of the Clean Power Plan - the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s new standards for carbon pollution from power plants - on the Texas electric grid.
In response to ERCOT’s analysis, Cyrus Reed, Conservation Director of the Sierra Club’s Lone Star Chapter, issued the following statement:
“What ERCOT’s analysis tells us is that Texas needs a plan to clean up its oldest and dirtiest coal plants. ERCOT’s report downplays or ignores some extremely valuable energy resources that will ensure a just and resilient transition off of coal, including large and small-scale community solar, wind, demand response, energy storage, and energy efficiency. None of our clean air rules mandate that many power plants suddenly retire. That scenario is just unrealistic. Good policy requires good planning, and unfortunately, Governor Greg Abbott and other state leaders have indicated they do not want to plan for the future. We will be issuing a more extensive critique of ERCOT’s analysis shortly, but bottom line is that all signs point to Texas transitioning to a cleaner and more flexible grid, and we need to make sure our leaders allow that to happen.”