“… most folks don’t understand the reduced reliability of natural gas when temperatures hover below zero for long.
Therefore, the most reliable source of energy, at least in Oklahoma, is coal.
Just as Joe Biden was blathering about the “existential threat” from climate change and the need to move away from fossil fuels to “green energy,” along came a frigid cold snap never experienced before by anyone alive today in states like Texas and Oklahoma.
... Of all the states, Texas is the largest producer of wind energy, and Oklahoma is second.
... Over the past 15 years or so, those in the wind business have carved out a significant position and huge profits among electricity producers by obtaining federal and state subsidies and tax breaks.
Oklahoma has halted subsidies for new projects, but subsidized projects begun years ago with multi-year benefits still line the pockets of those in the industry.
Oklahoma produces little solar energy, but the brutal cold, with several cloudy days and near-record snowfall, nearly eliminated its contribution to electricity generation.
... What has been the result of all this energy failure?
Rolling blackouts in Texas and, for the first time in state history, Oklahoma.
Emergency management officials and elected officials have pleaded with folks to conserve energy.
Water pipes have frozen, heating systems have failed, and folks have made a run on portable space heaters that inefficiently use lots of electric power.
Even the giant Goodyear Tire Plant in Lawton was ordered to shut down because it was using too much natural gas producing new tires.
So why the shortages in states like Texas and Oklahoma, which have massive amounts of natural gas, which is now the main source for electricity?
After all, the Oklahoma Corporation Commission, the regulatory body for the oil, gas, and electric utility industries, requires electric utilities to maintain adequate traditional baseload capacity for electric generation during peak demand.
That requirement is because of the unreliability of wind and solar generation.
... in the past, peak loads would occur during hot summer days without even a whisper of wind.
On such days, Oklahoma’s largest electric utility would supply enough electricity for peak demand from coal- and natural gas-fired generation plants.
This has not been a problem in the past, as most of the gas plants are efficient and capable of coming on line or shutting down quickly when demand surges or drops.
However, natural gas is unreliable in extreme cold.
Because of its moisture content, when it gets really cold, valves freeze at well heads, and short-term gas shortages occur for both residential customers and electric generating utilities.
Oklahoma Gas & Electric (OG&E) prefers a mix of generating fuels.
But there are no nuclear power plants in Oklahoma, very little hydroelectric production, and very little solar.
Therefore, the mix is of coal, natural gas, and wind.
Anyone can understand that wind and solar are unreliable—they don’t work when the wind isn’t blowing or the sun isn’t shining.
But most folks don’t understand the reduced reliability of natural gas when temperatures hover below zero for long.
Therefore, the most reliable source of energy, at least in Oklahoma, is coal.
... the coal-fired plants in Oklahoma are mostly modern and efficient and use only low-sulfur coal.
... Warming from adding CO2 to the atmosphere occurs mostly toward the poles, mostly in winter, and mostly at night, raising low temperatures.
That lengthens growing seasons, and expands crop ranges to higher latitudes and altitudes, and reduces temperature-related mortality.
Whenever you hear about the costs of climate change, in short, remember the benefits.
The federal Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ... suggested there was a growing haze problem covering the Quarts Mountains in southwestern Oklahoma.
It suggested the haze came from emissions from the coal-fired plants in northeastern Oklahoma.
... In the end, both OG&E and PSO agreed to reduce the amount of electricity produced by converting some of their existing coal-fired generation capacity to natural gas.
In addition, OG&E was forced to install expensive scrubbers on the remaining coal-fired generators, even though their benefit would be minimal at the least.
The debacle of the cold snap of February 2021 in Oklahoma was the result.
Will we learn anything from this about how any reliance on wind and solar, and excessive reliance on natural gas, threaten the stability of power grid?
... Because of technological advances, coal does not have to harm the environment.
To maintain a stable grid and avoid the life-threatening blackouts just experienced, we need more electricity from coal, not less."