I can't make sense of the reporting on the blackout in Texas. What's the problem, exactly? Frozen wind turbines? Frozen equipment for burning natural gas? A frozen nuclear power plant? All of the above? Why would a cold snap take down any of these facilities?
Cold and snow are commonplace in northern latitudes, but the power doesn’t go out every time the temperature drops. I’ve read that “gas can’t make it through the pipes,” but why? Nearly half of Europe is heated by gas from Russia. The gas makes it through the pipes fine.
Were these facilities built to hugely different specifications in the belief that it would never get cold in Texas? Why would all three power sources—wind, natural gas, and nuclear—be unable to withstand cold weather? (If indeed all three are implicated?)
Why wouldn't they just use the standard industry design for facilities like these? And why is the reporting so confused--this shouldn't be hard to figure out, should it?
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