On Monday, January 6, the system operator of the Texas electric grid, the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT), announced an Energy Emergency Alert and took steps to protect the grid. By 9:50 a.m., ERCOT was able to cancel the Alert because of improving generating conditions. On Tuesday morning ERCOT then set a new winter electricity demand peak. The wind lobbyists were quick to claim that “wind energy provided massive quantities of extremely valuable electricity when grid operators needed it most.” But is this true? It all depends on whether you consider wind operating at 17 percent of its total capacity a massive or a middling quantity of electricity.
