E8: Inside ERCOT, Black Start, Winter Storm Uri, and AI Data Center Load скачать в хорошем качестве

E8: Inside ERCOT, Black Start, Winter Storm Uri, and AI Data Center Load

In this episode, Eric Bell sits down with Russell Fletcher, a transmission system operator in Austin, Texas and former Operations Manager at Wind Energy Transmission Texas (WETT). We unpack what it really means to run a modern power grid. Russell walks through how ERCOT balances generation and load at 60 Hz, why transmission congestion and reactive power matter, and what “black start” recovery looks like when the grid goes dark. We revisit Winter Storm Uri and how close Texas came to a statewide blackout, then pivot to the planning headaches created by fast-ramping AI data centers and behind-the-meter generation. Along the way, Russell connects lessons from Navy nuclear submarines to grid ops: training, calm execution, and clear communication under pressure. CHAPTERS (YouTube) 00:00 Eight minutes from blackout 00:55 Improv class and TexARTS 02:17 Get to Know You in 60 Seconds 07:27 Navy nuke to grid ops 14:25 Governors, droop, frequency 24:58 Minimum load and inertia 26:20 SB 6 and behind-the-meter gen 30:00 Reactive power: MVARs explained 41:06 Data Center War Story 45:04 Top Picks GET TO KNOW RUSSELL (Rapid fire) Late nights or early mornings? About 15 minutes in the afternoon (maybe 30) New York or California? New York Chicago or Dallas? Dallas Sweet or salty? Sweet Introvert or extrovert? Both (depends on the time) Prefer a meeting or email? Email (so he can ignore it) Phone or text? Phone call Favorite food? Strawberry cheesecake; chicken fried steak with mashed potatoes and gravy Favorite sport? College football Who’s your team? Georgia Bulldogs and UT Longhorns First job? Catching rattlesnakes and selling them for antivenom DATA CENTER WAR STORY (no spoilers) A reactor gets SCRAM’d on a nuclear submarine underway, and the entire engine room shifts into “fix it now” mode while the captain heads straight for the logs. TOP PICKS TexARTS (acting + improv classes in Lakeway, TX): https://www.tex-arts.org/academy ERCOT dashboards (see what the Texas grid is doing right now): https://www.ercot.com/gridmktinfo/das... RESOURCES MENTIONED Wind Energy Transmission Texas (WETT): https://www.wettllc.com/ ERCOT Grid and Market Dashboards: https://www.ercot.com/gridmktinfo/das... CAISO Today’s Outlook: https://www.caiso.com/todays-outlook PJM Data Viewer: https://dataviewer.pjm.com/