America runs on natural gas, coal and nuclear power. Everything else is an afterthought. Note that over the last few days, when demand for electricity has spiked, wind turbines have contributed almost nothing. That is typical. When it gets very cold, the wind tends to die down. In fact, if it gets cold enough wind turbines draw electricity from the grid, and thus become a net negative factor. And solar power is consistently pathetic.

[Click over for the chart, which demonstrates the scalability of natural gas and coal. Hydro and nuclear are more or less constants, while wind and solar barely add to the mix — and wind particularly has proven unreliable, as John says. As for Texas, ERCOT will end its weather watch at midnight, it announced earlier, and declared “mission accomplished.” — Ed]

TXANS Update—Jan. 17, 2024: The ERCOT Weather Watch will end at midnight & will not be extended at this time. Grid conditions are expected to be normal. Thank you to Texas residents & businesses for your conservation efforts. Sign up for #TXANS emails: https://t.co/3B2G87VrCB pic.twitter.com/08Ft7bnmu4

— ERCOT (@ERCOT_ISO) January 17, 2024