Posted on 06/27/2023 5:41:32 AM PDT by MtnClimber
How much of this is just a kickback scheme for politicians who eagerly fund these things.
Knowing would just make me more depressed.
https://www.wind-watch.org/news/2010/04/08/wind-power-is-a-complete-disaster/
Wind power is a complete disaster
There is no evidence that industrial wind power is likely to have a significant impact on carbon emissions. The European experience is instructive. Denmark, the world’s most wind-intensive nation, with more than 6,000 turbines generating 19% of its electricity, has yet to close a single fossil-fuel plant. It requires 50% more coal-generated electricity to cover wind power’s unpredictability, and pollution and carbon dioxide emissions have risen (by 36% in 2006 alone).
Flemming Nissen, the head of development at West Danish generating company ELSAM (one of Denmark’s largest energy utilities) tells us that “wind turbines do not reduce carbon dioxide emissions.” The German experience is no different. Der Spiegel reports that “Germany’s CO2 emissions haven’t been reduced by even a single gram,” and additional coal- and gas-fired plants have been constructed to ensure reliable delivery.
Indeed, recent academic research shows that wind power may actually increase greenhouse gas emissions in some cases, depending on the carbon-intensity of back-up generation required because of its intermittent character. On the negative side of the environmental ledger are adverse impacts of industrial wind turbines on birdlife and other forms of wildlife, farm animals, wetlands and viewsheds...
The way I understand it, it’s not exactly wildlife friendly......which is the exact argument tree huggers use in regards to fossil fuels......funny that
https://mises.org/wire/wind-power-disaster-texas-no-matter-what-paul-krugman-says
Wind Power Is a Disaster in Texas, No Matter What Paul Krugman Says
In the wake of February’s tragic power outages in Texas, during which 4.5 million households suffered service interruptions, partisans on both sides have been quick to interpret the events as confirmation of their preferred energy policies. With news images of helicopters deicing frozen turbines, conservatives lambasted Texas’s increasing reliance on wind power as the villain in the story.
Trying to temper this knee-jerk reaction, Reason.com columnist Ron Bailey argued that “[m]ost of the shortfall in electric power generation during the current cold snap is the result of natural gas and coal powered plants going offline.” And Paul Krugman for his part declared that it was a “malicious falsehood” to blame wind and solar power for what happened in Texas, as it was primarily a failure of natural gas.
In this article I’ll lay out the basic facts of which power sources stepped up to the plate during the crisis. Contrary to what you would have known from reading Ron Bailey (let alone Paul Krugman), when the Texas freeze hit, electricity from natural gas skyrocketed while wind output fell off a cliff. The people arguing that wind wasn’t to blame mean it in the same way Jimmy Olson wasn’t to blame when General Zod took over: wind is so useless nobody serious ever thought it might help in a crisis.
Just look at Texas, the Lone Star State generates by far the most wind energy than any other state, and this summer the grid has been pushed to its maximum with record energy consumption.
Wind is free. Harnessing it is expensive as hell, the means now being used are unreliable, and the collateral costs (having backup natural-gas fired or coal-burning powered generation plants) are simply duplication of effort that should have been put to use WITHOUT the primarily ornamental windmill towers.
As a virtue signal, they are a monstrous display of extravagance and yes, WASTE. They have limited lifetime, and are impossible to deal with as an eyesore that may stand for decades if not centuries.
China needs more countries to buy their windmills.
Just a quibble. 52% efficiency seems a mite low for electrolysis. You might be able to do a bit better than 40% efficiency with fuel cells, which are not bound by the Carnot cycle limits.
Of course, higher efficiencies might cost more, so the total economics have to be considered.
The question we should be asking is, “who is getting the money and where are they getting it from?”
We are getting close to the end of June here in central Texas (and everywhere else). Know what happens here in July and August? It gets hot, 99-103F hot. And, the wind stops blowing. That’s right, just when it’s hot enough to fry eggs on the sidewalk, the magic energy from wind generators stops.
There aren’t enough solar panels to cover the gap so we need power provided by coal, natural gas and nuclear plants.
Peak energy demand time and renewable energy falls flat.
Just imagine if we were a manufacturing economy and needed unlimited power?
What would we do???🤨🧐
⚛️
There is no such a thing as a fossil fuel
Magical Future Of Free Wind Power
The Dutch chuckle
Wind power will be free right after UHaul announces that their entire fleet is EVs. Mark your calender for the day after never.
... and for the "consultants" who make their big bucks up front ...
“Der Spiegel reports that “Germany’s CO2 emissions haven’t been reduced by even a single gram,” and additional coal- and gas-fired plants have been constructed to ensure reliable delivery.”
Germany shut down its final 3 nuclear plants in April with the 6% of power lost being made up by dirty coal plants. 30% of Germany’s power is now generated by coal.
They promised the Greens they would and they did.
The anti-nuclear cabal cited 3 mile island, Chernobyl and Fuchusima as risks.
The hearings about 3 mile island were held in a granite building that exposed the reviewers to more radiation than the whole 3 mile island fiasko.
Germany has never had a tsunami like the one that destroyed the poorly sited Fukushima plant, and Russian engineering can’t be compared to German...Lada versus Mercedes.
It is irrational to shutter nuclear plants to run coal, if you are serious about CO2 emmissions, but then nothing about this saga is rational.
What a holocaust of migratory birds!
If the green nazis were serious about reliable power generation, there would be a worldwide effort to advance nuclear power generation with safer technology. A Manhattan Project so to speak. However, despite supposed breakthroughs with fusion power, the green nazis will never allow fusion plants to become reality.
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