…when a major power plant loses its connection to the grid, instantly, dramatically unbalancing supply and demand of electricity. Blackouts follow if there isn’t an instant response…engineering community assumes there will be automatic response within 5-6 seconds from conventional (gas, coal, hydro) generators to stabilize power supply.

…utilities highlight limits to using renewable energy to replace fossil-fuel power plants…. how jaws hit the floor as NERC’s investigation into reliability found that all 3 gas generator manufacturers (GE, ABB, Siemens) predominant in USA, for years, been delivering equipment that fails to provide this “essential reliability service”.

As it happens, solar can make those changes, and has, a whole lot more quickly than gas plants. In Hawaii earlier this year, the solar industry successfully changed the control settings on 800,000 solar panel inverters through internet connections to make solar in Hawaii support frequency and voltage in similar emergencies.

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