“Unfortunately, environmentalists in Texas who blocked the construction of coal-powered plants and shut down others during the last decade did not consider these consequences.”
Utter hogwash. The environmentalists knew this would happen. Their goal is reducing energy consumption far below current levels. Blackouts are the inevitable result of their policies.
The reason why environmentalists try to create circumstances where we are forced to use less power is because they believe that by making us use less power, science and technology will advance in a magical fashion to find an abundant source of environmentally friendly energy.