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 ...
Sic Semper Novus Ordo Fimorum.
For the unitiated, those can burn swathes of land off miles wide and long, and have been known (in Minnesota!) to burn an entire town.
And, like ANY wind-powered source, it must have another backup (hydroelectric, coal, nuke, whatever) somewhere else.
I have traveled considerably in the west and have observed carefully hundreds of wind generators.
Most recently in west Texas I saw hundreds and hundreds. Typically, in any array, at least 10 % are inoperative.
As a people, we give too much credence to the doomsaying 'Sky is Falling' Chicken Littles.
I'm an old man, and in my lifetime, there's always been something that would destroy the world being pushed by someone.
That's one of the reasons I've paid little attention to the end-of-the-world Climate Doomers. One more fly buzzing around proclaiming "The End is Nigh".
It’s a joke. It’s not reliable. It needs another power plant
to provide back up power. We would be far better off with new nuclear power plants. But the green weinies won’t have it.
As a people, we give too much credence to the doomsaying 'Sky is Falling' Chicken Littles.
I'm an old man, and in my lifetime, there's always been something that would cause the end of the world being pushed by someone.
That's one of the reasons I've paid little attention to the end-of-the-world Climate Doomers. One more fly buzzing around proclaiming "The End is Nigh".
Sorry for the double post.
ping
I thought at first I was seeing one of John Semmens pieces.
Ever been past the windmill farm between Merrillville and Indy, now ther is a bondoogle.
Never see one of those moving even on nice breezy day in summer
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