We have our own grid precisely to keep the federal government from leveraging our electricity as a means of blackmailing us to stay in the union. If you don't get that, you're the one who's stupid, not us. We understand winter means cold, and every Texan lives by the axiom: "if you don't like Texas' weather, wait 5 minutes, it'll change". We're not complaining and we don't need you to white knight for us or to slyly encourage "solutions" that only serve to enslave us.
We aren't pathetically dependent, like whiny-ass California or New York, to have to beg for electricity off our neighbors. If we can't provide it for ourselves, we don't want it from others. Arkansas, Oklahoma, Colorado, and New Mexico are a lot colder than we are and what's the point in making them do without?? If you don't live here, you have no right to condescendingly pontificate about our strategy for defying the insidious collectivist tyranny of the feds. It's the Lone Star Republic for a reason.
My guess is you went to A&M. I live in TX, love TX, think TX does most things right. TX did not do this one right. They allowed too much base power capacity to come from non-natural gas and non-coal sources.
One thing I know, when shot hits the fan TX is pretty good at fixing things. So I am hopeful we will not rely on crap renewable energy and also better prepare for a crazy weather event.
Actually, UCLA. My spouse went to Stanford. We both have our PhDs in History. But, we couldn't wait to get out of CA. As soon as I was done with my degree I said we've gotta get out of here, because as early as '89, we could see how things were going to end up in CA. So, we got interviews in Texas and got here in 1990.
We live on I-45, so I watch the trucks take wind turbine blades and generators up the freeway from Houston to points north all the time. I can only assume these are being made in Korea, shipped to the port of Houston and then taken up into the heartland (AR, OK, MO, KS, etc) since I don't see those dumb frikkin things around east Texas, anyway.
I'm handling it just fine, it's great! Gets rid of the vermin like CA & Mexican street zombies, too. And, btw, everybody else here is handling it fine, as well. So you can just fuck right off now, to whatever holdy-hand, leftard cesspit you slimed out of.
Well I fully support Texans being able to decide to have independent power grid if there willing to bear the cost of it, which is stuff like this. Its not really Texas fault that their power grid isn't designed to deal with a 1 in 20 year ice storm, but this is what a unified power grid is for so, texans should weigh that when deciding.
Texas secession has always been like a little festival for the masses, a vial of hopium for the true diehards, its a joke, its never going to happen. Texas just doesn't want to have to deal with the same environmental regulations as the rest of the country. It has nothing to do with winning a war with the feds. Or not letting the Chinese build your grid. The construction of the grid is done by public utilities companies and contractors hired by state and municipal authorities not the fed and Texas could ban Chinese parts from being used in those contracts whether or not their grid was connected.
To entertain your notion. If there was a war the first thing the feds would do would be shoot a bunch of AGM-86 ALCM cruise missiles from bombers based in North Dakota or California probably and destroy all of Texas power plants making the grid more or less useless. If anything, Texas grid energy independence would just spare them having to blackout parts of New Mexico and Oklahoma.
Wind power employs about ~130,000 people, the coal industry employs about 54,000. The wind industry generates 7% of US power the Coal industry 23%. Its not quite 10x, but its still far more. Outside of West Virginia, a move towards more renewables would be a huge boon for rural America. It would employ a lot of people, and you obviously aren't going to be building solar or wind farms in the middle of cities. It costs about 40$ per MWH for onshore wind and 114$ per MWH for coal. The cost of building wind turbines is slightly higher than a gas factory but cheaper than a coal factory, but much of that is labor cost to American workers and it becomes much cheaper when factor in that once built wind is essentially free. Ofc wind energy is going to have to be back up with nuclear and probably some natural gas. Its not always windy and its not always sunny.
The idea that the wind industry is being held up by government subsidies though is stupid. Almost all power generation comes from public utilities monopolies who are given huge government subsides. Thats just how the energy industry works. Its a hell of a lot cheaper to invest in new technology than to have to have an aircraft carrier group off the Persian gulf 8 months a year. Opposition to wind energy is more about aesthetics and being duped by the oil lobby than actual concerns.
In case you guys think that windmills aren't reliable in the winter if they are properly weathered proofed just like any power source here you go:
We have our own grid precisely to keep the federal government from leveraging our electricity as a means of blackmailing us to stay in the union. If you don't get that, you're the one who's stupid, not us. We understand winter means cold, and every Texan lives by the axiom: "if you don't like Texas' weather, wait 5 minutes, it'll change". We're not complaining and we don't need you to white knight for us or to slyly encourage "solutions" that only serve to enslave us.
We aren't pathetically dependent, like whiny-ass California or New York, to have to beg for electricity off our neighbors. If we can't provide it for ourselves, we don't want it from others. Arkansas, Oklahoma, Colorado, and New Mexico are a lot colder than we are and what's the point in making them do without?? If you don't live here, you have no right to condescendingly pontificate about our strategy for defying the insidious collectivist tyranny of the feds. It's the Lone Star Republic for a reason.
Cute. But the reason Texas has an independent grid has nothing to do with some political grandstanding of succession.
My guess is you went to A&M. I live in TX, love TX, think TX does most things right. TX did not do this one right. They allowed too much base power capacity to come from non-natural gas and non-coal sources.
One thing I know, when shot hits the fan TX is pretty good at fixing things. So I am hopeful we will not rely on crap renewable energy and also better prepare for a crazy weather event.
Actually, UCLA. My spouse went to Stanford. We both have our PhDs in History. But, we couldn't wait to get out of CA. As soon as I was done with my degree I said we've gotta get out of here, because as early as '89, we could see how things were going to end up in CA. So, we got interviews in Texas and got here in 1990.
We live on I-45, so I watch the trucks take wind turbine blades and generators up the freeway from Houston to points north all the time. I can only assume these are being made in Korea, shipped to the port of Houston and then taken up into the heartland (AR, OK, MO, KS, etc) since I don't see those dumb frikkin things around east Texas, anyway.
I'm handling it just fine, it's great! Gets rid of the vermin like CA & Mexican street zombies, too. And, btw, everybody else here is handling it fine, as well. So you can just fuck right off now, to whatever holdy-hand, leftard cesspit you slimed out of.
Well I fully support Texans being able to decide to have independent power grid if there willing to bear the cost of it, which is stuff like this. Its not really Texas fault that their power grid isn't designed to deal with a 1 in 20 year ice storm, but this is what a unified power grid is for so, texans should weigh that when deciding.
Texas secession has always been like a little festival for the masses, a vial of hopium for the true diehards, its a joke, its never going to happen. Texas just doesn't want to have to deal with the same environmental regulations as the rest of the country. It has nothing to do with winning a war with the feds. Or not letting the Chinese build your grid. The construction of the grid is done by public utilities companies and contractors hired by state and municipal authorities not the fed and Texas could ban Chinese parts from being used in those contracts whether or not their grid was connected.
To entertain your notion. If there was a war the first thing the feds would do would be shoot a bunch of AGM-86 ALCM cruise missiles from bombers based in North Dakota or California probably and destroy all of Texas power plants making the grid more or less useless. If anything, Texas grid energy independence would just spare them having to blackout parts of New Mexico and Oklahoma.
Wind power employs about ~130,000 people, the coal industry employs about 54,000. The wind industry generates 7% of US power the Coal industry 23%. Its not quite 10x, but its still far more. Outside of West Virginia, a move towards more renewables would be a huge boon for rural America. It would employ a lot of people, and you obviously aren't going to be building solar or wind farms in the middle of cities. It costs about 40$ per MWH for onshore wind and 114$ per MWH for coal. The cost of building wind turbines is slightly higher than a gas factory but cheaper than a coal factory, but much of that is labor cost to American workers and it becomes much cheaper when factor in that once built wind is essentially free. Ofc wind energy is going to have to be back up with nuclear and probably some natural gas. Its not always windy and its not always sunny.
The idea that the wind industry is being held up by government subsidies though is stupid. Almost all power generation comes from public utilities monopolies who are given huge government subsides. Thats just how the energy industry works. Its a hell of a lot cheaper to invest in new technology than to have to have an aircraft carrier group off the Persian gulf 8 months a year. Opposition to wind energy is more about aesthetics and being duped by the oil lobby than actual concerns.
In case you guys think that windmills aren't reliable in the winter if they are properly weathered proofed just like any power source here you go:
https://www.archdaily.com/934590/in-antarctica-architecture-is-heating-up/5e58fafd6ee67e0f01000198-in-antarctica-architecture-is-heating-up-image
Found the guys who work for the windmill companies
Jokes on me, I am a college student majoring in history.