Posted on 02/05/2010 7:48:37 PM PST by neverdem
For those who suspect residents in places like Minnesota of embellishment when it comes to their tales of bitterly cold winter weather, consider this: even some wind turbines, it seems, cannot bear it.
Turbines, more than 100 feet tall, were installed last year in 11 Minnesota cities to provide power, and also to serve as educational symbols in a state that has mandated that a quarter of its electricity come from renewable resources by 2025.
One problem, though: The windmills, supposed to go online this winter, mostly just sat still, people in cities like North St. Paul and Chaska said, rarely if ever budging. Residents took note. Schoolchildren asked questions. Complaints accumulated.
“If people see a water tower, they expect it to stand still,” said Wally Wysopal, the city manager of North St. Paul. “If there’s a turbine, they want it to turn.”
No one knows for sure why these turbines do not. Officials believe there may be several reasons, but weather is the focus of much speculation. It is not as though turbines cannot function in cold places; thousands of them work perfectly well throughout Minnesota and the Midwest, the American Wind Energy Association is quick to note.
But the 12 turbines in question, each 20 years old, spent their earlier years twirling in California...
(Excerpt) Read more at nytimes.com ...
>> tens of thousands of birds are killed every year thanks to the tree-hugger green technology And for what reason?
To avenge the pterodactyls that died to make petroleum, you right-wing nazi.
... Wait! That doesn’t even make SENSE! Crap! The cognitive dissonance is overwhelming! Where’s my bong...
I love Fridays!
Wait... is this Friday...?
What the heck happened to those windmills?
One company, WindTamer Corporation, developed a sophisticated wind turbine that looks like a ducted fan, automatically steers into the wind, won't harm birds (because birds see it as a solid object and will avoid it) and runs at a much higher range of wind speeds than conventional wind turbines. Sales have been strong, and with even more emphasis on wind power expect WindTamer to start scaling up the technology.
The controversial wind turbine off the coast of Massachusetts would works superbly with WindTamer turbines, mostly by eliminating the need for tall, unsightly wind turbine installations. They could assemble hundreds of WindTamer turbine towers located only 25 feet above the ground, dramatically reducing visual impact (and making it real easy to service, too).
>> Wait... is this Friday...?
Yeah, for a couple more minutes on the east coast... longer here in flyover country!
Variety of things. Structural failure. Control failure leading to overspeed causing structural failure. Hydraulic failure leading to oil fires. Icing leading to imbalances causing structural failure. Materials failures leading to loss of blade causing imbalance and destruction of machine. You name it!
It is a REALLY CRAPPY way to generate power. Disclaimer — I spent 30 years in conventional power generation burning everything under the sun to make electricity and steam (except liberals!).
We have a bunch of them around here as well and I can’t for the life of me figure out how they are connected to anything. They all sit out in the middle of cornfields and I see no transmission wires, no junction boxes, no trenches. I mean surely at some point the wires need to hook into the grid through high power lines, but I certainly don’t see any, anywhere. As far as I can tell these things just sit out in the field and spin.
And lots of wind to make a little power. Regardless of what “the legislature passes” I will assure you before God and mammon that they need LOTS of wind - and LOTS of expensive maintenance to turn.
They follow, you see, Newton's Law - NOT Gore's Law. Or Obama’s Law. Or the democrat's “law”.
At best, you're going to get 20 - 23% percent run time. More likely, 12 to 17 percent running time.
I live near I-94 in Michigan, which runs from Detroit to Chicago. We see a lot of weird stuff on the interstate.
The strangest? Two flatbeds carrying windmill blades.
The irony? One truck was attempting to make a 90-degree turn to get on the entrance ramp. It didn't make the turn. The entire bridge and ramp were shut down by a windmill blade.
Cheers!
Feed ‘em more fruits and nuts ?
“Seriously: for what reason...?”
My best guesses: (a) $$$$ and (b)liberalism is a mental disorder. I would like to hear the green weenies explain why they will destroy farming businesses for a minnow, while allowing bird kill for ‘green technology’ industry.
Trust me, we don't want to hear their "explanation."
It would fry our logic brain cells!
lmao!
Thanks your for the helpful suggestions. The Committee for the Advancemnet of Windmills (CAW) will take up your idea of wrapping oil-soaked rags around the shaft and lighting them on fire so as to keep the bearings from freezing.
“Cold enough to freeze the balls off a brass monkey.”
We are also trying to come up with a new mannerism that is more environmentally friendly, and to include the terms “bearings” and “windmills”.
[Actually, it wouldn’t surpise me if it isn’t due to the “brass monkey” effect of dissimilar metals. Or, Californian lube rated down to 56 degrees F.]
Anoka, Chaska and other city residents ask why their newly installed windmills don’t spin. Operator says they will be running within two months.
http://www.startribune.com/local/north/83506647.html?elr=KArks:DCiU1OiP:DiiUiD3aPc:_Yyc:aUU
DUH! ...come Spring! LMAO!
Thanks for the link.
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