I haven’t been able to post anything for last few days. It’s not that I lacked subject matter. What I lacked was electricity. Texas has been subjected to rolling blackouts due to excessive demand and system failures.

Some failures are understandable and even forgivable. An iced up powerline falls, a relay pops. Stuff happens. However, one of the major problems was predictable and preventable. Alternate energy isn’t reliable. Wind turbines don’t work in freezing temperatures.

Is it a surprise to anybody that an artic cold front results in electrical usage? How much? I don’t know, let’s say by 20%. Did you know that 20% of Texas electrical power comes from wind power. Hmmm, 20% increase in demand, against 20% decrease in productivity. I’m no math genesis but I can’t say I was surprised to find myself sitting in the dark.

Did you know that every one of those green turbines has a diesel motor? It seems the blades don’t turn on their own. Then there is the avgas. Huh? Yeah and the helicopter and the thousands of gallons of deicer.

Spread the death around! It is not only the birds that need to be wary. In fact with all the turbines stopped it is kind of a bird holiday. Instead all the creatures on land are at risk. Deicing fluid rains down from on high and puddles around the towers. In case you hadn’t figured it out deicing fluid is highly toxic. Ask your vet about the numbers of dogs and cats treated every year for drinking antifreeze.

I have a solution. It is called a pocket nuclear reactor. It is much less costly than the nuclear power plants we are used to. It produces 300 MW as a opposed to 1000 MW in a conventional reactor. Wind turbine is good for 26 MW.

I propose that the first one be installed in a subbasement of the Texas Capital in Austin. The advantage in placing it there is that if something goes wrong. Texans haven’t lost anything. It might even be called a feature rather than a bug.