The Lone Star State, like the rest of the country, had been struck by unprecedented, and unseasonably, cold temperatures of the kind usually reserved for states situated along the Canadian border.
But the reason why millions awoke to a blackout is the real story.
On the surface, it seems absurd that Texas could be suffering blackouts. Not only does the state have its own power grid independent of the rest of the country, but Texas is an oil-and-gas state, absurdly wealthy in fossil fuels.
But Texas’ red-state political leaders over the past decade have been drinking too much left-wing blue kool-aid; for years, the state has steadily built massive wind farms, most of which are situated on the western plains, and they now account for about one-quarter of all power generated.
When the weather turned unseasonably nasty, the windmills froze; and frozen windmills don’t generate any power.
“Not only have freezing temperatures created an excessive draw on the power grid as residents struggle to keep warm, but generating electricity has also become a major issue for areas that rely on sources such as solar and wind power,” writes Christine Favocci at the Western Journal — all in the name of environmentalism.
The seized-up windmills cost the state 12,000 megawatts of power and the grid was already being taxed to its limits because some 28.8 million Texans were trying to avoid freezing to death.
Not all did; some froze to death. Others died trying to stay warm with makeshift heat. That always happens in these instances.
What’s nauseating and infuriating is seeing all of the left-wing global warming/climate change cultists in the media and on cable TV trying to deny that ‘green energy’ was to blame.
Of course it was to blame; there would never have been frozen wind turbines if wind turbines were never built in the first place and the state continued to rely on plentiful, proven, and cheap fossil fuel for power. Heck, even nuclear power for that matter, but the left doesn’t like that either because even though it is zero-emission, it produces nuclear waste (like we don’t have a plan to store it or something).
One of the biggest cultists is Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.), who took to Twitter this week to claim that Texans froze because they haven’t embraced enough of her idiotic Green New Deal. (Related: Political push to end gas-powered vehicles and replace them with electric cars a delusional pipe dream.)
“That's nonsense. So what I just gave you is what's happened in Texas over the past week and what led up to it, Texas being unprepared for this once-in-30-year event. But then you ask yourself, how can we get prepared? How can we be ready for something like this in the future?” “Fox & Friends” weekend co-host Will Cain said.
Added the Wall Street Journal’s op-ed page: "The problem is Texas’s over-reliance on wind power that has left the grid more vulnerable to bad weather.”
That is, of course, spot on.
“Half of wind turbines froze last week, causing wind’s share of electricity to plunge to 8% from 42%. Power prices in the wholesale market spiked, and grid regulators on Friday warned of rolling blackouts,” the op-ed noted further. “Natural gas and coal generators ramped up to cover the supply gap but couldn’t meet the surging demand for electricity—which half of households rely on for heating—even as many families powered up their gas furnaces. Then some gas wells and pipelines froze.”
The op-ed went on to claim that there “was not sufficient baseload power from coal and nuclear to support the grid while baseload power is needed to stabilize the grid.”
But to bozo AOC, Miss Bartender-turned-Power Grid Expert, more freezable wind turbines are needed, not fewer.
How ridiculous.
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