Wind Farms Impacting Weather (Cause global warming and/or desert land?)

Science Daily ^ | 10/1/2005 | Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Inc., and the American Society of Civil Engineers

[Magnatron]

Wind farms may have an impact on local weather patterns. As environmental engineers have discovered, wind farm propellers create a lot of turbulence in their wake, mixing air up and down with effects that can be detected for miles...

...a large windmill array could influence the local climate, raising temperatures by about 2 degrees Celsius (about 4 Fahrenheit) for several hours. The rotating blades could also redirect high-speed winds down to the Earth's surface, boosting evaporation of soil moisture...

...At best, wind farms produce electricity at an efficiency rate of 30 percent, compared to a 70 percent efficiency rate from natural gas and coal. Wind energy is also unreliable. Electricity can't be stored: it must be produced on demand, yet wind is inherently unpredictable. Back-up generators are needed to make sure enough electricity is available to meet demand...

http://www.sciencedaily.com/videos/2005/1012-wind_farms_impacting_weather.htm

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/12/071215212425.htm

[Magnatron]

These are old articles, but very relevant. I've often wondered about this with the big push for windmills going on. This science has been GROSSLY underreported. Could we be on our way to widespread crop failure and famine in this country as a result of our manipulating the weather and short-sighted political fear mongering?

[Kevmo]

for the renewable energy ping list

[TonyM]

I asked this question a long time ago. I guess someone finally took it seiously.

[enduserindy]

Pickens plan for that?

[Army Air Corps]

This reminds me that the Discovery Channel is going to air a special programme on “crazy ideas to cool the planet” (the ideas are presented as being viable and desireable). One of the ideas mentioned in the adverts involves placing a bunch of refracting lenses in orbit (Great, more clutter to track). I can only imagne the unintended consequences of some of the ideas that they shall present (one being covering glaciers with metal foil).

[Dixie Yooper]

This kind of thinking that the actions of man can affect climate change, is right in line with Father Al’s teachings.

[auboy]

Electricity can't be stored

All I know about electricity is to have a profound respect for it. Maybe figuring out a way to store it would be useful. Probably not possible, but so was manned flight and going to the Moon once upon a time.

[Logical me]

Two sources, wind and solar, I have been against since it diverts attention form the real energy source - Nuclear, coal, and natural gas plants that produce steady supply regardless of environmental changes. It amazes me the dreamers in this Country. Second, will never replace natural gas, gasoline, supplemental battery driven cars, or jet fuel. Ethanol as an additive is possible as long as we do not get carried away. By itself, not a very efficient fuel.

[Migraine]

Hmmm. Let me see if I can codify a scientific generalization about all of this. Yes, I believe so... “For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction.”

Now, a corollary: “When you are only effecting change that involves .0001% of the total volume of wind, the equal and opposite matters little, and is as likely to be beneficial as it is to be deleterious.” OK. Pay me.

[weegee]

Because we aren’t doing ENOUGH already to change the climate... < /s >

[Old Professer]

All summer I’ve noticed a shortage of wind, is it time to put a stop to these wind thieves?

We can’t afford to lose another finite resource.

[Old Professer]

Hell, just correct the data the same way Hansen et al does.

[weegee]

“Electricity can’t be stored: it must be produced on demand”

It can be stored but it may not be feasible to do it for our power plants.

If you get an electric car, you will have a rechargable battery. Also capicitors hold a charge (within a circuit).

[Old Professer]

It’s strange to reason that because what we have done has created a change in the planet that seems about to spin out of control that we should undertake even more changes with even less understanding of the consequences of the mix.

[libertylover]

I asked this question a long time ago. I guess someone finally took it seiously.

Me too. If you put up enough windmills to generate a significant amount of electricity, you WILL change the climate, and change it faster than burning oil.

Same goes for battery powered cars being nonpolluting. WRONG! You just concentrate the pollution at the power plants instead of having it distributed around.

[sionnsar]

Thank you for posting this!

[JimRed]

Electricity can't be stored: it must be produced on demand, yet wind is inherently unpredictable.

The potential energy of a period windier than needed for the system can easily be stored by using the excess to pump water from a lower to a higher level. When the wind is insufficient, release the water back to a lower level through a set of turbines.

It then becomes a matter of scale; one house or ranch or community facility, or resorviors with huge "wind farms".

I still lean towards nukes, though.

[Uncledave]

Renewable Energy Ping

Please Freep Mail me if you'd like on/off

[Realism]

This science has been GROSSLY underreported...

I Can't imagine why. /s

[N3WBI3]

FUD! And FUD that was conviently edited to look bad in the post. "But the researchers found that in the predawn hours, when the atmosphere is less turbulent, a large windmill array could influence the local climate, raising temperatures by about 2 degrees Celsius (about 4 Fahrenheit) for several hours." Notice there is no definition of 'local' and no mention if it being 2 degrees warmer from 0400-0600 followed by normal temps from 0600->0400 if at the edge of 'local' or right where the turbine sits.. If local is say a square mile around the turbine it has a smaller effect on local temperature than a supermarket and its parking lot! "The rotating blades could also redirect high-speed winds down to the Earth's surface, boosting evaporation of soil moisture." This could be troublesome, can they demonstrate this or is this akin to so much of the eco junk science pushed out there today.. "Electricity can't be stored: it must be produced on demand" What a load of crap it can be stored just was hydro energy is stored via a transfer to kinetic.