Half of Texas Wind Turbines Freeze, Hurting Electricity Output

[SoonerP226]

But what is wrong is that the photo being shared, is being shared with a false narrative to go with it. It's not just shared as "stock photo showing an iced over wind turbine". It's being shared as "HURR DURR, LOOK AT HOW THE GREEN NEW DEAL SUCKS!" Lauren the Moron Boebert had some tweets about that amongst other high profile figures. And we've proven here in this thread that fact checking doesn't exist. So sharing stuff like that is, yeah, pretty terrible. It goes back to a question I ask on the board all the time. Do you want to be what you accuse your opponent of, or do you want to be better than your perception of them?

I wasn't talking about that, just the fact that they're having trouble with icing on the turbines in Texas (a contention which I've not seen refuted). IMHO, the meme itself is making a valid point; the problem is with it being represented as being a current image from Texas.

If you'll go back a page, you'll see that I made pretty much the same point you did in your last sentence.

 

[El Pablo]

I wasn't talking about that, just the fact that they're having trouble with icing on the turbines in Texas (a contention which I've not seen refuted). IMHO, the meme itself is making a valid point; the problem is with it being represented as being a current image from Texas.

If you'll go back a page, you'll see that I made pretty much the same point you did in your last sentence.

And the issue is they leave out the problems tx had with ng, coal, and nuclear power plants... all going off line for various reasons. Reasons yet to be announced. The real solution is we need multiple options.

 

[SoonerP226]

And the issue is they leave out the problems tx had with ng, coal, and nuclear power plants... all going off line for various reasons. Reasons yet to be announced. The real solution is we need multiple options.

The issue with what? It's not with the meme itself, which isn't purporting to address Texas's issues, it's with the misapplication of the meme to Texas's current wind generation issues--but if it's misapplied to Texas's current wind generation issues, then it is logically misapplied to all of Texas's current energy issues.

As far as my reference to it, I wasn't addressing all of Texas's power issues, just the question of why Texas is having problems with wind generation while Oklahoma isn't.

 

[El Pablo]

https://www.texastribune.org/2021/02/16/texas-wind-turbines-frozen/
To better understand the real problem

 

[TwoForFlinching]

With an estimated 50-ish years left at current consuption rates, I wonder what will replace gas after it runs out. It's logical to think that number will grow as we evolve new technologies to find and harvest it, but as the population swells, consumption will too in kind. We won't live to see it, but my nephews have the odds they'll have to do without one day gas and oil. That's why I've never unserstood the pushback of alternative energy tech. I agree oil and gas is Plan A and B, but every plan needs a C, D, and E.

 

[OKCHunter]

With an estimated 50-ish years left at current consuption rates, I wonder what will replace gas after it runs out. It's logical to think that number will grow as we evolve new technologies to find and harvest it, but as the population swells, consumption will too in kind. We won't live to see it, but my nephews have the odds they'll have to do without one day gas and oil. That's why I've never unserstood the pushback of alternative energy tech. I agree oil and gas is Plan A and B, but every plan needs a C, D, and E.

Nuclear and hydrogen fuel cells are reliable long term solutions in my opinion, especially if the fed would start allowing reprocessing of spent nuclear fuel.

 

[TwoForFlinching]

Nuclear and hydrogen fuel cells are reliable long term solutions in my opinion, especially if the fed would start allowing reprocessing of spent nuclear fuel.

I'm right there with you. Huge fan of nuclear, but unlike gas and oil, mistakes in nuclear are devastating beyond the commujities they're in. Id be a fan of posting up a bunch in empty places like Nevada, Utah, Wyoming, etc... Where it can be somewhat contained. Or, with the jet stream, build a bunch along the Eastern coast. Unfortunately for hydrogen, it disappears with oil amd gas.

 

[OKCHunter]

I'm right there with you. Huge fan of nuclear, but unlike gas and oil, mistakes in nuclear are devastating beyond the commujities they're in. Id be a fan of posting up a bunch in empty places like Nevada, Utah, Wyoming, etc... Where it can be somewhat contained. Or, with the jet stream, build a bunch along the Eastern coast. Unfortunately for hydrogen, it disappears with oil amd gas.

Hydrogen can be generated from the electrolysis of water. Nuclear plants can generate the electricity needed to desalinate sea water and generate hydrogen. The plant would also be used to supply electricity to the grid. The US nuclear plants are actually very safe, especially the new designs. Look-up small modular reactors (NuScale is one I am familiar with).

 

[TwoForFlinching]

Hydrogen can be generated from the electrolysis of water. Nuclear plants can generate the electricity needed to desalinate sea water and generate hydrogen. The plant would also be used to supply electricity to the grid. The US nuclear plants are actually very safe, especially the new designs. Look-up small modular reactors (NuScale is one I am familiar with).

I believe you. An old high school bestie works at the Arkansas nuclear one plant. He has nothing but praise for the science. The locations available for him to work at on the other hand... less than desirable lol. We used to have a megathread on nuclear power generation. Like you hinted, the problem isn't operation, it's disposal and recycling. Nobody wants spent fuel laying about in deep storage.

Hydrogen could be the fuel that bridges the gap between oil and gas crowd and the others. Powerful, clean burning... If they can produce it through waste operations as a byproduct, it'll be cheap too.

 

[OKCHunter]

...it's disposal and recycling. Nobody wants spent fuel laying about in deep storage...

Yep. Which is why I say we should reprocess the spent fuel like France and other countries do. Currently, spent fuel is stored onsite at each of the existing nuclear plants in spent fuel storage facilities. It would be better to reprocess it and recover any remaining energy before ultimate waste storage / disposal. Thank Jimmy Carter for the current storage practice.