Texas wind shortage.
On Tuesday morning, we wrote about the recent boom in Texas wind power generation and its many positive attributes. By the evening on that same day, Texas had entered into a wind energy emergency. The winds which we noted blow so consistently from the north had abruptly died down that day, coupled with an increase in energy demand due to a cold-snap and the failure of a series of non-wind related power plants in the state, led to a series of rolling blackouts. Fortunately the blackouts were limited to commercial customers who opt to be the first to be taken off the grid in emergencies in return for lower rates during normal times.
While this event does not discredit the usefulness of wind energy, it does highlight a potential problem relating to it. Since wind power, once generated, is very difficult to store on a large level, when the wind dies down abruptly so will the amount of power that can be supplied to the grid. This leads us to believe that while wind power is going to be an integral component of future energy supplies, it needs to be balanced with other methods of production in order to avoid total collapses resulting from the whims of Mother Nature.
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