January Winter Storm Demonstrates Importance of Coal and Other Fossil Fuels

Energy Ventures Analysis (EVA) has prepared a report on the performance of different electricity resources – coal, natural gas, nuclear, hydro, oil, wind, and solar – during the January 13-21 winter storm.  The report focuses on the five most-impacted regions of the country – Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT), Midcontinent Independent System Operator (MISO), PJM Interconnection (PJM), Southwest Power Pool (SPP), and the southeastern U.S. – and compares the performance of resources in early January before the storm with their performance during the peak of the storm when electricity demand spiked.  Below are a few highlights from the EVA report.

• • Electricity demand across the five regions increased by more than 150,000 megawatts during the peak hour of the storm.
    
    
  • Collectively, coal and natural gas provided most of the additional (incremental) electricity generation that was needed when the storm peaked on January 17. Each provided approximately 40% of the additional electricity.  Including a small contribution from oil, fossil fuels generated 82% of the additional electricity that was needed when the storm peaked.
    
    
  • The following table compares the additional electricity that each resource contributed across the five regions during the peak hour of the storm:

• • Overall, natural gas and wind performed better than in previous extreme weather events. Solar provided negligible amounts of additional electricity.
    
    
  • The following table shows the contribution of fossil fuels to providing the additional electricity needed in each of the five regions during the hour when electricity demand peaked:

We are highlighting the role of fossil fuels to underscore their importance in maintaining the reliability of the grid, especially during unusually challenging conditions when additional electricity is needed the most.  The January winter storm shows why decarbonizing the electricity grid too quickly by eliminating fossil fuels would have severe consequences for electricity consumers.