The native Americans never even had heard of a polar vortex until the white man came along and started causing them

Just for the record I was being sarcastic in my above post

I feel sorry for them poor polar bears they will freeze to death before they starve to death now, they just cannot win!

I was thinking that just the other day, Years ago I would plan to be on the river trapping spring beaver around Feb. 15th. That hasn't happened the last few years.

I'm convinced that in order to make things work out properly, it's going to have to be a combination of several sources based on weather conditions. Much like electric cars might work fine in some parts of the country but not all due to the cold. It's nice to think that there is a solution of some sort out there but I think we are far from it.

Are there many areas completely reliant on wind energy?

I find the size of the blackout in Texas hard to believe ...not having backup

I think so too. I used be be very happy if we got two weeks of open water trapping here in central MN fall season, now it seems I get to water trap till past thanksgiving. I remember the old "boys basketball tournament" March blizzards, now they seem later. January 16th used to be "on average" the coldest week of the year. So it seems the weather patterns have shifted to later in the calender.
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there is a wind turbine in a west twin city metro suburb purchased from down south. When they installed it they thought it would power some facility, a school, I think. Turns out that the oil in the thing turns into gelatinous goo in Mn winter. So the wind generator works just fine when school is not in session, notsomuch when needed.
Sometimes "I told you so" just doesn't quite cover it.....

quote=20scout]I'm convinced that in order to make things work out properly, it's going to have to be a combination of several sources based on weather conditions. Much like electric cars might work fine in some parts of the country but not all due to the cold. It's nice to think that there is a solution of some sort out there but I think we are far from it. [/quote]

Not being a smart butt, but a solution to what. In other words what are we fixing?

I see no one listed nuclear power as a source of clean energy. Disposal of radioactive waste has been determined to be safe, but, no one will let the repositories open because something might go wrong in 10,000 years. The other issue not mentioned is when a portion of the grid goes down The large rotating generators pick up the difference until the grid stabilizes. In Europe where they have a large amount of green energy the voltage and current is continually fluctuating and when something fails a brownout occurs. These brownouts cause your refrigerator and other appliance motors to burn out prematurely. Their solution to this is everyone should buy an electric car and plug it in when not in use. That way you continually buy power until it is needed on the grid then give it back free or at a steep discount from what you paid. I believe green power has a place but is not the solution to long term bulk power needs. I am retired, but was an operator in a nuclear power plant so am familiar with power grids and how they work.

Blue states should be limited to green energy only, red states limited to fossil fuel/nuclear/hydro powered energy and green energy at private residence if they choose to, as they will pay for it themselves, not mandated by the gubmint..

This is good stuff, it is interesting watching things nearly fall apart due to cold. It is also interesting to watch how the whole Texas mess is being blamed on wind power, which is like 10% of their supply.

The electric generation industry has known for decades that the formula for a reliable supply is a mix of generation sources. Regardless, all are subject to difficulties caused by extreme weather conditions, and the delivery systems (transmission and distribution lines) are even more of a challenge to keep in operation. Being unprepared to deal with a few days without electricity is the real problem being dealt with right now. A kerosene heater and faucets set to drip would get almost all homeowners safely through a few days of trouble. A couple of oil lamps, flashlights or lanterns, and a good supply of batteries would help too.

Gentleman.
I can say from experience, my bear camp is on a solar system and can tell you what others won’t. Those panels lose a percentage of their conversion capability each and every year. This year I’m looking at a hefty bill to replace mine after 12 years. Then there is the disposal....
The break down rate of the panels is of course higher than they list it.
I would ask this as well. Scientists say we have had very prosperous times on the planet due to richer atmosphere, greenhouse effects etc.
How do we know we’re not actually hurting rather than helping with all these idiotic efforts? Getting rid of pollution I’m all for mind you, but who can prove to me mankind isn’t doing more harm than good with the “green” movement.

Osky

Texas gets 25% of their power from wind according to what I have found.

now we're hearing OH no it's the natural gas system that's failing. Too cold to produce or pump natural gas.
So let me get this straight, your water supply system didn't freeze' but your natural gas supply system did.
B as in B S as in S.
take care.

Doesn't help that apparently some of the natgas plants had to shutdown because they don't insulate done important components....know people in texas and here on Ohio having issues with propane generators freezing.

Fun fact, we actually get pretty long stretches of hot weather. I’ve endured multiple days of 100 degrees, even burned my lips. Then 5 months later endured -40 for a week, it’s ridiculous really, the temperature extremes.