Some thoughts from a survivor of the Texas winter storm crisis

[Right_in_Virginia]

Some thoughts from a survivor of the Texas winter storm crisis
Hot Air, Feb 20, 2021, Karen Townsend

There is plenty of blame to go around and lots of finger-pointing, as always happens in a crisis situation. Was the power outage caused by the state’s renewable energy sources? The traditional energy sources of natural gas, coal, and nuclear energy? It’s all of those sources. Everything failed at the same time. The very rare extreme winter storm caught Texas unable to keep up with energy demands. Factors of the mass failure include frozen wind turbines, limited gas supplies, low gas pressure, and frozen instrumentation. 185 generating units have tripped offline. 46,000 megawatts of potential power can’t be generated right now, according to the latest reports this morning as I write this. Here’s a breakdown of that power – 61% of thermal forces (natural gas, coal, nuclear) and 39% of renewable energy (solar and wind).

A big problem is the lack of winterization of the equipment. You may have seen pictures of frozen wind turbines. Another problem is the lack of an energy reserve to handle the high demands of extreme temperatures. In 2011 the state experienced a devastating winter storm. After that, the state legislature decided to not hold hearings on some bills being presented for action to avoid problems in the future. A report was written of recommended measures to be taken but apparently, those were never acted on.

Texas uses all forms of energy. It is the fifth-largest wind energy provider in the world. The state is highly diversified in energy. Texas is a leader in large states with renewable energy production. The argument now is whether or not it’s a capacity issue or if capacity was knocked out due to an extraordinary event. In other words, an argument can be made that Texas had plenty of energy available but due to a freakish (for Texas) storm, everything shut down at about the same time, like natural gas lines freezing. The wind turbines are mostly for summer production needs, to supply power for the demands of air-conditioning.



More: https://hotair.com/archives/karen-townsend/2021/02/20/thoughts-survivor-texas-winter-storm-crisis/

[Right_in_Virginia]

FTA

My home lost power, heat, and internet service at 2:30 a.m. Monday morning. Our water was shut off not long after that. We didn’t have power, heat, and internet service restored until Thursday night. Water came back on Friday morning. Our lives literally revolved around just trying to stay warm. It was the most horrible almost five days I can remember. We finally had a hot meal Thursday afternoon when my husband was able to get out and found a nearby Chinese restaurant open. As he picked up the food order, the lady at the counter asked if he’d like a styrofoam cup of hot water to have tea at home. That one gesture provided the most comfort of the entire ordeal – I could hold that cup and my hands warmed up a bit. I am still in recovery mode. We were in a dire situation but we survived, some didn’t.

Do I care that Senator Ted Cruz went to Cancun? No, I don’t. Don’t get me wrong – it was a bone-headed thing to do and throwing his daughters under the bus was ridiculous. I would suggest that Heidi Cruz get a better group of friends. Apparently, one of them that was a part of her group text making arrangements for the trip leaked it to the New York Times. Cruz is likely going to run for president again in 2024 and he has a lot of work to do now. He’s going to have to help distribute a lot of food and water to those in need, as well as help Senator Cornyn work with the feds to send support to Texas. Optics are everything in politics.

[Right_in_Virginia]

Could all this have happened because Texas lawmakers just didn't believe they'd be hit with such a spell of frigid weather??

[Right_in_Virginia]

Most fingers appear to be pointing at ERCOT, but for the life of me I can't figure out what the hell it is and what it is supposed to do.

[Elderberry]

ERCOT