An energy conference at Texas A&M

I'm was a little amused to read of an event that recently occurred at a conference on energy security and sustainability at Texas A&M:

The 300 conference participants were blind-sided with an up-close and personal experience about dependability and reliance on energy—energy in the form of electricity and lighting. Just as the concluding luncheon for the forum was set to begin, College Station fell victim to the statewide “rolling blackout” prompted by the unusually cold weather and resulting high demand for energy. The result was an unintended candle-light luncheon.

Speaking with the help of a hastily rigged small lectern light, the luncheon speaker, Texas Railroad Commission Chair Elizabeth Ames Jones, recounted the history of oil in the Lone Star State and praised its ‘vibrant and healthy energy industry.”

She called the Railroad Commission “purely and truly Texas’ ‘energy agency’,” noting that it has regulatory responsibilities for energy resources from “the ground and below.” She underscored the state’s role in energy production for the nation—leading it in oil and gas and even ranking as the fifth-largest producer of coal.

“I have a plan for our country—I call it the “Texas Plan”—and it’s to continue to rely on fossil fuels.” She made it clear that the backbone of the plan is natural gas. She said the state has reserves of 827 trillion cubic feet of gas—equivalent to all the proven resources of Iran.

In issuing her challenge to find and produce more oil and gas, she recounted several storied names of famed producers and asked: “Who will be the next George Mitchell?”—citing the Texas A&M graduate and benefactor who has long been recognized as one of the nation’s most successful oilmen.

Ironically, the lights came back almost immediately after Jones concluded her remarks.

Another thing that many people might find ironic is that despite its oil and gas reputation Texas manages to dominate in terms of wind power installations. It's actually a region that I'm paying attention to as the relatively high levels of wind power have some strange effects.