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Texas Senate passes bill aiming to counter federal subsidies for wind and solar

houstonchronicle.com

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Re: Texas Senate passes bill aiming to counter federal subsidies for wind and solar

#4

I understand that natural gas plants were just as impacted by the storm as renewables ( https://www.texastribune.org/2021/02/16/natural-gas-power-st... ) so it is not clear this bill is being passed in good faith

Yes, the loud politicians have always been painting this as a Green/Wind vs Fossil problem as soon as the storm hit and that the solution is Fossil.

It's frustrating because unlike other debates - the underlying truth is quite clear. Cold temperatures affected both Natural Gas & Wind bringing both power types[0].

Winterizing both can be beneficial. Wind can operating in those temperatures just fine[1]. It wouldn't be cheap, but winterizing gas lines isn't either.

It's being turned into a left vs right issue by those who choose to ignore facts and outright lie to push their own agendas. It actually saddens and frustrates me because a non-partisan issue is being turned into one.

Our country has become hyper partisan and this one doesn't need to be.

[0] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=08mwXICY4JM

[1] https://www.forbes.com/sites/scottcarpenter/2021/02/16/why-w...

Re: Texas Senate passes bill aiming to counter federal subsidies for wind and solar

#6
post #2

I was under the impression that the issues with their grid were not due to renewable energy sources.

I am under the impression that this is an attempt by certain groups to control the narrative, and also to give petroleum producers (the home team down in Texas) a leg up.

Re: Texas Senate passes bill aiming to counter federal subsidies for wind and solar

#8

I understand that natural gas plants were just as impacted by the storm as renewables ( https://www.texastribune.org/2021/02/16/natural-gas-power-st... ) so it is not clear this bill is being passed in good faith

If they worry do much about storms wouldn't nuclear be the best option? Hydro is also pretty resilient.

Re: Texas Senate passes bill aiming to counter federal subsidies for wind and solar

#9
post #5
post #2

I was under the impression that the issues with their grid were not due to renewable energy sources.

Wind being offline, while not majority, was a non-trivial amount, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=08mwXICY4JM .

If the wind infrastructure can be weatherized to effectively prevent such a scenario from happening (which it's my understanding is the case), then the claim that wind is to blame is still an untrue allegation. The blame would lie with not weatherizing the equipment, not with wind.

Re: Texas Senate passes bill aiming to counter federal subsidies for wind and solar

#10
The nonpartisan approach would be a carbon tax along with paying higher prices for energy that provides guarantees that it won’t be interrupted during a cold spell.

Then the research should center on how high the carbon tax should be and how much higher prices Texas is willing to pay for frost hardened energy.

Unfortunately both sides are playing partisan politics and try to tilt the playing field.

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