Analysts from the Great Plains Institute, the Minneapolis think tank that studies this and other renewable energy issues, talk about what needs to happen and how likely it is.
Published: Wednesday, February 24, 2021
Wind turbines in Alaska. Photo credit: Marion Owen/Newscom
Wind turbines spin near Kodiak, Alaska. Northern electric utilities fortify their equipment against freezing temperatures. Marion Owen/Newscom
MINNEAPOLIS Greg Schulzetenberg arrived for work last week during the coldest air temperature ever felt in Minnesota s Iron Range.
It was minus 40 degrees Fahrenheit, with wind chills pushing minus 60. News from the Texas winter storm and grid collapse was top of mind at Lake Country Power in Cohasset, Minn., where Schulzetenberg is marketing manager for the electric cooperative in one of the coldest places in the United States.
The freezing temperatures were driving the co-op s electricity demand to near-record levels. But there was no sign of panic. The utility s 8,300 miles of transmission and distribution lines were delivering power just like the day before. And the day before that.