The Polar Vortex is currently upon us, and wind turbines have been of particular interest. The Polar Vortex is dropping temperatures across the U.S. and creating energy demands that fossil fuel plants need to fulfill. Affected plants need to fight off frozen pipes, and wind turbines have become the talk of the town.<\/p>\n
The energy grid and energy turbines hit a wall<\/p>\n
Not only is the energy grid getting stressed, but now the grid and energy turbines have hit a wall. Wind turbines have frozen over, blades and all.<\/p>\n
TikTok creator @backfeed has documented the phenomenon, showing wind turbines frozen and motionless. The video is a concerning example of a grid under stress, and one of the reasons people have an obsession with weather phenomena.<\/p>\n
Nobody is missing the irony<\/p>\n
High winds should make these turbines churn out power, especially during a Polar Vortex. Yes, cold, along with moisture, creates what is called \u201cicing.\u201d Ice builds up on the turbine blades, throws off their balance, and becomes too heavy to spin right. If sensors detect too much ice or the risk of blades flinging frozen chunks hits, the turbines have to be shut down. Sometimes, the frozen lubricant solidifies, and the insides of the machinery can\u2019t even move. As @backfeed puts it,<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen wind, our supposed fuel, runs straight into a wall of ice, local clean energy production just collapses.\u201d<\/p>\n
Can we still rely on renewable energy in extreme weather conditions?<\/p>\n
Wind farms in Iowa, Texas, and the DakotasFrozen, and that\u2019s causing people to wonder whether or not we can still rely on renewable energy to provide us with things we need when the weather is this unpredictable and extreme.<\/p>\n
Customers crank up their heating when extreme weather conditions hit<\/p>\n
When heating is increased, energy spikes. However, if there is no energy available, then heating cannot be supplied. If snow is covering the solar panels and the wind turbines are frozen, there will be no available energy to supply. No energy supply could be harmful for those living in these conditions.<\/p>\n
Gaps in energy supply are not only theoretical<\/p>\n
Gaps in energy supply can and will lead to blackouts, and people will suffer. If there is no way to replace the stranded coal and gas backup plants, then supply chains will be at risk. Everyone south is in the cold.<\/p>\n
There are no wind turbines in cold places with heating systems<\/p>\n
There are in Scandinavia and the Arctic, but they are unique systems fully equipped with expensive and unnecessary systems for heating and thawing. Unfortunately, polar vortex conditions are on the rise.<\/p>\n
There are 1000s of wind turbines<\/p>\n
Replacing whole systems is costly. It is not as simple as it seems. As the @backfeed video shows, if we don\u2019t adapt, we could be leaving these people to freeze in the dark.<\/p>\n
The collapse of clean energy resources during these cold snaps is not a reason to abandon clean energy resources. On the contrary, it is an indication of the need to diversify energy resources<\/a>. Overreliance on any of the currently available energy resources, be it gas, coal, or wind, is a path to failure.<\/p>\n What we need is a more varied and resilient energy mix<\/p>\n