What? Big wind isn't turning out so swell? Texas has long been touted as an example of how well big wind and big transmission can serve electric consumers. Over the last decade or so, Texas went big on industrial wind and a bunch of big, new transmission lines to move the "cheap" energy to its eastern population centers. Power got so cheap in Texas that at certain points they were giving it away. Because wind was so "cheap," other baseload fossil fuel generators were forced out of the market because they couldn't compete on price. Much "dirty" generation closed. Because wind generators cannot be called to run unless their fuel (wind) is abundant, they cannot be counted on at their full capacity. Instead they are modeled at a fraction of their potential. As a result, Texas's reserve generation margin began shrinking to the lowest in the country. What happens when you don't have enough disptachable generation to serve load?
Well, they didn't exactly go out in Texas this week, but it was close and Texans were asked to reduce their use to prevent a blackout.
Texas has been sweltering in a summer heatwave. At the same time, the big wind resource Texas has been counting on tanked. That's no surprise, really. Terrestrial wind is expected to die out during a heat wave. Except much of Texas's earlier stable of baseload fossil fuel generators have closed. There's nothing there to take the place of failed wind generators.
In addition, the prices commanded by the generators that remain shot through the roof. This is supposed to be the market signal to build more generation. But will it really happen just to serve a couple days out of the year? Or will Texas keep doing its big wind thing and accept occasional blackouts and outrageous electric bills as the price of "clean" energy?
Obviously, big land-based wind cannot keep the lights on all the time. Should we all begin training to consume less so that we can survive in a world powered by non-dispatchable "clean" generators? No pain, no gain, right? We can revel in each bucket of sweat we collect as proof that we're saving the planet!
Is that the real message in Michael Moore's new documentary "Planet of the Humans"? Touted as an attack on big wind and big solar, it's been surprisingly quiet from the environmental front. I was so looking forward to watching the left attack one of its own, but it hasn't happened. Why so quiet?
Is this just the latest on the greenwashing front? That we all need to be proud to suffer in order to save the planet? Afterall, we've been fed a steady diet of "clean energy now" for decades. When the truth starts to leak out and the green starts to wear off, we must be trained to like the suffering necessary for a "green" planet and to be proud of our suffering. It's the only way the obscene profits will continue for those who are profiting off the big wind scam.
So, get out your human powered fans, Texas!
Texas has been sweltering in a summer heatwave. At the same time, the big wind resource Texas has been counting on tanked. That's no surprise, really. Terrestrial wind is expected to die out during a heat wave. Except much of Texas's earlier stable of baseload fossil fuel generators have closed. There's nothing there to take the place of failed wind generators.
In addition, the prices commanded by the generators that remain shot through the roof. This is supposed to be the market signal to build more generation. But will it really happen just to serve a couple days out of the year? Or will Texas keep doing its big wind thing and accept occasional blackouts and outrageous electric bills as the price of "clean" energy?
Obviously, big land-based wind cannot keep the lights on all the time. Should we all begin training to consume less so that we can survive in a world powered by non-dispatchable "clean" generators? No pain, no gain, right? We can revel in each bucket of sweat we collect as proof that we're saving the planet!
Is that the real message in Michael Moore's new documentary "Planet of the Humans"? Touted as an attack on big wind and big solar, it's been surprisingly quiet from the environmental front. I was so looking forward to watching the left attack one of its own, but it hasn't happened. Why so quiet?
Is this just the latest on the greenwashing front? That we all need to be proud to suffer in order to save the planet? Afterall, we've been fed a steady diet of "clean energy now" for decades. When the truth starts to leak out and the green starts to wear off, we must be trained to like the suffering necessary for a "green" planet and to be proud of our suffering. It's the only way the obscene profits will continue for those who are profiting off the big wind scam.
So, get out your human powered fans, Texas!
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