So basically the “conventional” generation methods use a Big Thing spinning at a specific speed to generate AC power. Solar and wind spit out DC which has to be converted to AC and also synchronize to the rest of the grid.
Hydroelectric, nuclear, coal, methane, all use a big-ass turbine at exactly 60.00 Hz to supply the grid. This is fairly easy to sync, since a change to load or supply will slightly change the physical rotation of the generators. If the load increases, it will draw down the speed of the turbines as it pulls on it harder. When the load is more than the generators can supply, or changes too quickly, it can cause a breaker to flip to prevent damage to the equipment.
With DC generators, the inverter connected to the grid works differently. It has to sense the frequency changes and react based on “external” factors. Right now there aren’t really widespread protocols to signal this type of grid conditions to solar/wind farms, so they have to be a bit more careful and preemptively disconnect to prevent damaging the inverters.
So it’s an entirely solvable problem. It just requires the industry (and ERCOT) to be proactive…
So basically the “conventional” generation methods use a Big Thing spinning at a specific speed to generate AC power. Solar and wind spit out DC which has to be converted to AC and also synchronize to the rest of the grid.
Hydroelectric, nuclear, coal, methane, all use a big-ass turbine at exactly 60.00 Hz to supply the grid. This is fairly easy to sync, since a change to load or supply will slightly change the physical rotation of the generators. If the load increases, it will draw down the speed of the turbines as it pulls on it harder. When the load is more than the generators can supply, or changes too quickly, it can cause a breaker to flip to prevent damage to the equipment.
With DC generators, the inverter connected to the grid works differently. It has to sense the frequency changes and react based on “external” factors. Right now there aren’t really widespread protocols to signal this type of grid conditions to solar/wind farms, so they have to be a bit more careful and preemptively disconnect to prevent damaging the inverters.
So it’s an entirely solvable problem. It just requires the industry (and ERCOT) to be proactive…