Ed Note: With tens of millions of Americans preparing for travel this Memorial Day weekend, Walt Whitman’s ‘Song of the Open Road‘ [Leaves of Grass (1856)] is apropos. His call to adventure in the mid-19th century, a time of Westward Expansion for the U.S., resonates for all of us today in travel.

Afoot and light-hearted I take to the open road,
Healthy, free, the world before me,
The long brown path before me leading wherever I choose.

Henceforth I ask not good-fortune, I myself am good-fortune,
Henceforth I whimper no more, postpone no more, need nothing,
Done with indoor complaints, libraries, querulous criticisms,
Strong and content I travel the open road.

The earth, that is sufficient,
I do not want the constellations any nearer,
I know they are very well where they are,
I know they suffice for those who belong to them.…

“As Texas faces the possibility of high temperatures this summer and the certainty that wind will operate at only a fraction of its installed capacity during periods of peak demand, it is possible the Legislature may adjourn on May 31 having done nothing to address the harm renewables are doing to the Texas grid.”

Despite years of increasing reliance on intermittent generation sources like wind and solar, Texas policymakers seem to have been caught by surprise by the prolonged blackouts experienced by millions of Texans in February.

They should not have been. While temperatures dropped into the single digits for extended periods over much of Texas, solar and wind generators were largely no-shows on the Texas grid.

While other factors were in play, it was renewables that led Texas into darkness.…

“I have to admit, the ERCOT blackouts have shaken me. The amount of physical damage and human suffering they caused is astounding. Obviously, the “market” failed to provide the service reliability that customers expected and deserved.”

– Robert L. Borlick, Independent energy consultant, here

It is tough when your belief system gets rattled by reality. Very few people can handle that well. The best prevention strategy is to keep an open mind, and understand other views about as well as your own. Be polite, and stay modest (‘the higher you fly, the harder you fall’).

One longtime electricity planner, Robert L. Borlick, is angry. His ideal regulatory/planning system, the Electric Reliability Council of Texas, overseen by the Public Utility Commission of Texas (PUCT/ERCOT), crashed. He is in denial, having claimed:

• The February Texas experience was akin to earlier experienced blackouts (“To be sure, the ERCOT blackout was bad but nowhere as widespread as the Northeast blackouts.

The Kerrville Public Utility Board, advertising itself as “Safe. Reliable. Yours.”, should cease investing in politically correct, economically incorrect energies that are disruptive to the landscape and neighbors.

Last year I moved from Houston to the Texas Hill Country in search of good air, clean living, and a respite from the city scene. There are no wind turbines here, but a nearby solar installation has been in the news.

Kerrville Daily Times article, “Residents Report Flooding from Solar Farm” (May 11, 2021), explained a situation of problem, non-solution … continuing problem, non-solution. The municipality at issue (partial investor) is the Kerrville Public Utility Board (KPUB).

The details are provided in the article below:

In the wake of concerns over flooding at properties adjacent to a solar farm off Spur 100,  NextEra Energy Resources says it has submitted a remediation plan to the city and Kerrville Public Utility Board. …