To add insult to injury, the unusual storm made a mockery of the state's politicians and its much vaunted independence. Right-wing talking heads like Tucker Carlson on Fox and even the state's governor, Greg Abbott, have blamed the outages on wind power and the so-called "Green New Deal."
Carlson called windmills a "silly fashion statement" and noted that "green energy means a less reliable power grid." Worse, Abbott, who one would assume knows better, said that "the Green New Deal would be a deadly deal." Both statements are, of course, complete hogwash.
Texas generates only 25 percent of its electrical energy from wind power, with the rest coming from thermal sources like gas, oil and coal generating facilities. The real issue is the state's dubious energy grid, called the inaccurately named Electrical Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT).
As public relations coordinator for Eugene Water & Electric Board, I attended an enlightening conference sponsored by the American Public Power Association in Texas in the late 1990s in Austin. The city's public utility was recognized as a national leader in the development of wind energy.
Unfortunately, the state's electrical grid, managed by the ERCOT, is woefully unprepared to manage a catastrophic blackout. Texas has consciously distanced itself from federal oversight to avoid federal regulation and maintains its own grid, unique in the nation.
Why is Texas the only state to manage its own energy grid? Well, probably because it's Texas, and they like to do things their own way. As a result of their so-called independence, the state is unable to acquire power from neighboring grid like the Western Area Power Administration (WAPA).
Ten years ago, a Texas commission predicted that a catastrophic storm could severely impact the state's energy grid, but nothing was done. Fixing ERCOT will require actual governance by statewide leadership instead of blaming the sorry shape of their electrical grid on wind turbines.
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