A great example of how the simplistic narratives about the cold snap and power outages (i.e. it's all wind's fault, this is why we need a Green New Deal, etc.) miss the mark so badly.
1/x https://twitter.com/SPPorg/status/1361442559734779909

The Southwest Power Pool is the grid manager with the highest percentage of wind as a share of its fuel mix. The announcement in the preceding tweet was from two days ago, and it's still insanely cold across the central plains.
2/x

There are still some outages, to be sure. And yes, SPP still relies heavily on coal and gas.

But if a high % of renewable power were an inherent threat to reliability, SPP's announcement two days ago would have been impossible.
3/x

But if blaming fossil fuels is your cup of tea, you're also missing the mark.

As temperatures plunged, demand for natural gas soared. Between Feb. 10 and Feb. 15, power generation from natural gas increased by roughly 50% in Texas.
4/x

Also notice that even though there were reports of large numbers of wind turbines freezing in Texas, total output from wind actually grew at the peak. To be sure, wind could have provided much more had those turbines not frozen. But again, reality is complex, not simple.
5/x

There are legitimate discussions to be had about what constitutes a resilient fuel mix and the need for many fuel types to keep the power on. But advocates for relying on fewer fuel sources are effectively advocating for less resilience (and higher costs).
6/x

The number one threat for power outages is not the fuel type, but infrastructure. When your power goes out, it's unlikely because the source is wind or fossil fuel. In many parts of the country we have outdated or inadequate means of delivering energy from A to B.
7/x

We need to be able to build infrastructure, including pipelines and power lines. The more connectivity, the more resilience and greater reliability.

Wacky weather events will always be a threat, but misdiagnosing the problem will only make them worse.
/end