Truth Behind the Viral Photo of Helicopters De-Icing Wind Turbines, Is it From Texas?

By Joshua Summers First Posted: Feb 17, 2021 11:14 PM EST

Viral Photo of Helicopters De-Icing Wind Turbines, Not From Texas

(Photo : Spencer Platt)
Wind turbines are viewed at a wind farm on January 21, 2016 in Colorado City, Texas. Wind power accounted for 8.3 percent of the electricity generated in Texas during 2013.

Texas is experiencing simultaneous power outages across the state, leaving the state in cold conditions. However, some blame the green energy alternatives, which are wind turbines, to be the cause of the power outage.

Recently, a viral photo of a helicopter deicing the wind turbines gathers attention and backlash from people online, saying that Texas utilizes helicopters to melt the ice in their wind turbines.

According to The American Society of Mechanical Engineers, the icing on any part of the wind turbine, especially the blades' tips, affects the performance of the wind turbines.

But the issue of utilizing helicopters for deicing the wind turbines has caught the attention of different people.

Truth behind the circulating photo

According to AP News, a photo became viral online, featuring a helicopter spraying chemicals to unfreeze Texas's wind turbine. They add that this incident indeed happened.

Numerous conservatives have posted their sympathies on the issue. Newsweek notes that voices from Representative Lauren Boebert of R-Colo, and commentator Steven Crowder criticized the action and were not blissful about the idea because of the fossil fuels.

However, Climate Feedback points out that the photo and the people who are giving comments about it mislead the people. This only means that the picture is a hoax.

The circulating image was taken in 2014, and the wind turbine is from Sweden. The helicopter was from the Alpine helicopter, a company from Sweden is carrying a water tank that shoots a stream of hot water on the turbine's blade to melt the ice.

Newsweek adds that no evidence emerged from the operator of the wind turbines, ERCOT, to spray chemicals on the wind turbines.

The wind turbines should not be blamed for power outage

Meanwhile, Newsweek also notes the wind turbine should not be blamed alone for the power outages occurring in the state due to the record-breaking cold that hit Texas.

They point out that wind turbine frozen mid-rotation is only responsible for only a part of the overall catastrophe. Fiscal Notes shares that as of 2019, Texas generates their electricity from Nuclear, Solar, Coal, Natural gas, and Wind. They also note that wind turbines produce roughly 20 percent of energy.

The Electric Reliability Council of Texas announced to the public that they would be working the day to unfreeze the turbines, among other things in their to-do list.

Climate Feedback references a press conference with the senior director for ERCOT, Dan Woodfin, earlier this week, saying that a lot of generations that have gone offline have either tripped or should be shut down because of the natural issues gas system.

With evidence, the viral photo of Texas utilizing helicopters spraying chemicals on their wind turbines is not accurate because the image is from Sweden.

In addition, the power outage that happens in the said state is not because of wind turbines alone, but other power generators are also responsible for it.