In the shadow of wind farms: Turbines bring economic benefits, struggles
A pretty good pro and con article on the buildout of wind "farms" in the US and some of the problems they have caused. At least we are getting a sort of fair and balanced report.
The only important paragraph in this whole article is this:
" Today, more than 1,000 exist. Much of the growth has been funded by American taxpayers. BILLIONS of dollars in state and federal incentives have made wind farms so profitable that companies are racing to develop them before the handouts disappear." That word in caps should be TRILLIONS. These boondoggles are NOT profitable and do NOT provide meaningful reliable energy without being backed up by baseload (gas, nuclear, coal or hydro) for when the wind does not blow.
Warren Buffett said it best when he said "For example, on wind energy, we get a tax credit if we build a lot of wind farms. That's the only reason to build them. They don't make sense without the tax credit."
http://lubbockonline.com/news/business/local-news/2017-12-16/shadow...
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Comment by Eric A. Tuttle on December 17, 2017 at 5:16pm
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Other Quick tidbits (slanted to industry favor no doubt)
More than 1,000 utility scale wind projects – which represent 84,405 megawatts (MW) and over 52,000 wind turbines – are installed across 41 U.S. states plus Puerto Rico and Guam.
Wind power generated 4.13 percent of all the electricity in America in 2013 as the fifth largest electricity source in the U.S., according to the latest data from the Department of Energy's Energy Information Administration (EIA).Mar 5, 2014
The Roscoe Wind Farm in Texas currently ranks as the world's third largest wind farm. The 735.5MW Horse Hollow Wind Farm in Texas, US, comprises of 423 turbines. Capricorn Ridge Wind Farm is located in Sterling and Coke counties of Texas, US.Sep 29, 2013
In 1985 half of the world's wind energy was generated at Altamont Pass. By the end of 1986 about 6,700 wind turbines, mostly less than 100 kW, had been installed at Altamont, at a cost of about $1 billion, and generated about 550 million kWh/year. The U.S., as of 2017, has over 82 GW of installed wind power capacity.
Steve Sawyer the Global Wind Energy Council's Secretary General, did the math: 21,000 terawatt-hours (the average annual global electricity consumption) divided by 0.005256 terawatt-hours of annual wind energy production per wind turbine equals approximately 3,995,434 onshore turbines.Oct 16, 2016
Texas was again the top wind power state with nearly 36 million megawatthours (MWh) of electricity. Iowa was second, with more than 15 million MWh, followed by California, Oklahoma, Illinois, Kansas, Minnesota, Oregon, Colorado, Washington, North Dakota, and Wyoming.Apr 15, 2014
Wind farms can have as few as five wind turbines or as many as 150. One of the largest wind farms in the U.S. is in Altamont Pass, California. It has more than 4,800 wind turbines.
One Nuclear Power Plant.
produces 1000 megawatts per hour.You would need 60,000 acres and. 2400 to 2800 wind turbines to equal 1,000 megawatts. You need 5,000 acres of solar panels to equal 1,000 megawatts of electricity.Mar 26, 2011
The wind energy industry and the Government base all their calculations on turbines enjoying a lifespan of 20 to 25 years. The study estimates that routine wear and tear will more than double the cost of electricity being produced by wind farms in the next decade.Dec 30, 2012
According to the Global Wind Energy Council (GWEC), there are just under 240,000 working wind turbines as of Q1 2013. [9] 14,000 wind turbines permanently inactive would represent about 6% of the total installed base being inactive today.Mar 11, 2013
Theoretically, a turbine cannot generate electricity at an efficiency greater than that defined by Betz's Law, that is 59.3%. So, that's the theoretical maximum.Mar 9, 2015
Maine as Third World Country:
CMP Transmission Rate Skyrockets 19.6% Due to Wind Power
Click here to read how the Maine ratepayer has been sold down the river by the Angus King cabal.
Maine Center For Public Interest Reporting – Three Part Series: A CRITICAL LOOK AT MAINE’S WIND ACT
******** IF LINKS BELOW DON'T WORK, GOOGLE THEM*********
(excerpts) From Part 1 – On Maine’s Wind Law “Once the committee passed the wind energy bill on to the full House and Senate, lawmakers there didn’t even debate it. They passed it unanimously and with no discussion. House Majority Leader Hannah Pingree, a Democrat from North Haven, says legislators probably didn’t know how many turbines would be constructed in Maine if the law’s goals were met." . – Maine Center for Public Interest Reporting, August 2010 https://www.pinetreewatchdog.org/wind-power-bandwagon-hits-bumps-in-the-road-3/From Part 2 – On Wind and Oil Yet using wind energy doesn’t lower dependence on imported foreign oil. That’s because the majority of imported oil in Maine is used for heating and transportation. And switching our dependence from foreign oil to Maine-produced electricity isn’t likely to happen very soon, says Bartlett. “Right now, people can’t switch to electric cars and heating – if they did, we’d be in trouble.” So was one of the fundamental premises of the task force false, or at least misleading?" https://www.pinetreewatchdog.org/wind-swept-task-force-set-the-rules/From Part 3 – On Wind-Required New Transmission Lines Finally, the building of enormous, high-voltage transmission lines that the regional electricity system operator says are required to move substantial amounts of wind power to markets south of Maine was never even discussed by the task force – an omission that Mills said will come to haunt the state.“If you try to put 2,500 or 3,000 megawatts in northern or eastern Maine – oh, my god, try to build the transmission!” said Mills. “It’s not just the towers, it’s the lines – that’s when I begin to think that the goal is a little farfetched.” https://www.pinetreewatchdog.org/flaws-in-bill-like-skating-with-dull-skates/
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Hannah Pingree on the Maine expedited wind law
Hannah Pingree - Director of Maine's Office of Innovation and the Future
"Once the committee passed the wind energy bill on to the full House and Senate, lawmakers there didn’t even debate it. They passed it unanimously and with no discussion. House Majority Leader Hannah Pingree, a Democrat from North Haven, says legislators probably didn’t know how many turbines would be constructed in Maine."
https://pinetreewatch.org/wind-power-bandwagon-hits-bumps-in-the-road-3/
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