The catastrophe unfolding in the Lone Star State is outrageous on many levels, from the pathetic response of elected leadership (mayors blaming constituents, Flyin’ Ted, etc.) to lies propagated on social media that the blackouts are connected to Green Energy. While there is plenty of blame to go around, the simple truth is Texas, or any state, cannot go it alone anymore. Having three national grids (East Coast, West Coast and Texas) makes no sense when clearly we are moving towards distributed renewable energy created, and stored, at the regional level.
Similar to how the internet and WiFi works, a smart grid is all interconnected so each independent small demand is fed immediately by a larger pooled supply. Because it’s distributed and decentralized, there are regional nodes creating redundancy in the event of a major event like extreme cold, hurricanes, etc. Ideally, at the micro level, each home/office building is its own mini power plant with optimized insulation, solar panels and some form of energy storage (home battery). Then you have targeted regional mini-grids that can operate independently when weather events happen; energy can be drawn from co-op home/office batteries or at the municipal level with hydrogen energy megawatt cell stacks. Finally, with a smart grid, you have the ability for all parts of the country to fill in the gap when a state like Texas is in trouble. The problem is you have entrenched fossil fuel interests slow walking the rollout (you can’t benefit from west Texas wind turbines without a functioning smart grid) and as a result, there will continue to be Enron level mismanagement and disasters. For an example of a country that is doing it right for distributed clean power, look to Germany.
Investors who want to support the Green Energy movement by voting with their dollars have a lot of options to choose from. For solar panels, First Solar (FSLR) is probably the best pick, or you can spread out your holdings among all the major solar manufacturers with an ETF (Exchange Traded Fund) like TAN. Hydrogen power is taking off for storage and mobility uses and the major companies to consider are Ballard (BLDP) and Plug (PLUG) for fuel cells, and Cummins (CMI) for their acquisition of the company Hydrogenics to further their technology for mobility applications (trains, trucks, buses, marine and even aviation). The move towards renewable energy/smart grids is happening worldwide and either we hurry and catch up, or we’ll continue the vicious cycle of disaster response.
“It is difficult to get a man to understand something, when his salary depends on his not understanding it.” -Upton Sinclair