I need to ask a question. What evidence is there that industrial turbines take more energy to run than they provide? This is a broad scope question looking for empirically solid answers.

Today the UMPI turbine website reports an update of its ouptut; it generated 355.286 KWH since mid November. That's about six months, or about 183 days. The turbine's "installed capacity" for that period is 600 KW times 24 hours times 183 days equals 2,635,200 KWH. Divide the installed capacity into the actual power produced yields a paltry Capacity Factor of .134 . The previous Capacity  Factor, on May 29 was .126. An optomist would say things are improving. I think a realist would say…

Minnesota -- Vermont -- California

Conflict in…

See:…

After disappearing for a day or so, the FERC website has the quarterly summaries posted again.

EXETER, Maine (AP) - A family dairy farm in central Maine is using a new system that converts cow manure and food waste into heat and electricity.

         

Maine's top environmental, agriculture and economic development officials will be on hand Thursday when the anaerobic digestion system is unveiled at the Stonyvale Farm in Exeter, which has about 1,000…

When I came across this quote, I couldn't help but think of Stantec, Sewall Co. Kleinschmidt and all the engineers hired by CMP trying to make a transmission fit for wind :

“No engineer could, or would, join [a government funded bound rubber band electricity generation plant].” Would that this were true, Mr. Hails. Given what I’ve seen, engineers would join with economists in a New York minute, putting grand make work on display with their shoulders to the wheel of making the…

The Maine Public Utilities Commission ( Overseers of electric rates in Maine ) must be having one of those “ If we only knew then what we know now “ moments . In 2009, the PUC mandated a contract between a wind turbine project owner in Lincoln, Maine and Central Maine Power and Bangor-Hydro. An article from the Lewiston Sun Journal appearing in April 2010 states “The 20-year contract between Rollins’ owner, First Wind, and CMP and Bangor Hydro Electric Co. was hammered out by the Maine…

Conflict of Interest - Maine State Legislature

Title 1 MRSA §1014 lists several activities constituting a conflict of interest to help define ethical standards and to identify areas of real or apparent impropriety that are to be avoided. These are examples and should not be considered an exhaustive list. The…

Lake Township in Michigan recently voted 2 to 1 against changing their zoning laws to allow wind turbine development. Now the town board is considering giving 40% of their township to the neighboring township which has very lenient zoning standards.  If property owners don’t agree with the town’s vote – should they be allowed secede?  Is the Confederacy alive and well in Michigan?  WWR will be talking with Kevon Martis, a spokesperson from Interstate Informed Citizens Coalition about these…

"I think we were blinded by the money. I never thought once what my neighbor across the road would think.

There were salesmen from several wind developers. They were sneaking around all of Delaware County for two years.

I drove down among them for the very first time, turned off the engine, rolled down the windows and I really listened and I was horrified.

It was the idea that the noise would be forever. It would be that way for the next 25-28…

10 questions were asked of each aspirant including "What should the country’s energy policy look like?", (which is spotlighted below). All 10 questions can be found here.

June 02, 2012

BDN asks party candidates for Senate: Where do you stand on these 10 questions?

Taxes,…

In a visit on Thursday to Iowa—the country’s second-largest wind-producing state after Texas—President Obama will urge Congress to extend a key production tax credit for wind and a clean-energy manufacturing credit. Congress is unlikely to consider these tax credits until year’s end when lawmakers take up the annual “tax-extenders” package. Whether congressional supporters of the tax credits, including senior Republican Sen. Chuck Grassley of Iowa, can muster enough support…

Here are a few more articles of on the pros and cons of wind energy.…