Power plays: grid economics and engineering, with Travis Dauwalter

Complex Systems with Patrick McKenzie (patio11)

Feb 06, 2025•1 hr 14 min•Ep. 29

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Episode description

Patrick McKenzie (@patio11) is joined by Travis Dauwalter, energy enthusiast (and PhD), to explain the systems we often take for granted behind the US electrical grid. The conversation covers how the grid maintains perfect supply-demand balance in real-time, the challenges of integrating renewable energy sources, and why America actually has three separate interconnected grids. Patrick and Travis weave through the economics of power generation, transmission line physics, and how data centers are reshaping energy markets. (Also, in a bit of a surprise, Patrick defends the honor of Bitcoin miners.)

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Full transcript available here: complexsystemspodcast.com/electricity-grids-travis-dauwalter/

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Links:

Utility Dive: https://www.utilitydive.com/
The Bitter Lesson by Rich Sutton: https://www.cs.utexas.edu/~eunsol/courses/data/bitter_lesson.pdf
Austin Vernon on Fracking: https://open.spotify.com/episode/0YDV1XyjUCM2RtuTcBGYH9
Casey Handmer on Solar Economics: https://open.spotify.com/episode/0GHegWgLSubYxvATmbWhQu

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Twitter:

@TravisDauwalter

@patio11

Travis’ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/travisdauwalter/

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Timestamps:

(00:00) Intro
(00:28) Understanding the energy grid
(02:22) The complexity of supply and demand
(05:43) Regional differences in energy grids
(08:16) Seasonal and daily energy demand
(11:22) Renewable energy and storage solutions
(17:17) Sponsor: Check
(18:29) Renewable energy and storage solutions (continued)
(24:07) Demand response and time of use rates
(34:08) Bitcoin mining and energy economics
(39:29) Exploring behind the meter arrangements
(40:44) Transmission line challenges and innovations
(45:51) Dynamic line rating and grid efficiency
(50:58) Data centers and energy demand
(58:33) Interconnection queue and grid security
(01:03:38) Understanding the US grid structure
(01:09:46) Wrap