Claim: Unlike solar and wind power, coal ‘doesn’t rest’
A May 23 Facebook post ( direct link , archive link ) shows three images. One shows windmills spread across an agricultural landscape and is labeled “These stop working at -27C”. The second shows solar panels and is labeled “These stop working at sunset.”
The third shows an apparent coal mining operation and is labeled “Coal Never Rests.”
The post was shared more than 200 times in a month.
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Our Rating: False
Solar and wind power don’t produce power all the time, but neither do coal plants, according to energy system experts. Coal plants “surrendered” due to mechanical failures, weather events and for scheduled maintenance. Grid operators use a variety of strategies to maintain a constant flow of power as weather-dependent renewables are added to the grid.
Coal ‘releases’ for various reasons
When total and partial outages are accounted for, U.S. coal plants are offline about 12% of the time due to maintenance or unexpected failures, the National Renewable Energy Laboratory reported in January. There are many recent examples of coal plants failing during major weather events.
For example, while the catastrophic power outages in Texas during the winter of 2021 were largely caused by failures in the state’s natural gas infrastructure, other forms of generation – including coal plants – also went offline due to cold temperatures.
More: Can we rely on renewable energy? Four ways wind, solar and water can power the US
Coal plants also accounted for about 23% of power plant outages during Winter Storm Elliot in 2022, contributing to ongoing outages in the Southeast U.S. In May 2022, coal plants suddenly shut down in Texas near the start of a record heat wave, according to at the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis.
“As (the grid operator) began preparations for the early season heat wave, it was without almost 20% of its installed, supposedly dispatchable coal-fired generation,” the institute reports.
That May, coal shortages also resulted in power outages in India during a heat wave, AP reports.
A 2019 study that modeled temperature-related conditions on the PJM grid in the eastern US predicted that both hot and cold weather events would increase the likelihood of unscheduled coal plant outages. The rate of unplanned outages would reach about 13% when temperatures drop to 5 degrees Fahrenheit (-15 degrees Celsius) and 14% when temperatures rise to 95 degrees Fahrenheit (35 degrees Celsius), the study concluded.
Grid operators take into account the behavior of renewable energy
The Facebook post also says that solar panels stop producing after dark and wind turbines go offline at -27 degrees Celsius (-17 degrees Fahrenheit).
While researchers are exploring innovations that could allow solar panels to produce power after dark, the technology was not designed to produce electricity at night. And winter wind turbines are only rated at -30 degrees Celsius (-22 degrees Fahrenheit) — close to the figure given in the post — according to Paul Denholm, a researcher at the Center for Grid Planning and Analysis at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory.
But network planners know this.
“This is absolutely built into the way the power system is designed,” Denholm said. “We don’t count on wind blowing. Wind is used to offset the need for other resources — mostly fossil fuels — that are expensive. So the basic idea is that you can save money by not buying as much natural gas to using power plants and offsetting that wind generation.”
Fact check: The false claim that wind turbine generators only last 3 to 4 years
As the amount of solar and wind power on the grid increases and fossil fuels decrease, storage technologies will become increasingly necessary to keep the power flowing as solar and wind go on and offline, USA TODAY previously reported.
“You use the sun when it’s available — you either use it directly or you charge the batteries with the sun,” Denholm said. “Or when the wind is blowing more than you can use, you charge a battery or other storage device.”
The stored power can then be used when renewables are offline or output is low.
The diversity of sources — including different types of renewable energy on the grid — will also be used to stabilize the flow of energy in a grid dominated by renewables, Mark Jacobson, a professor of civil engineering, previously told USA TODAY and environmental studies at Stanford University. He noted that using wind and solar at the same time can be particularly beneficial.
“Wind and solar, which are both…intermittent sources, are complementary in nature“When the sun doesn’t shine, the wind often blows … and vice versa,” Jacobson said. Thus, the combination of wind and solar on the grid smoothes the overall electricity supply over time.”
“It’s not always windy in North Dakota,” Denholm said. But “if the wind stops blowing in North Dakota, it’s probably blowing in Iowa. It’s probably blowing in other places.”
When reached by USA TODAY, Facebook user Climate Change is Crap acknowledged that coal plants go offline “from time to time for maintenance.” The user did not mention weather-related outages or mechanical failures.
Our fact-checking resources:
- Paul Denholm, June 6, Interview with USA TODAY
- Sinnott Murphy, June 19-20, email exchange with USA TODAY
- Bloomberg, February 20, 2021 The two hours that nearly brought down the Texas power grid
- E&E News, November 3, 2023, 4 Questions Answered About the Texas Grid Crisis
- E&E News, March 18, 2021, How Coal Failed in the Texas Deep Freeze
- MIT Climate Portal, January 8, Is it true that wind turbines don’t work in winter?
- Washington Post, March 6, 2021, Ten years ago, Texas’ 241 power plants couldn’t handle the cold. Dozens of them failed again this year
- The Houston Chronicle June 23, 2023 Natural gas, coal and nuclear power are failing Texas’ grid, new technology is the future
- NRDC, February 13, 2019, The Power Plant Myth 24/7/365
- Kentucky Lantern, September 8, 2023 Coal-fired power outages during winter storm come to light months later
- National Renewable Energy Laboratory, accessed June 7, Explained: Maintaining a reliable grid of the future with more wind and solar
- National Renewable Energy Laboratory, accessed June 7, Explained: The causes of three recent major outages and what’s being done in response
- National Renewable Energy Laboratory, accessed June 7, Explained: Reliability of the current electricity grid
- National Renewable Energy Laboratory, accessed June 7, Explained: Power Grid Reliability and Clean Electricity Basics
- USA TODAY November 7, 2023 Can we rely on renewable energy? Four ways wind, solar and water can power the US
- Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis June 27, 2022 May heat wave exposes myth of fossil fuel reliability as Texas coal and gas generators fail early-season performance test
- AP May 2, 2022 Heat wave causes outages, questions over India’s coal use
- World Economic Forum May 11, 2022 These solar panels can run at night or get their power from the rain
- Texas Tribune, January 2, 2022 Texas puts final winter storm death toll at 246
- Texas Tribune, February 17, 2021 No, frozen wind turbines are not the main culprit in Texas power outages
- New York Times, February 17, 2021, No, Wind Farms Are Not the Main Cause of Texas Power Outages
- Energy Research and Social Science, July 2021, Cascading Risks: Understanding the 2021 Winter Outage in Texas
- Energy Information Administration Jan 16 Solar and wind to lead US power generation growth for next two years
- Grist, April 3, The US experienced dramatic growth in solar and wind power over the past decade
- Department of Energy, accessed June 20, Hydropower with Storage Pumps
- Applied Energy November 1, 2019 A model of time-dependent generator failures and recoveries captures correlated events and defines temperature dependence
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