American Power Helps Millions Survive Harsh Climatic Conditions in Winter Storm
Renewable energy was nowhere to be found during the brutal arctic cold snap in January.
Did you know the Weather Channel names winter storms, like it does hurricanes? Winter Storm Fern certainly qualified as significant enough to be remembered by name. From January 22 through the 27th, it stretched across an enormous swath of North America, dumping snow, ice, and sleet from Mexico to Canada. A state of emergency was declared in 24 states, and over 10,000 flights were canceled or delayed across the United States.
Over six inches of sleet fell in Arkansas. Mississippi and Alabama experienced hundreds of thousands of power outages due to ice taking down power lines. The stormed developed into a classic nor'easter and slammed the New England states with a couple of feet of snow. Boston saw a daily record of 16.7 inches of snow, shattering the previous record of nine—in 1905. Toronto had its snowiest day on record. Cold temperature records were shattered in many North American cities.
This storm was huge, and it walloped everyone in its path. Tragically, the death toll has reached a few dozen so far.
And yet the damage could have been far worse, were it not for the reliability of the American power grid. And that power grid relied almost exclusively on coal, oil, natural gas, and trash burning. "Renewable" energy was nowhere to be found, despite wind records also falling during this weather event.
(RELATED: The Iberian Nightmare Forecasts a Future Using Only Renewable Energy)
"Conventional" = Reliable
Had the grid failed and the power not stayed on, the death toll could have skyrocketed. Downed lines due to snow and ice are one thing. If the grid failed to produce power at all, no army of linemen could have restored the capacity to heat homes across the impact zone.
According to Energy News Beat:
Data from grid operators like PJM Interconnection (the nation’s largest, serving 67 million people from the Midwest to the Mid-Atlantic), ISO New England, and ERCOT in Texas paint a clear picture of how the U.S. grid powered through the storm. Peak demand shattered records, with PJM forecasting over 147 gigawatts (GW) on January 27—surpassing the previous winter high of 143.7 GW set in 2025.
This “winter streak” of extreme demand lasted seven consecutive days, a first for PJM.
Natural gas led the charge nationally, fueling about 40% of U.S. electricity generation, up from just 12% in 1990.
In PJM’s footprint, gas supplied over 39% of the load, nuclear 26%, and coal nearly 23%, while wind contributed a mere 5% during key periods.
Coal’s role was even more pronounced in the Midwest’s MISO grid, where it hit 40% of generation early Sunday morning.
Texas’s ERCOT grid also leaned heavily on gas and coal to meet a projected record demand of 86 GW on January 26, avoiding widespread blackouts despite the freeze.
Notice they didn't even bother to mention solar, which can't produce any power during such a storm.
The Wall Street Journal editorial board put it in stark terms:
New York’s blockade on gas pipelines has constrained the fuel supply for power plants across New England. Power plants in the region had to resort to burning oil, which accounted for 40% of electricity at times of peak demand. Get this—the region generated more power from burning wood and trash than from wind power.
This massive weather event proves the need for reliable sources of American power. Renewables simply don't measure up.
"Renewable" = Unreliable
The world saw how reliable renewables are in April 2025, when two entire nations plunged into a day-long blackout—less than two weeks after announcing the entire grid had switched to 100% renewable energy. It took Spain and Portugal twelve days to realize the complete unreliability of renewables in relatively advantageous weather conditions in the middle of spring.
Now try to imagine wind and solar keeping the heat on in the northern hemisphere during winter.
The Left's fantasy that solar and wind power will someday power America has come face to face with science and reality. The inherent density of such power will never scale well for mass use. Physics remains undefeated.
The good news? American power can fill the void, and has done so reliably for decades. The only limiting factor in the ability of the United States to produce a surplus of power and energy has been politics and policies that create artificial limits. Sure, starting up a new power plant run with coal, natural gas, or especially nuclear energy can come with significant cost and regulation. But if America has the will to ensure power production reliability, we can easily overcome those issues.
That willpower should come easily. We learned once again during a significant weather event—Winter Storm Fern. If we continue down the energy path the Left wants us to, storms like this will cripple America and cause hundreds or thousands of deaths.
MORE POWERING AMERICA:
- COMMENTARY: The End of the Green Panic
- WATCH: Exposing Junk Science and Debunking Climate Myths with Jeff Reynolds | Restoration Spotlight
- EXCLUSIVE: Virginia Residents Can Expect to See Electricity Costs Skyrocket by $1,100 per Household
- INTERVIEW: Oregon’s Failed Wildfire Hazard Map Reveals a Wider Scandal
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