There has been a lot in the press (and lots of related Facebook posts) on the recent freeze in Texas and power loss, rolling blackouts, and fingers pointing at Green Energy as the sinister culprit for Texas’ woes. Rather than just chime in my reactions to people’s opinions, I decided to do some of my own research on the subject. First, here of some of the lines and headlines from news stories at Newsweek, Forbes, Barron’s, and ABC stories available on the web:
Greg Abbott Blames Texas Power Outages on Green Energy but State Depends on Gas
Newsweek headline
Renewable energy is great, but it just can’t compete with traditional sources. Texas just became the poster child for the consequences of change that happens too rapidly.
from Forbes story by Sal Gilbertie
But renewable energy isn’t to blame for the Texas electricity debacle. Although the state’s grid, and how it is managed, do have problems to fix, the solutions don’t have much to do with politics. Texas, instead, has engineering decisions to make to ensure there is no repeat of February 2021.
from Barron’s article by Al Root
Republicans use Texas power outages to spread false claims about green energy
ABC News headline
Now the facts.
ERCOT has a lot of information on their site regarding their operations, regulations, etc. This information includes detailed information on the mix of fuels used to generate electricity and populate the grid. See http://www.ercot.com/gridinfo/generation to download the data I reviewed. So far in 2021(through Feb 8, 2021), the fuel mix has been 35% Gas-CC, Wind 25%, Coal 22%, Nuclear 12%, Gas 3%, Solar 2%, and under 2% Biomass/Hydro/Other. By comparison, for all of 2020, those numbers were 40% Gas-CC, Wind 23%, Coal 18%, Nuclear 11%, Gas 6%, Solar 2%, and under 2% Biomass/Hydro/Other.
The Barron’s article (https://www.barrons.com/articles/why-texass-power-problems-arent-a-green-power-issue-and-5-stocks-that-benefit-51613680628) included a graph showing “approximate” capacity by source. If I take the numbers from their chart, I come up with 58% gas, 17% coal, 21% renewables, and 4% nuclear. The other images that follow are taken directly from the ERCOT spreadsheets for 2021 and 2020. (BTW – “Gas-CC” means gas from a combined cycle system compared to “Gas” which is just combustion gas. See https://www.ge.com/power/resources/knowledge-base/combined-cycle-power-plant-how-it-works to learn about Gas-CC systems.)
So those are the facts. Now my opinion:
I find that the media will report the data that best fits their desired outcome in influencing your perceptions. But the reporting in this case has been skewed. Texas relies on wind and solar (combined) for just over 25% of its power annually. So the loss of that source of that power generation AS WELL AS the reduced capacity of coal and gas-fired generation (for various reasons – mechanical and regulatory) all contributed to the shortage of power.
People who live in glass houses should not throw stones. All you who love to hate on Texas should not forget that Texas is a big reason you are able to consume all the energy you do for all of your pursuits — be they to fuel a liberal or a conservative agenda, or something in-between.
If you’re interested in learning more about Texas’s role in the US energy picture, see https://www.eia.gov/state/?sid=TX#tabs-4.