World’s ‘solar and wind capital’ freezing due to snow ‘blanketing millions’ of solar panels

It's all in the link. You need to find the courage to face the data.

". . . The proximate cause for the Texas grid collapse was the very cold weather from February 9 to 17. The initial problem was that wind was producing over 25% of Texas’ power and it is intermittent. Knowing it was intermittent, ERCOT ramped up natural gas generation as an instantaneous backup for the wind, but they forgot that natural gas is supply-on-demand, and the pipelines are vulnerable to disasters, especially cold weather. Disaster power sources are coal and nuclear, they have fuel on site for days or weeks and do not require a pipeline or a backup. . . ."

 

Question, could this same situation have happened in deep south states like LA, GA, MS, or FL? Was it actually due to lack of regulations?

I'm in northern AR and we even got notice during the coldest days asking everyone to conserve power because they were getting close to having to do rolling blackouts in certain areas. Luckily it didn't happen or at least not in my area but it was highly threatened. Dems seem to be blaming Texas's problems on the fact that they aren't regulated, but would deep southern areas that are regulated have met the same fate?

 

The Aleutian low would explain why the Berring sea was frozen and impassable, but not why it isn't any longer.

 

". . . .The Arctic Ocean radiates away more heat (~100 watts/m2) than it absorbs from sun and greenhouse effects combined. (human‑added CO2 offsets less than 2 watts/m2) It’s the inflow of warm ocean water that determines if the Arctic ocean cools or warms. Like the stratospheric vortex, the Aleutian Low forms every year as the northern hemisphere cools, but its position and strength vary due to natural El Nino cycles, the Pacific Decadal Oscillation and the Arctic Oscillation. When the Aleutian Low is positioned over the Bering Sea it drives warm southern air and warm storms further northward. That dynamic also raises sea level south of the Bering Strait, increasing warm water flows through the strait. Increased warm water flows melt more sea ice and triggers Arctic Amplification and higher temperatures.


Simultaneously, when the Aleutian Low is positioned over the Bering Sea its strength increases, intensifying upward motions of relatively warm air into the stratosphere. It’s that warmth that weakens the polar vortex and unleashes the cold Arctic air. When natural weather re‑positions the Aleutian Low over the Gulf of Alaska, wind direction changes, blowing water away from the Bering Strait. That reduces warm water flows into the Arctic. The Aleutian Low also weakens reducing upward atmospheric motion, allowing the vortex to strengthen.

The Aleutian Low’s position changes throughout the winter and from year to year. However, before the Pacific Decadal Oscillation (PDO) switched phases, between 1950–1976 the Aleutian Low spent, on average, 16 months over the Bering Sea and 20 months over the Gulf of Alaska. After the PDO shifted, the Aleutian Low only spent 7 months during the next 25 years over the Gulf Alaska and more time over the Bering Sea. That shift changed the balance to a warmer Arctic, a more common weaker vortex and more cold snaps. . . ."

 

I love the idea of "Natural El Nino cycles"
And what creates and controls El Nino. Yep atmospheric temperatures, and what controls them yep Co2 concentrations and their effects on water vapour.
The rest is just plastic padding designed to make it all look like science and research.

 

I didn't deny anything. I argued against your highly biased blog post, using its own evidence against it. His claim that the turbines failed a week before the Texas freeze is refuted by his graph showing the turbines operating normally through the following Sunday. Can you explain that or any other point I made?

 

And yet they failed...

 

He has no idea what he is talking about. He just copy and pastes from the same climate denial blog because he thinks it makes him look smart. He doesn't say anything that indicates he understands a word of it.

 

Since you are connected to a larger power grid, such an incident wouldn't affect you. I believe that the rolling black outs in Arkansas and elsewhere were a possibility because the other power grids were trying to supply Texas through the limited connections, possibly causing some low capacity in local sections.

 

I have made a round trip to Portland and home in just over 48 hours! The gulf is a lot closer.

I would certainly not be opposed to state collaboration on offshore wind power. It would work best the less federal involvement there was. Of course they would have to be involved at some level because coastal waters fall under federal jurisdiction.

Yes, we have some coastline. I haven’t done the math, but I’m pretty sure we have less coastline as a percentage of our border than you! LOL

Because the lion’s share of power usage is on our coasts, it may make more sense to just use the offshore power there and shift inland wind, solar and hydro to the interior.

Hydro is so underutilized in this country it’s pathetic.

 

You're assuming that but you don't know. I do remember when I lived in south Louisiana having rolling blackouts in the summer due to hot weather causing too much demand on the system.

 

The grids aren't connected. Other states could not have helped Texas if they had wanted to assist.

You accuse others of "making up" stuff. LOL No, I won't ask you to provide a link to "prove your opinion".

 

I don't know when that happened, but sometimes those can be local company issues. Louisiana just recently had to warn about rolling blackouts because their contracted natural gas suppliers stopped delivering. They decided it made more money to break their contracts and sell gas to Texas plants.

But rolling blackouts is much different than shutting off half the grid for several days.

 

Yes, and . . . ?

 

Two kids and 48 years old. She really does look cute, doesn't she.

 

Your "point" is a fantasy of your own creation.

Figure 3. Change in power output from January 18 to February 17 in Texas. From the Wall Street Journal Feb. 17.


". . . So, the sequence of events was, wind turbines iced up from February 8 to 10 and their power output dropped 93%. Natural gas ramped up quickly to cover the shortfall, increasing an incredible 450%, but the pipelines feeding them fuel iced up, especially the valves on the pipelines and put the natural gas generators out of commission. [Update: As Marc notes in the comments, this is an oversimplification of what happened. Also see this article in the San Angelo Live for more details.] . . . "

 

I accused you of making something up because you admitted as much. But don't worry, I will blame your lack of knowledge of connections to the Texas grid on a lack of knowledge, although clearly you stating that "the grids aren't connected" is completely untrue.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Texas_Interconnection

 

Not according to your Mango Messiah...

 

What happened to Tx in 1989 and 2011?
Similar failures happened and I doubt wind existed in 89 and certainly not much in 2011.

 

Wait, you just told me my area of Arkansas wouldn't have had rolling blackouts and we must have been trying to help Texas, now you've changed your tune and admit rolling blackouts do happen. Which is it?

And I was wrong, Arkansas did have some rolling blackouts in certain areas. I found this article
Bitter cold forces rolling power outages (arkansasonline.com)
So who do you blame for this? You just stated this wouldn't happen on larger grids but here we are showing otherwise. So how can yo blame Texas's problem on the fact that they are independent and not regulated when the larger grids that are regulated also were having grid problems.

So my original question is still not answered. If that bitter cold that hit Texas had hit Florida (or another deep south area), would the same thing have happened?

 

All we get from the rw is nonsense, as usual. They know this.

It is just one big gaslighting operation.

I already caught that poster making provably false statements and posting false information.

 

So what? It happens alot in California and there is plenty of hot air there.

 

Didn't realise you owned a jet

I think it would have to be federal because initially it would be more expensive that local carbon based production.

Probably, though not sure if you look at Alaska

Seeing as the entire US is one giant basin pouring inwards to the Mississippi, then you'd think hydro was a given.

 

Yes, the poster blamed Biden earlier.

 

Hydropower is a clean, stable, and proven renewable energy source. So why aren’t we using more of it?

Globally, hydropower – which generates electricity through the use of falling water – accounts for 16% of the world’s electricity output, according to the Worldwatch Institute.

China is the largest producer, with a total of 19% of its electricity capacity produced by hydropower, while the in the U.S., it accounts for 9% of all electricity production, according to the Environmental Protection Agency.
...
https://world.edu/why-arent-we-using-more-hydropower/

Here's a decent article on the pros and cons of hydropower.