Monday morning, millions of Texans woke up to a harsh reality: Green energy fails when you need it most.
This past weekend, temperatures plummeted across the country amid snow and ice storms. This included the Lone Star State, where temperatures dropped into the teens. This may have produced some funny videos of Texans enjoying the snow, but it also produced what has become an energy emergency.
The unusually low temperatures froze Texas’ wind turbines, and millions are now without power. Residents were urged to preserve power over the weekend to avoid outages, but state regulators were forced to issue rolling blackouts. The weather forecast isn’t projected to change, either, so this situation may last for the rest of the week.
You’ve likely never heard of Irion County, Texas, but, as of 7:20 a.m. on Monday, over 70% of its residents were without power. The temperature in the county seat of Mertzon during these blackouts? A balmy 2 degrees.
Compare the unfortunate folks in Irion County to Travis County, home to Austin and more than a few adherents of the green religion. Just over 35% of them were without power at the exact same time.
Not for nothing, President Trump carried Irion County last November by over 85 percent. President Biden won Travis County by over 70%.
It would seem those who are pushing the state’s increasingly green agenda are not forced to deal with its failures as severely. I guess it’s easy to impose a lifestyle on others when you’re spared from the harshest consequences.
It doesn’t matter if it’s winter blackouts in Texas or summer blackouts in California, it’s time that we processed the clear lesson from these situations: We cannot rely on energy that depends on the weather. The eco-left often dismisses claims that wind and solar aren’t capable of providing power year-round for 24 hours a day, but the decreasing reliability of our power grid says otherwise.
After less than one month in office, President Biden has already issued a record number of executive orders that will ultimately lead the rest of the country to suffer the same fate as Texas and California. Many have wondered how Biden plans on executing his pledge for a carbon neutral America by 2035, but it seems that forcing your home to go without electricity could be one way to reach that goal.
Biden’s green agenda is not only taking away the comfort and power from your homes, but, for thousands of Americans, he’s also taking away the jobs. His order to stop the Keystone Pipeline instantly destroyed numerous jobs across the country. The Biden administration says this will all be compensated for in the form of green jobs – just don’t ask when.
As we speak, the “green” future embraced by Biden and his special interests are already failing millions. Call it an equal opportunity disaster because it doesn’t matter if the state is Red or Blue … when you need power the most, Green energy fails.
Larry Behrens is the Western States Director for Power The Future, an organization fighting for America’s Energy Workers. He previously served as Communications Director for New Mexico Governor Susana Martinez. You can find him on Twitter at @larrybehrens and @PTFNewMexico or email at larry@powerthefuture.com.