Green Energy Not to Blame for Power Issues
To the Editor:
Reverberating in the false echo chambers of Fox News, Newsmax, and One America News networks, Governor Greg Abbot, State Senator Lois Kolkhorst, U.S. Senator Ted Cruz, and former Trump Energy Secretary Rick Perry, Republicans all and in typical GOP false propaganda fashion and before the pipes even thawed, immediately and wrongfully blamed Texas wind power and the yet to be passed “Green New Deal” on the dark and deadly cold days Texans had to suffer because of its deregulated electricity market where maximizing private profits take precedence over essential protective regulations for the common good of all Texans. This should come as no surprise given that these Republican leaders are beholden to the huge campaign contributions of Big Oil, Big Coal, and Big Nuclear interests and those false echo chambers to stay in office and are the beneficiaries of the false political attack ads paid for by the “dark money” of big corporations. In exchange for such political cov er, these GOP lawmakers vigorously waive the flag of “limited government” to ensure that government plays practically no protective regulatory and enforcement role at all in protecting the people of Texas from the serious deficiencies of coal, natural gas, and nuclear generated electric power production in Texas that made those sources of electricity the only major culprits bringing our electric grid to the brink of total destruction.
Fortunately, the falsely attacked experts in the trenches at ERCOT were able to systematically shut down the grid to avoid months if not years of no electric power in Texas but at great cost to human life and livelihood that those GOP leaders had the duty to protect on their watch. All of those Republican leaders were given fair warning of this impending disaster weeks ahead of this foreseen deep freeze triggered by the unprecedented increase in temperatures in the Artic where its once mountainous layers of ice are fast disappearing due to man-made climate change. They were also fore warned by the deep freeze that Texas suffered in 2011 which, unlike our GOP state leaders, was a lesson learned by the local government of El Paso which wisely took the precautions needed to avert for its people much of this past week’s disaster.
Despite the egregiously false accusations of Abbot, Kolkhorst, Cruz, and Perry that wind power and renewables were at fault, it was only the operational deficiencies of coal, nuclear, and natural gas that miserably failed to meet ERCOT’s reasonable allocation of electricity production. Deregulating the production of electricity in Texas contributed to this freezing fiasco because in Texas maximizing private profits takes precedence over ensuring that investments are made in the protection of electricity production needed during historic periods of the extreme freezing caused by the very man-made climate change generated by decades of burning coal and other carbon emissions. Apparently these GOP leaders failed to understand that wind contributed about 10% more than what ERCOT had allocated to wind power during this historic freeze and that wind power would have contributed even far more during our typically high north winds had our Republican leadership ensured that our wind systems were protected from extreme cold as are the wind systems of our northwestern states along the Canadian border. Apparently they also failed to understand that solar contributed an even greater multiplier of its ERCOT “quota”. Governor Abbott conveniently overlooked the fact that the loss of power from frozen coal fired and natural gas plants was SIX TIMES LARGER than the loss of power caused by frozen wind turbines.
According to an Austin Energy report, FPP may be losing money as it reportedly sends about 200 million Texas dollars to out of state coal companies every year. That is Texas money that should stay in Texas to invest in good paying planet and health saving wind, solar, and natural gas jobs and for the protections needed for those systems to withstand extended periods of deep freezing temperatures which enable properly equipped wind and solar systems in northern climes to continue producing electricity without interruption during even much colder weather. Is losing money to stay in the dirty coal fired power plant business the reason why the LCRA did not invest the funds needed to repair and protect its plant to produce electricity without interruption during extremely cold weather?
Also what is the incentive to repair and protect when the peak prices of a deregulated electric ity market when production is reduced by a freezing fiasco only serve to justify foregoing the costs of such preventive measures?
Texans should demand that Governor Abbot, Senator Cruz, and former Trump Energy Secretary Rick Perry serve “We the People” by investing our tax dollars in abundant Texas wind, solar, and strictly environmentally controlled natural gas for far more good paying Texas jobs instead of deregulating and subsidizing and accommodating the excessive profits of “We the Corporations” like Big Coal and Big Oil who support their election to public office. Texans should expect nothing less than common sense regulation by our lawmakers of corporate greed to protect people and not corporations.
John W. Mikus
Fayetteville