Renewable Energy Is Not the Chief Cause of Texas’ Power Outages

President Joe Biden has declared a state of emergency in response to the rolling power outages now affecting millions of Texans during a deep arctic cold snap. What is causing the energy shortfall? In its op-ed, “A Deep Green Freeze,” The Wall Street Journal‘s editorial board asserts that coal and nuclear power are “the most reliable sources of power.” The editorial also states that “competition from heavily subsidized wind power and inexpensive natural gas, combined with stricter emissions regulation, has caused coal’s share of Texas’s electricity to plunge by more than half in a decade to 18%.” The op-ed further notes that “wind’s share has tripled to about 25% since 2010 and accounted for 42% of power last week before the freeze set in.” The op-ed then balefully concludes: “The Biden Administration’s plan to banish fossil fuels is a greater existential threat to Americans than climate change.”

However, the op-ed fails to mention one particularly salient fact. Most of the shortfall in electric power generation during the current cold snap is the result of natural gas and coal powered plants going offline.

“The wind is not solely to bl