Posted on 09/29/2014 1:13:56 PM PDT by Enza Ferreri
Subtitle: the umpteenth confirmation that governments shouldn't be entrusted with our money.
This was reported last July, but I've only learned about it now.
It's got to be covered, it's too absurd to miss.
On 10 July 2014, the Daily Mail reported the planned axing of a wind turbine built with taxpayers' money - almost £50,000 - and generating only an average of £5 of electricity a month.
It was calculated that it would have required 757 years before its cost was offset.
I'm tempted to say that this must be the most absurd wind turbine ever but, given the huge cost ineffectiveness of these contraptions, I'm not so sure.
This one is a 60ft turbine in Wales, built at the Aberystwyth offices of the Labour-controlled Welsh government in 2009 "with the aim of reducing its carbon footprint".
In November 2013,
[T]he Welsh government said the turbine was part of its ‘ambitious’ green programme which also featured a biomass heating system and solar panels at its Aberystwyth offices.Yes, you can expect that from Labour. Another sign of idiocy was its erection in a sheltered valley, away from the windy coast.‘As a result, we have seen a 17 per cent reduction in CO2 emissions over the past two years and are well on course to meet the overarching target of a 30 per cent reduction by 2020.’
The company which supplied it, Quiet Revolution, said it had warned the Welsh government in advance that there was no wind in the area of the site, but the civil servants paid no attention. I don't think that reality mattered to them as much as making an ideolgical statement. And the money wasn't theirs, anyway.
Well, at least this monster of inefficiency is now going to be removed, I hear you say. The Welsh government has seen the light. No. The turbine is to be scrapped only because it broke down in January and then the manufacturer went into liquidation.
Otherwise, it would have stood for another few centuries, provided it survived the catastrophes caused by global warming, of course.
Incidentally, British people pay for wind turbines like this twice: first, as taxpayers, to construct them, and second, as utility customers and given their inefficiency, to subsidise them through higher electricity and gas bills.
The Aberystwyth turbine is not an isolated case:
Earlier this year Rushcliffe Borough Council in Nottingham was criticised after it emerged it spent £30,000 on two turbines which generated only £95 of electricity in 12 months.
sure hope it doesn’t fall apart before then, or it would really be a waste of money.
Oh, but they’re just measuring the payoff in Kilowatts!
The REAL payoff is in liberal self-righteousness,
and that was paid off as soon as the liberals said “someone oughta”.
Great article. Very well done.
It’s not supposed to make money, it’s supposed to be a highly visible symbol of “green energy”.
Think of it as green energy performance art.
Google “abandoned wind farms”, then hit IMAGES to see what the USA will look like when the subsidy money run out.
That’s assuming that you could run it for 757 years without performing any maintenance or repairs. Seems unlikely to me.
They are trophies. Phalic symbols of the PC crowd.
And “bird” food for the rodents below.
One of the farmers I worked with showed me the contract for the windmill on his farm. He was guaranteed that at the end they would be removed and the concrete bases reduced to 30 inches below soil level.
Yah sure, when the tax incentives run out and the windmills are bankrupt, that is going to happen.
And without taking into account inflation. It’s a loser.
Another GREEN company gone under because they simply can not compete, even when subsidized in the market.
What is surprising is that the idiots that bought this monstrosity of uselessness did not pay someone a ridiculous amount of money to fix the monument to foolish government.
Can’t you rub a potato and lemon together and generate about $7 worth of electricity a month? /s
Chopped poultry sales will pay for it in just 2 centuries!
Bookmark.
There is a electric powered wind turbine at a local biofuel station in our town. It has a motor to keep it spinning when there is not wind!
looks like the same design that was istalled at the eagles stadium here in philly.n
ridiculous waste
Need to build more and make up for it in volume!
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.