{"id":423644,"date":"2026-01-28T18:12:56","date_gmt":"2026-01-28T17:12:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=423644"},"modified":"2026-01-28T19:23:41","modified_gmt":"2026-01-28T18:23:41","slug":"renewables-power-down-as-winter-storm-fern-heats-up","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=423644","title":{"rendered":"Renewables power down as Winter Storm Fern heats up"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"A<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

From CFACT<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

By Gabriella Hoffman<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe weekend\u2019s arctic blast has put much of the U.S. grid through a stress test and served as another alert about the growing risks to electric-power reliability. Americans can be grateful the Biden crowd didn\u2019t succeed in forcing all coal plants to shut down.\u201d \u2013 WSJ<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

In Episode 537 of District of Conservation<\/em>, Gabriella discusses how renewables have gone dark in many of the areas impacted by Winter Storm Fern, how state policymaking invites unstable grids, the need for new pipelines in the Northeast, and why energy abundance policies will catch on in the states. Tune in to learn more!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Listen on Apple Podcasts<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\nhttps:\/\/creators.spotify.com\/pod\/profile\/district-of-conservation\/episodes\/EP-537-Renewables-Go-Dark-Amid-Winter-Storm-Fern-e3e5n3f\/a-aceeaju<\/a>\n\n\n\n

SHOW NOTES<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2060President Trump Endorses Consumer Regulated Electricity (CRE) \u2060<\/a>\u2060Javier Blas Tweet on Five ISOs\/RTOS\u2060<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2060ISO New England Realtime Status\u2060<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2060Coal Power in Winter Storm Fern\u2060<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2060Liz Bowman Pipelines\u2060<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2060ISO New England: Electrocute Everything\u2060<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2060NYISO\u2060<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2060PJM\u2060<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2060ERCOT\u2060<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2060Electricity Maps<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Photo Credit: Gabriella Hoffman<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In Episode 537 of District of Conservation, Gabriella discusses how renewables have gone dark in many of the areas impacted by Winter Storm Fern, how state policymaking invites unstable grids, the need for new pipelines in the Northeast, and why energy abundance policies will catch on in the states. Tune in to learn more!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":121246920,"featured_media":423650,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_coblocks_attr":"","_coblocks_dimensions":"","_coblocks_responsive_height":"","_coblocks_accordion_ie_support":"","_crdt_document":"","advanced_seo_description":"Explore the impact of Winter Storm Fern on renewable energy reliability in the U.S., and why energy policies matter. Listen to Episode 537 now!","jetpack_seo_html_title":"Winter Storm Fern: Renewables Fail Amid Power Reliability Risks","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":true,"token":"eyJpbWciOiJodHRwczpcL1wvaTAud3AuY29tXC9jbGltYXRlLXNjaWVuY2UucHJlc3NcL3dwLWNvbnRlbnRcL3VwbG9hZHNcLzIwMjZcLzAxXC8wRm94LUdhYnJpZWxsYS1zY2FsZWQtMS5qcGc_Zml0PTcyMyUyQzQwNyZzc2w9MSIsInR4dCI6IlJlbmV3YWJsZXMgcG93ZXIgZG93biBhcyBXaW50ZXIgU3Rvcm0gRmVybiBoZWF0cyB1cCIsInRlbXBsYXRlIjoiaGlnaHdheSIsImZvbnQiOiIiLCJibG9nX2lkIjoxNTU4MTI0NDl9.mqgg-aBl9UFIXxeg02UtZi8FWUWKKKS0xRmEuV_srYUMQ"},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[1],"tags":[691840981,691840980,691818636,691832942,691819914,691818581,691819298],"class_list":{"0":"post-423644","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","6":"hentry","7":"category-uncategorized","8":"tag-ercot","9":"tag-nyiso","10":"tag-coal-power","11":"tag-consumer-regulated-electricity-cre","12":"tag-new-england","13":"tag-pjm","14":"tag-renewable","16":"fallback-thumbnail"},"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/0Fox-Gabriella-scaled-1.jpg?fit=2560%2C1440&ssl=1","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/paxLW1-1McY","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":424009,"url":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=424009","url_meta":{"origin":423644,"position":0},"title":"Poll finds New England women feel misled about climate","author":"uwe.roland.gross","date":"31\/01\/2026","format":false,"excerpt":"With Winter Storm Fern wreaking havoc across the country, New England women are worried about energy affordability. Yet many do not connect rising energy costs to the state policy decisions that invited them.","rel":"","context":"In \"aggressive climate policies\"","block_context":{"text":"aggressive climate policies","link":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?tag=aggressive-climate-policies"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/0Woman-beach-energy-icons-scaled-1.jpg?fit=1200%2C633&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/0Woman-beach-energy-icons-scaled-1.jpg?fit=1200%2C633&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/0Woman-beach-energy-icons-scaled-1.jpg?fit=1200%2C633&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/0Woman-beach-energy-icons-scaled-1.jpg?fit=1200%2C633&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/0Woman-beach-energy-icons-scaled-1.jpg?fit=1200%2C633&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":426749,"url":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=426749","url_meta":{"origin":423644,"position":1},"title":"Can grid handle next Winter Storm Fern, solar flare, or enemy attack?","author":"uwe.roland.gross","date":"17\/02\/2026","format":false,"excerpt":"U.S. mostly dodged disaster this time. What if Net Zero mandates aren\u2019t adjusted or ended?","rel":"","context":"In \"Florida\"","block_context":{"text":"Florida","link":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?tag=florida"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/0roywspencer_13617_city_in_winter_with_cars_emitting_clouds_of_7c3cbcd5-ca1c-4479-b9bf-f493c3219d82_0-1.png?fit=1200%2C600&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/0roywspencer_13617_city_in_winter_with_cars_emitting_clouds_of_7c3cbcd5-ca1c-4479-b9bf-f493c3219d82_0-1.png?fit=1200%2C600&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/0roywspencer_13617_city_in_winter_with_cars_emitting_clouds_of_7c3cbcd5-ca1c-4479-b9bf-f493c3219d82_0-1.png?fit=1200%2C600&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/0roywspencer_13617_city_in_winter_with_cars_emitting_clouds_of_7c3cbcd5-ca1c-4479-b9bf-f493c3219d82_0-1.png?fit=1200%2C600&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/0roywspencer_13617_city_in_winter_with_cars_emitting_clouds_of_7c3cbcd5-ca1c-4479-b9bf-f493c3219d82_0-1.png?fit=1200%2C600&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":427039,"url":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=427039","url_meta":{"origin":423644,"position":2},"title":"Texas Showdown: ERCOT vs Winter Storm Fern","author":"uwe.roland.gross","date":"19\/02\/2026","format":false,"excerpt":"Texans recently experienced our worst winter storm since Uri in February 2021. Here in the DFW area, the temperature dropped below freezing early on Saturday morning, January 24, and stayed below 32 \u00b0F until the afternoon of January 27. In Dallas, we experienced freezing rain, sleet and snow for two\u2026","rel":"","context":"In \"Energy\"","block_context":{"text":"Energy","link":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?tag=energy"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/0Screenshot-2026-02-19-172128.png?fit=1200%2C603&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/0Screenshot-2026-02-19-172128.png?fit=1200%2C603&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/0Screenshot-2026-02-19-172128.png?fit=1200%2C603&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/0Screenshot-2026-02-19-172128.png?fit=1200%2C603&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/0Screenshot-2026-02-19-172128.png?fit=1200%2C603&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":426762,"url":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=426762","url_meta":{"origin":423644,"position":3},"title":"When the Weather Turns, Permitting Failure Gets Expensive","author":"uwe.roland.gross","date":"17\/02\/2026","format":false,"excerpt":"Winter Storm Fern has delivered a clear and uncomfortable reminder of how America\u2019s energy system actually works when it is under stress.","rel":"","context":"In \"Energy\"","block_context":{"text":"Energy","link":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?tag=energy"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/0winter2025inUSA-scaled-1.webp?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/0winter2025inUSA-scaled-1.webp?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/0winter2025inUSA-scaled-1.webp?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/0winter2025inUSA-scaled-1.webp?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/0winter2025inUSA-scaled-1.webp?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":423715,"url":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=423715","url_meta":{"origin":423644,"position":4},"title":"Winter Storm Wrecks Power Lines as Hundreds of Thousands are Still Without Power","author":"uwe.roland.gross","date":"29\/01\/2026","format":false,"excerpt":"A major winter storm has swept across much of the United States in late January 2026, bringing heavy snow, freezing rain, and ice that have caused widespread damage, particularly to power infrastructure. 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