some one is not telling you the truth. see post above
So you worked at a coal power plant and are unfamiliar with the steps that are taken to weatherization them for sub freezing temps? Steps that it seems all but El Paso neglected after the last cold spell hit Texas a decade ago.
Most of Texas power comes from natural gas, nuclear and coal. All 3 require water for cooling to keep production high. And there was a lack of steps to account for when it started to freeze (if reporting is accurate)
The state made recommendations after 2010 ( some Texas local correct me if I'm wrong here) freeze to weatherize the plants, but did not mandate the power companies to do so.
Certain areas such as El Paso, paid the costs to upgrade their facilities to withstand freezing conditions, most others did not.
Coupled with the fact that winter in Texas is usually the least demanding time on power, routine upgrades and maintenance are usually carried out in the winter which also lowers production.
Yes the solar and wind turbines do make up a decent amount of Texas power, but them alone going offline doesn't cause the power outages that Texas is experiencing.
And again assuming the power companies reports are accurate coal plants went down because they're not equipped to deal with the cold.
To further the differences here. A coal plant in Wisconsin or similar, will be enclosed, in Texas, they are largely exposed directly to the elements due to the excess heat in the summer. So generators, turbines, boilers etc are all out in the elements.
Or in short they weren't winterized
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