The extreme cold is bringing the arctic air to the southern Gulf of Mexico. Fox News senior meteorologist Janice Dean with more.
About half of Texas’ wind power generation capacity has been frozen amid the state’s historic winter storm, according to a report.
WINTER STORM HITS US CENTER, CAUSING FLIGHT CANCELLATIONS, DELAYS
The Texas Electric Reliability Council (ERCOT) told the Austin American Statesman that about 12,000 megawatts of Texas’ wind generation capacity have been hampered since Sunday due to the freezing of wind turbines. However, they also noted that unfrozen wind turbines are spinning at a higher than expected rate, helping to offset losses.
ERCOT operates the Texas power grid and manages the deregulated energy market for 75% of the state,
“This is a unique winter storm that is most widespread with a lot of humidity in western Texas, where there is often not much humidity,” said Dan Woodfin, senior director of system operations at ERCOT. “It is certainly more than we would normally assume.”
It is estimated that between 2.5 and 3.5 million people in Texas were left without power amid the cold temperatures of the storm. An ERCOT spokesman did not immediately return FOX Business’s request for comment.
TEXAS POWER GRID HIT BY EXTREME STORM
According to the Energy Information Administration, renewable energy contributes almost 1/5 of the net electricity generated in Texas. The state leads the country in generating wind electricity, producing almost three-tenths of the total production in the United States.
Reuters reported that wind generation is the second largest source of energy in Texas, accounting for 23% of the state’s energy supply last year, behind natural gas, which accounted for 45%, citing ERCOT figures.
The Texas Public Utility Commission first adopted rules for the state’s renewable energy mandate in 1999 and amended them in 2005 to require 5,880 megawatts, or about 5% of the state’s electricity generation capacity, to come from renewable sources. By 2015 and 10,000 megawatts of renewable sources capacity by 2025, including 500 megawatts of resources other than wind. Texas exceeded the 2025 target in 2009, mainly because of the generation capacity provided by the state’s wind farms.
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On Monday, ERCOT warned of rotating outages as thousands of megawatts of power in the state were lost due to the storm’s “freezing conditions”, resulting in record electrical demand.
“About 10,500 [megawatts] customer load has been eliminated at the highest point. This is enough energy to serve approximately two million homes, “the agency said in a statement.” Extreme weather conditions have caused many generating units – on all types of fuel – to shut down and become unavailable. There are now more than 30,000[megwatt}forcedgenerationoutofthe”[megwatt}ofgenerationforcedoffthesystem”system[megwatt}degeraçãoforçadaasairdosistema”[megwatt}ofgenerationforcedoffthesystem”
Rotating outages are expected to continue until at least Tuesday morning, Woodfin said during an ERCOT meeting on Monday.
According to Texas Governor Greg Abbott, the state’s Public Service Commission was working to restore power to nearly 500,000 residential consumers as of 4 pm, with more customers expected to restore power on Monday night. .
Abbott received an exemption from the U.S. Department of Energy on Sunday to allow power generations to increase production.
“Due to the severe weather and freezing temperatures in our state, many energy companies have failed to generate energy, whether from coal, natural gas or wind power,” said Abbott in a statement. “ERCOT and PUC are working around the clock to restore the energy supply. The state also distributed resources to help Texans without power and to help essential workers continue to do their jobs. In the meantime, I encourage all Texans to stay off the road and conserve energy while state agencies work with private suppliers to restore energy as quickly as possible. “
In addition, Abbot is sending the National Guard to conduct welfare checks and assist local authorities in the transition of needy Texans to one of the state’s 135 local heating centers.
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According to ERCOT, consumers can reduce electricity use by lowering thermostats to 68 degrees, closing curtains and blinds to reduce the amount of heat lost through windows, turning off and disconnecting non-essential lights and appliances, and avoiding the use of large appliances, such as ovens and washing machines.
Companies should minimize the use of electrical lighting and equipment that consume electricity as much as possible, and large consumers of electricity should consider shutting down or reducing non-essential production processes.