LETTER: Texas, renewables and fossil fuels
In his Feb. 24 letter to the editor, Joe Freeman gave us a supposed “energy lesson” that explained the Texas power grid problems. He asserted the problem wasn’t that Texas was relying on “kinetic energy sources” — wind and solar — but rather that it was relying on “potential energy sources” — fossil fuels and nuclear. In reality, the storm froze wind generation and snow covered solar panels that Texans were relying on for power.
The failure — and exorbitant pricing — of the “potential” power generation sources was two-fold. First, the “kinetic energy sources” failed. Second, there was extremely poor forecast management of the grid. There have been many resignations from ERCOT (Electric Reliability Council of Texas) because of the debacle.
Sorry, Mr. Freeman. It wasn’t fossil and nuclear power generation that failed. It was the reliability council’s over-reliance on “kinetic energy sources.” We can’t count on the wind blowing or the sun shining for a reliable supply of energy. We can turn on the natural gas and nuclear power plants anytime they’re needed.
Modern civilization is entirely dependent on the power staying on 24/7/365. “Kinetic power sources” alone can’t do that.