Texas officials try to blame frozen wind turbines for catastrophic power outages

People wit to fill propane tanks in Houston, Texas

Credit: AP

Officials in Texas last night attempted to blame frozen wind turbines for catastrophic power outages as they sought to counter long-term moves toward renewable energy by Joe Biden’s administration.

A devastating winter storm, which has killed two dozen people, left millions without electricity in a state which is by far the biggest oil and gas producer in the United States.

About 25 per cent of Texas’s energy comes from wind at this time of year.

The Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT), which operates the state’s power grid, said wind had accounted for only 13 per cent of power outages in recent days.

Failures in natural gas, coal and nuclear energy were more to blame than frozen wind turbines, it said.

The primary culprit was freezing issues in natural gas systems, which provide half of the state’s power.

But Greg Abbott, the Republican governor of Texas, claimed the outages showed America should not adopt the proposed Green New Deal plan to tackle climate change.

Mr Abbott said: "This shows how the Green New Deal would be a deadly deal for the United States.

"Our wind and our solar got shut down. That thrust Texas into a situation where it was lacking power on a statewide basis. It just shows that fossil fuel is necessary."

Texas has been blanketed in snow

Credit: Austin American-Statesman

Texas’s agriculture commissioner Sid Miller added. "We should never build another wind turbine in Texas. The experiment failed big time."

However, Michael Webber, an energy resources professor at the University of Texas, said: "Texas is a gas state. Gas is failing in the most spectacular fashion right now."

Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, a prominent backer of the Green New Deal, said: "The infrastructure failures in Texas are quite literally what happens when you don’t pursue a Green New Deal."

As images of frozen wind turbines proliferated on social media, fossil fuel advocates sought to capitalise.

Rick Perry, the former Texas governor and US energy secretary under President Donald Trump, said: “If this Green New Deal goes forward the way the Biden administration appears to want it to, then we’ll have more events like we’ve had in Texas all across the country."

Texas has been plunged into frigid temperatures and blanketed with snow by Winter Storm Uri.

In all, 2.7 million still had no power on Wednesday, after several days, and some had turned to burning their belongings to stay warm.

Severe conditions were affecting a host of states with more than 100 million people under weather warnings.

The National Weather Service said there would be "no letup to the misery".

Kamala Harris, the vice president, addressed those with no power on television. She said: "I know they can’t see us right now because they’re without electricity, but the president and I are thinking of them."

Laura Nowell, 45, a mother-of-four in Waco, Texas, said: "We’ve never had this much cold. There is ice everywhere."

Lisa Blevins 58, in east Texas, told the Texas Tribune: "I didn’t even have a clue there was a chance our electric could go off. Those things just don’t happen in Texas, so no one is prepared for it.”

Much of Texans’ anger was directed at ERCOT, the grid operator.

Bill Magness, the chief executive, said: "We know millions of people are suffering. We have no other priority than getting them electricity."

In Austin the Democrat mayor Steve Adler said: "The grid failed us here. It failed because we had a system that wasn’t hardened and ready for sustained weather at 18 degrees below zero.

"But we need to start taking a look at extreme weather. It’s not as unusual as it used to be."

Meanwhile, the mayor of Colorado City, Texas resigned after posting on Facebook that "lazy" residents seeking assistance should "quit crying" and he was "sick and tired of people looking for a damn handout!"

Tim Boyd wrote: "Folks, God has given us the tools to support ourselves in times like this. This is sadly the product of a socialist government. No one owes you [or] your family anything. Think outside of the box to survive."  

After resigning Mr Boyd said he should have "used better wording".