Posted on 02/17/2011 6:31:23 PM PST by Ernest_at_the_Beach
Here’s the story:
“We can’t control the weather,” Julie Vitek said in an interview from company headquarters in Houston, Texas. “We’re looking to see if we can cope with it more effectively, through the testing of a couple of techniques.”
She says the conditions in northern New Brunswick have wreaked havoc on the wind farm this winter.
“For us, cold and dry weather is good and that’s what’s typical in the region. Cold and wet weather can be a problem without any warmer days to prompt thawing, which has been the case this year.
“This weather pattern has been particularly challenging.”
Full article here
h/t to a whole bunch of WUWT readers, “TomRude” being the first.
No one could have possibly seen this coming. Y'all give 'em a break. Global warming is due to return in the next couple of months and everything will be fine.
I was thinking they could spray the blades with some really expensive, noxious chemicals.
wind farms in winter ... what a disaster!
It is possible to acually use more energy trying to electrically keep ice from forming on the blades than what the windmills generate. It is a farce.
Plus, you have the added cost of running-but-idle (”Spinning”) generation capacity that has to be ready at a seconds notice in case the megawatts from the wind farm fall quickly, or increase quickly. Someone pays the bill to keep all that standby power “spinning”. It is a huge cost.
Wind farms should be outlawed unless they incorporate energy storage (examples - compressed air, potential energy dams, etc). Also, wind farms should never be erected within 12 miles of civilization or livestock ... the low frequency noise is a major health hazard.
Green Energy is like Marxism.It works in theory; never in the real world.
I suppose this is, to these greenies...”unexpected”?
Maybe they should build some nuclear plants to keep them warm.
Stop this land pollution. Have you seen these eye soars? The generators have to be replaced every 13 months. The kilowatt hour is twice as much as coal and 3 times as much for natural gas generated. Stop this madness quick!!
Believe it or not, reliability of source is considered into the grid rate base for each generation unit. If a coal plant has to come up to compensate for unexpected decrease in supply, it comes out of the wind generator rate. However, they only compensate for the average coal rate for the unit, not the extra costs to bring a plant on line.
Paint it black.
I would say you were wrong and ask you for the source of your info but you would refuse saying that it was my responsibility to provide proof that you were wrong but it is late so I will just say
BS!
Re: reliability of source is considered into the grid rate base
Hum, perhaps in some states, but not all. In the analysis of the recent Texas rolling blackouts, it was reported that the 9300 MW of wind energy in Texas was not required to post the same “provide-or-pay” as natural gas or coal generation. This resulted in a burden and cost transfer to the non-wind generation capacity in the state, thus raising the overall rates in the state.
I understand twelve coal fired plants were cancelled in Texas over the past several years, while all the wind power was coming online.
Wind info:
http://windpowerfacts.info/
WSJ article on wind not paying their way:
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704188104575083982637451248.html
http://www.sourcewatch.org boasts of the following cancelled coal fired plants in Texas:
Cancelled:
Big Brown 3
Lake Creek 3
La Porte IGCC Plant
Martin Lake 4
Monticello 4
Morgan Creek 3 & 4
Morgan Creek 7
Nueces IGCC Plant
Tradinghouse 3 & 4
Twin Oaks Power Unit 3
TXE Industrial Gasification Facility
Valley 4
If you wait long enough, almost anything can happen. That was a highly unusual event, and reccurence can easily be prevented if they choose to do the work. But wind power is simply not reliable. It can be used as a supplementary source, but no sane power company would use it as a basic source.
And it is more expensive, unless the taxpayes subsidize it.
Drill here, drill now.
LOL, well now there is a no sh*t moment. Producing power is tougher than they thought, you just can't make this stuff up.
“We can’t control the weather.”
Indeed, and that’s a major flaw with “green” energy.
There are other problems, too.
I see it, at best, as a supplement to oil based energies, which we can control.
let’s see now...if the windmills cease to produce electricity a back up coal or nuclear power plant has to be immediately on line to take up the slack....why not eliminate the useless windmills and use the plants that are already there
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.