Tucker Carlson: Green energy means a less reliable power grid. Why do our leaders deny that?

Frozen wind turbines hamper Texas power output, state’s electric grid operator says

Credit:  Historic winter storm freezes Texas wind turbines | Brandon Mulder | Austin American-Statesman Feb. 14, 2021

Nearly half of Texas’ installed wind power generation capacity has been offline because of frozen wind turbines in West Texas, according to Texas grid operators.

Wind farms across the state generate up to a combined 25,100 megawatts of energy. But unusually moist winter conditions in West Texas brought on by the weekend’s freezing rain and historically low temperatures have iced many of those wind turbines to a halt.

As of Sunday morning, those iced turbines comprise 12,000 megawatts of Texas’ installed wind generation capacity, although those West Texas turbines don’t typically spin to their full generation capacity this time of year.

Fortunately for the Electric Reliability Council of Texas, which manages the state’s electric grid, the storm’s gusty winds are spinning the state’s unfrozen coastal turbines at a higher rate than expected, helping to offset some of the power generation losses because of the icy conditions.

“This is a unique winter storm that’s more widespread with lots of moisture in West Texas, where there’s a lot of times not a lot of moisture,” said Dan Woodfin, Senior Director of System Operations for the Electric Reliability Council of Texas. “It’s certainly more than what we would typically assume.”

Wind power has been the fastest-growing source of energy in Texas’ power grid. In 2015 winder power generation supplied 11% of Texas’ energy grid. Last year it supplied 23% and overtook coal as the system’s second-largest source of energy after natural gas.

In Austin, wind power supplies roughly 19% of the city’s energy demands, all of which is passed from producers to consumers across the state grid. The city began adding several megawatts of wind energy capacity to its renewable energy portfolio in the 1990s from both West Texas and Gulf Coast wind farms.

The frozen turbines come as low temperatures strain the state’s power grid and force operators to call for immediate statewide conservation efforts, like unplugging non-essential appliances, turning down residential heaters and minimize use of electric lighting.

Electric demand is expected to exceed the state’s previous winter-peak record set in January 2018 by 10,000 megawatts. And peak demand expected for Monday and Tuesday is forecasted to meet or exceed the state’s summertime record for peak demand of 74,820 megawatts.

“Typically the ERCOT system peaks in the summer because of the air conditioning load, but we’re seeing forecasts of overall demand being that high in the next few days,” Woodfin said.

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Comment by mm domach on February 16, 2021 at 3:08pm

Wind only accounts for 15.7% of power generation in TX.  So nearly half = less than 8%.  Texas has stayed off the interstate power sharing grid which is just dumb.  Their grid has also failed numerous times.  One reason is the reserve margin in TX is the smallest in the nation.  Another reason is TX has refused to winterize gas and coal plants.  On a related matter, TX also refuses to enact zoning in Houston so they get bailed out after every hurricane that hits.  Tell the whole story.  Most often it boils down to incompetence and arrogance.

Comment by Kenneth Capron on February 16, 2021 at 1:55pm

Well I'd wager that every state that has ice covered solar panels at the moment aren't generating shit.

But - nuclear is still putting out as if nothing climatic was happening.

When turbines freeze up in a heavy wind, aren't the more susceptible to snapping? How brittle are those things. Same question for solar - how well can the withstand sleet and hail? Anyone know?

Comment by arthur qwenk on February 16, 2021 at 7:30am

Frozen wind turbines have caused almost half of Texas's wind generation capacity to go offline in the midst of an “unprecedented storm”. The Lone Star state is under a state of emergency after freezing conditions swept the region, causing dangerously icy roads and leaving nearly 3 million people without power.

No different than the frozen brains of the renewable energy dimwitted aficionados.

Comment by Thinklike A. Mountain on February 15, 2021 at 10:23pm

The United Nations’ Great Reset agenda is responsible for power blackouts affecting millions of Americans amid a nationwide deep freeze, as frozen wind turbines are being blamed for straining the power grid.

Watch — UN Backed Great Reset Turns Off Texas Power

MSM admits carbon cutting initiative triggered state wide blackouts

https://banned.video/watch?id=602b16b2d39d0a09315f31bb

 

Maine as Third World Country:

CMP Transmission Rate Skyrockets 19.6% Due to Wind Power

 

Click here to read how the Maine ratepayer has been sold down the river by the Angus King cabal.

Maine Center For Public Interest Reporting – Three Part Series: A CRITICAL LOOK AT MAINE’S WIND ACT

******** IF LINKS BELOW DON'T WORK, GOOGLE THEM*********

(excerpts) From Part 1 – On Maine’s Wind Law “Once the committee passed the wind energy bill on to the full House and Senate, lawmakers there didn’t even debate it. They passed it unanimously and with no discussion. House Majority Leader Hannah Pingree, a Democrat from North Haven, says legislators probably didn’t know how many turbines would be constructed in Maine if the law’s goals were met." . – Maine Center for Public Interest Reporting, August 2010 https://www.pinetreewatchdog.org/wind-power-bandwagon-hits-bumps-in-the-road-3/From Part 2 – On Wind and Oil Yet using wind energy doesn’t lower dependence on imported foreign oil. That’s because the majority of imported oil in Maine is used for heating and transportation. And switching our dependence from foreign oil to Maine-produced electricity isn’t likely to happen very soon, says Bartlett. “Right now, people can’t switch to electric cars and heating – if they did, we’d be in trouble.” So was one of the fundamental premises of the task force false, or at least misleading?" https://www.pinetreewatchdog.org/wind-swept-task-force-set-the-rules/From Part 3 – On Wind-Required New Transmission Lines Finally, the building of enormous, high-voltage transmission lines that the regional electricity system operator says are required to move substantial amounts of wind power to markets south of Maine was never even discussed by the task force – an omission that Mills said will come to haunt the state.“If you try to put 2,500 or 3,000 megawatts in northern or eastern Maine – oh, my god, try to build the transmission!” said Mills. “It’s not just the towers, it’s the lines – that’s when I begin to think that the goal is a little farfetched.” https://www.pinetreewatchdog.org/flaws-in-bill-like-skating-with-dull-skates/

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Hannah Pingree on the Maine expedited wind law

Hannah Pingree - Director of Maine's Office of Innovation and the Future

"Once the committee passed the wind energy bill on to the full House and Senate, lawmakers there didn’t even debate it. They passed it unanimously and with no discussion. House Majority Leader Hannah Pingree, a Democrat from North Haven, says legislators probably didn’t know how many turbines would be constructed in Maine."

https://pinetreewatch.org/wind-power-bandwagon-hits-bumps-in-the-road-3/

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