Don't blame wind turbines for Texas outages

Global energy transition is necessary — and inevitable, Dan Balaban writes.

The winter storm in Texas and the associated power outages have been a human tragedy. Not only have these events reaffirmed how vital energy is to the functioning of modern society, but they have also exposed how polarized the energy discussion has become. Using this crisis as a means of furthering polarization through misinformation is not helpful.

Were the power outages in Texas caused by the wind turbines? Absolutely not. Here in snowy Alberta, wind turbines operate reliably throughout the winter because they have been designed appropriately for our cold climate. Did wind turbines freeze up in Texas last week? Sure. But so did nuclear, coal and gas power plants, along with pipelines and waterlines. Is this the first time Texas has experienced a freak winter storm? No, it is not. The issue in Texas was caused by the fact that none of their infrastructure is winterized.

In fact, Texas has experienced multiple severe winter storms in the past. The last one was just over a decade ago, causing massive energy supply disruptions similar to what was experienced last week. Investigations at the time concluded that Texas should winterize its energy infrastructure to prevent future disruptions. Unfortunately, Texas did not take the necessary steps to do so and, well, here we are.

Currently, a necessary global energy transition is well underway to ensure the sustainability of human civilization. In fact, it is accelerating. The mounting evidence of human-caused climate change is undeniable, and the investment in renewable energy continues to grow every day. However, so do our energy needs. While climate change must be urgently addressed, we must remain realistic. We are moving from an energy system powered by burning fossil fuel molecules like coal, oil and gas to an energy system powered by clean electrons from renewables like solar and wind.

This transition is a huge undertaking and will take time to fully implement. We cannot simply turn off the taps to our fossil fuel resources today for the sake of immediately addressing climate change. It is currently not technically feasible to do so, and it is unfair to the people and families whose livelihoods depend on the industry. Current renewables technology is limited by the fact that it only produces when the wind blows or the sun shines, which is where fossil fuels still have a big role to play. For now, there is a need for both.

However, technology continues to advance at a phenomenal rate. For example, the costs of solar modules and batteries are down close to 90 per cent over the last decade. Green hydrogen production is ramping up all over the world. In the very near future, next-generation renewables will be coupled with batteries and green hydrogen production in order to provide consistent energy. It is only a matter of time before we see energy that is truly clean, inexpensive and reliable.

Trillions of dollars are expected to be invested globally in the coming decades as the world transitions to a net-zero energy system. Economist Mark Carney recently described this transition as the greatest commercial opportunity of our age and I wholeheartedly agree. Over time, more of the world's energy will come from renewables and less will come from fossil fuels. Denying this global trend does not serve us.

We can choose to be part of the solution or we run the risk of being left behind. I believe Alberta is among the most innovative and entrepreneurial places in the world. There is no challenge too large for us to overcome.

We need to move past the polarization and misinformation so that Alberta can remain prosperous and relevant for generations to come.