Sunday, May 2nd, 2021

Time	Event
7:34a	California's Power Grid Hits 95% Renewable Energy. Sort of. Something remarkable happened last weekend, according to a climate change newsletter by the Los Angeles Times. California, the world's fifth-largest economy, hit nearly 95% renewable energy. Sort of... There are several caveats. For one thing, Saturday's 94.5% figure — a record, as confirmed to me by the California Independent System Operator — was fleeting, lasting just four seconds. It was specific to the state's main power grid, which covers four-fifths of California but doesn't include Los Angeles, Sacramento and several other regions. It came at a time of year defined by abundant sunshine and relatively cool weather, meaning it's easier for renewable power to do the job traditionally done by fossil fuels. And fossil fuels actually were doing part of the job — more than the 94.5% figure might suggest. California was producing enough clean power to supply nearly 95% of its in-state needs, but it was also burning a bunch of natural gas and exporting electricity to its Western neighbors. It's impossible to say exactly how much of the Golden State's own supply was coming from renewables. That said, what happened on Saturday is definitely a big deal.... The 94.5% record may have been fleeting, but it wasn't some isolated spike. Most of Saturday afternoon, the renewables number topped 90%, with solar and wind farms doing the bulk of the work and geothermal, biomass and hydropower facilities making smaller contributions. Add in the Diablo Canyon nuclear plant — which isn't counted toward California's renewables mandate — and there was enough climate-friendly power at times Saturday to account for more than 100% of the state's electricity needs... The important thing now is making sure the puzzle pieces of the grid fit together on hot summer evenings, like the ones last August when insufficient supplies after sundown led to rolling blackouts. Read more of this story at Slashdot. (Comment on this)
11:34a	Samsung Lost More than $268 Million During Power Shutdown in Texas The Austin-American Statesman reports that Samsung "lost at least $268 million due to damaged products after its semiconductor fabrication plant in Austin was shutdown during the February's Texas freeze, according to the company." Samsung executives said the company's semiconductor business saw profits fall in the first quarter, mainly due to disruptions and product losses caused by the shutdown. Samsung's Austin fab was offline for more than a month after it was shut down due to power outages during the freeze... About 71,000 wafers were affected by production disruptions, said Han Jinman, executive vice-president of Samsung's memory chip business. He estimated the wafer loss is equivalent to $268 million to $357 million. Semiconductor fabs are typically operational 24 hours a day for years on end. Each batch of wafers — a thin slice of semiconductor used for the fabrication of integrated circuits — can take 45 to 60 days to make, so a shutdown of any length can mean a loss of weeks of work. Restoring a fab is also a complicated process, and even in the best of circumstances can take a week... NXP Semiconductors was also among the facilities that were shut down in February, as its two Austin fabrication facilities were offline for nearly a month. In March, the company estimated the shutdown would result in a $100 million loss in revenue and a month of wafer production... Jinman said Samsung is working with the state, municipal government and local utility companies to find solutions to prevent similar shutdowns in the future. Read more of this story at Slashdot. (Comment on this)

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