In the wake of power outages in Texas during a historic blizzard, many Republican politicians are rallying against renewable energy. In particular, the Governor of Texas Greg Abbott and Representative Dan Crenshaw have spoken about their belief that frozen wind turbines were a large cause of the loss of power.

Crenshaw, Dan (RepDanCrenshaw). “This is what happens when you force the grid to rely in part on wind as a power source.” 16 February 2021, 1:41 p.m. Tweet. 

However, the Energy Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT), which manages 90% of the state’s power, has stated that the lost power largely stemmed from failures on the end of natural gases. On Feb. 17, 45 gigawatts of power were lost as operators struggled to contend with the cold. These 45 gigawatts were composed of 28 from thermal sources and only 18 from renewable sources, illustrating that the majority were lost from fossil fuels. 

Although wind turbines did freeze, so did natural gas pipelines, as Texas did not suitably insulate or prepare either source of power. Around 80% of all power generated in Texas is from non-renewable sources such as natural gas, coal, and nuclear power. The systemic loss of power from Feb. 13 to Feb. 17 is due to the general lack of preparation for extreme winter storms. 

Texas knew that their power systems were not equipped for the extreme cold. In 2011, Texas experienced a large blackout following a storm and ERCOT was told to begin winterization of their energy systems. However, this never came to fruition and left wellheads and power plants without working equipment due to the freeze. 

Implementing these winterization procedures would have prevented wind energy from losing power during the extreme cold. These procedures, such as coating the blades of turbines or internally heating the structures, have already been implemented in other countries dependent on wind energy, such as Scandinavia and Scotland. The only downside of these procedures is a marginal increase in cost. 

Winterizing and calling for reliance on more green energy would prepare Texas if further extreme weather continues to impact fossil fuels. We are running out of fossil fuels, and we need to build energy reserves. Energy reserves can help us stop tragedies from happening, like that of thousands of people without adequate heating in below-freezing temperatures. 

Green energy, such as solar and wind, has a much smaller carbon footprint than fossil fuels do and do not contribute to releasing greenhouse gases into the atmosphere. The world’s reliance on fossil fuels has led us to experience the real-time effects of climate change. 

According to The New York Times, it is impossible to measure how much climate change has impacted one individual storm. However, the United States’ energy system, as a whole, is not prepared for changing climates. In California, the increasing intensity of wildfires during the summer has led Pacific Gas and Electric to shut down power for thousands of people. The power infrastructure in the U.S. was built in the 1950s and many portions of the country have not updated this crucial infrastructure to support the increased power that it is carrying or to provide protection against wildfires or weather. 

The power failure in Texas needs to be a wake-up call. The U.S. needs to begin the long and arduous process of updating our energy infrastructure and implementing green energy on a larger scale. We need functioning energy to sustain our lives and livelihoods. We are not prepared for the extreme weather that will come with the rising tides of global warming.

Photo courtesy of TEXASTRIBUNE.ORG