WOULD HEATED WIND TURBINES HAVE MADE THE DIFFERENCE IN TEXAS?
or would more coal plants have saved the day?
Deaths in Texas and elsewhere are mounting because of the huge winter storm that swept across the Lone Star State and continued on to wreak havoc across many other States as well.
No electricity. No water. Carbon monoxide poisoning; car accidents; people slipping; hypothermia and damage to residential and commercial real estate will be in the billions.
Bottom line…. we were hit with yet another “UNPRECEDENTED” just when we were thinking there might be light at the end of the tunnel. Instead, it was the headlights of yet another train barreling in our direction with no room to jump out of its way.
The Power Grid Failed
Needless to say, even with the fatalities mounting, people hungry and frozen and battered…. partisan politics took center stage with Republicans and Democrats blaming each other for the full and complete failure of the power infrastructure.
Republicans, initially, blaming the power grid shut down on frozen wind turbines and solar panels claiming that this event foreshadowed a bigger disaster as Democrat backed alternative energy plans take root.
Democrats, meanwhile were crowing that had the Green New Deal been in place none of the tragedy would have occurred blaming the entire failure on fossil fuel systems.
And all of the above as people were suffering and dying.
What is true is that power grid failed in Texas. And it is also true that wind turbines froze and that solar panels were obviously useless. Just as it's true that energy generated by coal, gas and nuclear failed as instruments froze, as natural gas supplies were hampered and as demand grew and grew.
Who/What Is To Blame?
So why are all those people suffering? Again…..could it be as one Republican Congressman was quoted as saying “This is what happens when you force the grid to rely in part on wind as a power source” or perhaps it's as one Democratic Congresswoman said “The infrastructure failures in Texas are quite literally what happens when you don’t pursue a Green New Deal”
Which is it?
Truth is this one is really Blowing In The Wind.
Both are wrong. Deadly wrong. And their broadside salvos, at each other, come at the expense of people…real people…who are hungry and tired and cold. And in my view at the future expense of all of us.
Nothing New Under The Sun…Or In The Snow….
As I have written before…there is very little that is ever, actually UNPRECEDENTED. Look back in time and we can find occurrences, events and sometimes warning and hints for just about everything we ever see and experience.
In the Middle Ages a min-ice age preceded the Plague…which was followed by famine and in a ray of hope for us ultimately led to the Renaissance.
UNPRECEDENTED? Scientists have been warning about a global pandemic for years and preached…ignored…preparedness.
UNPRECEDENTED? Texas has seen colds and snow before.
What do they both have in common?
NO PLANNING.
Not the lack of a specific plan…. after all…to be fair….we don’t exactly know how the cards will fall.
Planning is different. It's the foundation. Good planning allows you to pivot. It gives you a cushion to operate. It minimizes disaster.
Planning would have had masks, gloves and respirators in warehouse storage and a national plan to distribute them along with a too be developed vaccine. We had none.
Planning in Texas would have had a less centralized and monolithic power grid with cold weather protection, in place, including de-icers for the turbines and proper insulation for the fossil fuel plants. Not to mention enough stockpiles so as not to have count on shut down delivery.
Truth is that little of the grid relies on wind power…even on a good day…the irony is that in winter even that amount is lowered and the double irony is that in the end it actually delivered more than expected.
Will We Be Prepared Next Time…Or Still Just Pontificating?
But who cares? It all failed. Miserably.
Yet, the fingers are pointing, claims are being made, challenges are being thrown and in general everyone is missing the bigger point.
The question is not which is better…fossil or renewable sources…wind or coal…
The only question is how do we begin planning for the next UNPRECEDENTED…. because the precedent is clear…. it’s coming and fast.
WOULD HEATED WIND TURBINES HAVE MADE THE DIFFERENCE IN TEXAS?
Dependence on the government for essentials like heat, cool, food, and items needed for the safety and well-being of one's self and family is a bad idea at the outset. Those unable to provide for themselves are the responsibility of all citizens, collectively. Depending on an omnipitnet government is not the answer. Their blame game will never end. Avoid the confusion and prepare yourself for any and all inevitabilities. And we all should take care of each other.