A large portion of wind turbines in Texas are frozen due to the historic winter storm conditions in the area.
The freezing wind and ice storms have rendered the turbines inoperable as a contributing source of energy, according to Dallas Morning News. This has led to peak record levels of demand for energy in the state.
The Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) has asked residents and businesses to conserve energy and limit their electricity use in order to help lower the stress on the compromised electrical grid.
“We are experiencing record-breaking electric demand due to the extreme cold temperatures that have gripped Texas,” said ERCOT President and CEO Bill Magness in the press release.
“At the same time, we are dealing with higher-than-normal generation outages due to frozen wind turbines and limited natural gas supplies available to generating units. We are asking Texans to take some simple, safe steps to lower their energy use during this time,” Magness continued.
President Biden issued a federal state of emergency for Texas on Sunday at the request of Republican Texas Gov. Greg Abbott. Most of the current weather warnings for Texas will stay in place until Tuesday at noon according to Weather.com.
Extreme cold weather expected to result in record electric use in ERCOT region: https://t.co/xpsePp4Vkk pic.twitter.com/gahiBXmvBD
— ERCOT (@ERCOT_ISO) February 11, 2021
The unusual winter storm has also left millions of Texans without power as of Sunday, with rotating blackouts still ongoing as of Monday morning. (RELATED: Terrifying Video Shows A Semi-Truck Losing Control On An Icy Road In Texas)
In 2019, wind surpassed coal as an energy source in Texas, ranking just below natural gas, according to CNN. Wind power contributes to 22% of the state’s energy production. Texas continues to lead the nation as the top producer of wind power in the United States.