Generation RENEW: Nature Messed With Texas

Nature messed with Texas. Now what?  Here are two fun facts for you.  First, the “Don’t Mess With Texas” slogan actually derives from a campaign aimed at reducing littering on Texas roadways, even though the slogan has taken on a life of its own.  Second, Texas is the largest producer of renewable energy in the country. The state is the #1 producer (by far) of wind energy and #5 producer of solar energy, and in 2019 renewable energy made up 20% of Texas’ total consumption.  It’s therefore no surprise the initial reaction to last week’s freeze and the virtual collapse of the Texas power grid was a lot of after-the-fact finger pointing.  Some pointed to an overreliance on renewable power generation as the primary culprit, others blamed natural gas pipelines or an aging power grid, while others pointed to the global phenomena of climate change.  Almost everyone blamed Texas’ grid regulator ERCOT, where at last count six directors have resigned.  But in the end nature doesn’t care who is to blame, and it’s therefore incumbent upon us as a society to implement a rational energy policy that takes advantage of this country’s enormous resource wealth. 

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This post first appeared on Eagle Global Advisors' Generation RENEW Blog at eagleglobal.com/generation-renew