Frigid Storm Exposes Blue States Energy Reality: Coal, Oil, and Natural Gas Save the Day
Oil was the main source of electricity in New England!
EOA: US Winter Storm Increases Oil-Fired Power Generation
The chart above is from last night. The chart below is from this evening. Despite securing additional natural gas supplies and electricity imports from neighboring states (and Canada), oil remains a major source of power generation in New England right now! Wind and solar played a minuscule role during this period. Roughly half of what counts as “renewable” generation comes from wood, biomass, and refuse (such as trash-to-energy facilities), rather than wind or solar. New England states have poured about $5 billion into subsidies and tax breaks for solar and wind projects. Yesterday morning, less than 2% of total generation in New England came from solar and wind!
This highlights the ongoing challenges in the region’s energy mix, especially during cold snaps when demand spikes and variable renewables contribute little, forcing reliance on backup fossil fuels like oil—even as natural gas remains the dominant overall source in typical conditions.
Summary
It’s striking to see blue states in New England, which have largely phased out oil for power generation under normal conditions, rely on it for as much as 43% of electricity during the recent storm (see Figure 1 for last night’s fuel mix). As of this writing, natural gas has climbed to 30% of the mix, bringing oil’s share down to 33%. This highlights how extreme winter weather can force a rapid shift back to oil-fired generation when natural gas supplies tighten or become constrained. Discussion of the reasons and the impact is listed below.