Houston, Day Four

Electricity Generation, From Natural Gas to Wind

We hit the road with empty stomachs this morning, psyched for the breakfast that awaited us at Calpine’s Deer Park power plant. The breakfast burritos did not disappoint, and we devoured them as Mike and Richard gave us a crash course in electricity. We learned about power plants, electricity markets, and Calpine’s operations throughout North America. Afterwards, we toured the power plant. Richard said he gets a good workout going up and down the stairs all over the plant! Thankfully we only climbed a few flights of stairs on our tour, but were still able to see most of the major operations, including some enormous turbines. 

Afterward, we drove into downtown Houston to visit Calpine’s main office and trading floor. CEO Thad Hill (T’95) forecasted that the future of the electricity market is wind, solar, and natural gas. He explained that natural gas power plants can be switched on and off quickly, unlike nuclear or coal plants. Thus, we could use wind and solar when those resources are available, and simply switch over to natural gas when they are not. This would maximize our usage of renewable energy sources without creating inconsistency in the availability of electricity. Mr. Hill also emphasized that the future of transportation lies in electric vehicles, which was an interesting contrast to ExxonMobil’s Adam Usadi’s (’88) view that biofuels are the future because we can’t develop batteries powerful enough for large vehicles.

After sharing his predictions, Mr. Hill handed us off to Jason Armenta, Calpine's director of power trading, for another crash course, this time in commodities trading. Jason explained how electricity is bought and sold as he showed us around Calpine’s trading floor. Even though it was lunchtime, the floor buzzed with activity. Jason packed an insane amount of information into a fifteen minute talk, leaving our heads spinning by the time we departed. It was time for our own lunch, so we made a quick sandwich stop downtown before heading to EDPR.  

 

EDP Renewables is the North American subsidiary of a Madrid-based company that produces electricity from renewable resources. EDPR has 45 wind farms across the continent, as well as some smaller solar operations. Prior to our visit to EDPR, most of the trip had focused on the oil and gas industry, so we were excited to expand our purview. We met with a range of employees to learn about all aspects of the wind industry, from safety and risk management to lobbying. We learned that wind could have not only environmental but also social benefits, as wind farms bring new economic opportunities to rural areas. We also learned about the challenges of the industry, such as generating power from an inconsistently available resource. Even though we can generate lots of electricity when the wind is blowing, we don’t have a way to store that electricity to use when the wind stops blowing. That’s why Thad Hill thinks natural gas can fill in the gaps. But electricity storage is a fast-growing field, and EDPR employees have a sunnier outlook on storage’s growth potential than somebody like Thad Hill might. 

At EDPR, we also discussed where the material used to construct wind turbines comes from. We want to know exactly what raw materials are needed to build a wind turbine, and where they come from. These are important considerations when determining whether wind farming is a viable path to sustainable power. Sustainability is a challenging and ever-changing project, because we can’t predict every consequence of our actions. Will the growth of the wind industry incentivize resource extraction? What effects would intensified mining have on local and global ecosystems? Will wind farms re-vitalize rural communities, or destroy their ways of life? These are questions that we don’t have the answers to, and maybe never will. We’re excited to head down to Corpus Christi tomorrow to see a wind farm first-hand. Hopefully it will bring us some answers, and raise even more questions.

--Gillian '18