That’s why energy planners across the country need to implement more energy storage and microgrids close to where we need them and build a more comprehensive network of underground high-voltage, direct current (HVDC) power lines that are robust against bad weather. The country still relies on a far-flung system of large, remote power plants that need long-haul transmission systems to bring power to market. Texas’s mistakes are common to other states. In fact, extreme weather has caused significant blackouts in California because of wildfire risk in 2020, Hurricane Sandy in 2012 and in the Midwest from the polar vortex in 2014. All told, it was a recipe for failure and it can happen elsewhere. But the state experiences arctic fronts more often than Texans care to admit. Yet, it failed.Īs a state with significant portions in a semi-arid climate, Texas prepares the grid for the hot afternoons of the summer. Texas is the world’s third largest natural gas producer and has built more new power plants and transmission line capacity during the past 15 years than most countries did during that time. Overall, the nation’s infrastructure is weak - with crumbling bridges, sagging power lines and leaky pipes - and Texas serves as the canary in the coal mine that more troubles might be looming. The experience in Texas should be a warning to other states: If an energy-abundant, rich state that likes to invest in infrastructure can suffer a significant energy crisis, then it can happen anywhere.
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