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In February 2021, millions of people in Texas were left without power after a major winter storm overwhelmed the state's power grid. In the immediate aftermath, some politicians attempted to blame the power outages on environmental policies such as the Green New Deal (a policy that was never enacted) and on green energy sources such as wind turbines (a mostly false claim). On social media, this argument was countered by people who claimed that wind turbines can function properly in extremely cold regions such as Antarctica. This is a genuine photograph of functioning wind turbines in Antarctica. This photograph was taken at the Princess Elisabeth Antarctica base, a zero-emission polar research center that is powered by solar and wind energy. Here's how Antarcticstation.org explains the green energy set-up at this arctic research base: The wind turbines at Princess Elisabeth Station are specifically designed to function in extremely cold weather. The Conversation academic research site explains that these turbines are drilled into the granite ridge below the snow and ice, unlike a wind turbine in, say, Idaho, which would be mounted on a large concrete base. These turbines also use special polar lubricants that help them withstand the freezing temperatures. The Conversation writes: Wind turbines can certainly function in cold weather, but they need to be prepared for those conditions. While an investigation is needed to get to the bottom of exactly what went wrong in Texas (you can read more about the causes of the power outages here), Tom Smith, the former director of the consumer advocacy group Public Citizen, told the Texas Tribune that wind turbines (as well as natural gas plants and other pieces of energy infrastructure) likely froze because they were not winterized and prepared for the cold weather:
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