Hell Freezes Over- But Wind keeps the Lights On!

We probably all saw the snappy headline “Hell Freezes Over”  when the big chill that gripped the United States this week and the hamlet named “Hell” in Michigan was frozen. But things across the States could have been a lot worse- and a lot of the reason that the lights kept burning and the heat in homes remained stoked was down to wind power.

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What happened was that very cold air that normally stays north of the Arctic Circle because of a wind called the polar vortex, weakened in velocity causing the air to move south and create temperatures as low as nearly 40 degrees Celsius in North America.

The highly respected and influential American Wind Energy Association (AWEA) has said that wind power played a critical role in maintaining electricity supplies as demand for light and heat soared to the highest-ever levels to combat the cold outside of homes.

AWEA gave examples such as in  Texas where 2,000 MW of wind output on Monday morning (local time) made up for serious shortfalls at conventional power plants. In the Mid-Atlantic and Great Lakes states, such as Michigan (where Hell froze over) a number of fossil fuel-based power plants and two large nuclear power plants in Pennsylvania and Illinois failed unexpectedly. Again, wind power came to the rescue… wind output of over  3000MW helped avert what otherwise could have been a disaster for domestic homes and businesses. In the Upper Midwest, the grid operator there benefited from a wind energy input into the grid of around 8000 MW.

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The polar vortex weakening that caused the big freeze, is not a freak event. It has occurred more frequently in the last twenty years and although this particular episode was more severe than previous ones,  it is likely to happen again.  The winds needed to keep the very cold air in the Arctic are driven by the difference in temperature between the Arctic and mid-latitudes. This delicate balance has been affected by rapidly increasing temperatures in the Arctic. Global warming warning anyone?  Consequently, the need for more investment in wind power has been significantly highlighted. Otherwise, the next time Hell freezes over, it may stay frozen.

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