Debunked_ Solar Was Reliable During Texas Blackouts In the wake of the disastrous blackouts that left countless people in Texas without power during the February 2021 blizzard, opponents of green energy were quick to blame the power failure on the state’s solar plants. They claimed that solar no longer worked once the snow overwhelmed the solar panel farms, and storage was an insufficient backup. They
also levelled similar accusations at wind power, citing incidents in which turbines froze in place.
Many of those voicing criticism used these talking points to rally support for expansion of dirty energy sourcing. They claimed that only traditional energy sources like coal and natural gas could be relied upon through extreme weather events. However, these claims were false. A report issued by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission’s (FERC) has confirmed that solar
was actually a reliable source of power throughout the historic, days-long blackout.
The Real Culprits Though many attempted to make solar the scapegoat for the power crisis, an analysis of the grid’s sources during that period showed that failures of natural gas, coal, and nuclear energy production were the cause of over double the outages that renewables were.
This was confirmed by the operators of the state grid, the Electric Reliability Council of Texas. Out of 45,000 MW that were offline throughout Texas, ERCOT attributed 30,000 to thermal sources, while only 16,000 were renewables. The FERC’s report specifies 1,045 individual generating units experienced 4,124 outages (or derates and failures to start) over the course of the crisis. Of these generators, 604 (57%) were powered by natural gas.
Key Takeaways Concluding the report was the citation of Texas’s insufficient policies regarding plant winterization and coordination between grid operators and electric generators. Similar recommendations were issued from an FERC report regarding another extreme weather event from about a decade prior, but a lack of enforcement allowed for few changes to be made.
FERC vice president of state and regulatory affairs, Sean Gallagher, stated after the organization’s report was issued:
“Even during record-breaking low temperatures in Texas, solar assets performed as expected during the February 2021 Texas blackout. Solar remains a predictable, reliable and affordable clean energy source that grid operators across the country can use to their strategic advantage. Especially when paired with storage, solar can
provide backup power and keep the lights on for homes, businesses, and critical infrastructure.”
The Impact on Solar Installation Leads February’s blackout had already sparked an increased interest in backup power sources and grid independence. But confirmation that solar generation held up far better through the freeze is bound to drive that interest even higher.
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