How the Texas grid held strong amid freeze and fears of blackout
- brittanyreed28
- Jan 17, 2024
- 1 min read
A blast of arctic cold blowing across Texas early this week fueled fears of widespread blackouts. But the grid has held strong, protected in large part by the state’s nation-leading renewables industry.
As the sun shone on a chilly Wednesday afternoon, renewable energy sources — wind, solar and nuclear — were responsible for nearly 59 percent of state power supply, according to the Energy Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT).
By comparison, gas and coal generation contributed about 41 percent.
That’s a major point in favor of wind power, a longtime scapegoat of state conservatives in the wake of the deadly Winter Storm Uri in February 2021, which knocked out power for millions of Texans.