Get out some fans and make those windmills turn.
Arrrrg!
http://seco.cpa.state.tx.us/ Texas Wind Energy.
Some of you smart alecks may enjoy making snarky comments, but the situation here in Texas is extremely unusual and it’s not fun.
This extreme cold isn’t just in the Panhandle or North Texas, where it can happen (but not for this long) most winters. This time, it extends all the way to the Rio Grande and the Gulf of Mexico. The coast is even under a winter storm warning tonight.
We’re short on electricity primarily because the cold weather not only has increased demand, but also knocked out four major generating stations.
“Dallas-based Luminant, the state’s largest power generator, had two coal-fired and two natural gas-fired generating units knocked out at its Oak Grove and Sandow plants in Central Texas.
Those units represented ‘a little less than half’ of the more than 7,000 megawatts of generating capacity sidelined statewide, said Lisa Singleton, a spokeswoman for Energy Future Holdings, the parent company of Luminant.
‘It was extreme weather conditions, the extreme cold, that caused the units to experience mechanical issues,’ she said. ‘We’re working to bring them back up as quickly and safely as we can.’
Examples of weather-related problems contributing to breakdowns were burst water pipes and frozen external transmitters — devices that monitor temperature, pressure and other elements of power plant operations.”
Frankly, the Mexicans need to take care of their own needs first and I don’t blame them for withdrawing the offer as the cold air moved farther south. I’m just hoping for no broken pipes when we finally get above freezing this weekend.