Snowstorms in Texas highlight the necessity of fossil fuels

The message that we have to electrify everything that currently uses fossil fuels to generate energy has become the dominant message of the energy transition. Solar, wind, and energy storage - perhaps with the help of hydropower and some nuclear power - can meet mankind's energy needs, the argument goes, with a much smaller carbon footprint. But the Arctic cold spell that is sweeping the United States has seriously undermined that argument. Natural gas prices skyrocketed in many parts of the US last week and are still rising, as are electricity prices. In Texas, a state not used to weather like this, wholesale prices for electricity on the spot market rose to $ 9,000 per MWh, prompting at least one utility company to urge its customers to switch to another provider to get high Avoid utility bills. Power outages are a fact now; two million Texas households are without power at the time of this writing. The authorities meanwhile urge people to save energy by limiting their consumption. ERCOT has said that the blackouts will be rolling, with a duration of 45 minutes per area. That might not be a lot, but it does indicate the presence of a problem. Texas is the largest producer of wind energy in the United States. Unfortunately, the state saw half of its wind turbines freeze due to the frigid winds blowing from Canada into parts of the United States that were not used to such temperatures. Of a total of 25 GW of wind power capacity, 12 GW were lost due to the frost. At the same time, there is a shortage of natural gas, probably because of the sudden surge in demand. And it could get worse. The cold snap has also hit the oil and gas industry in Texas. Oil wells are being shut down and refineries are shutting down amid the blackouts caused by the deep frost and lack of gas. The pipeline operation is also affected by the power outages, which could further impair the gas supply.