'Green' Debacle: Tens of Thousands of Abandoned Wind Turbines Now Litter America's Landscape

Natural News ^ | November 24th, 2011 | Jonathan Benson, staff writer Naturral News

[LRoggy]

(NaturalNews) Literal beacons of the "green" energy movement, giant wind turbines have been one of the renewable energy sources of choice for the US government, which has spent billions of taxpayer dollars subsidizing their construction and use across the country. But high maintenance costs, high rates of failure, and fluctuating weather conditions that affect energy production render wind turbines expensive and inefficient, which is why more than 14,000 of them have since been abandoned.

Before government subsidies for the giant metals were cut or eliminated in many areas, wind farms were an energy boom business. But in the post-tax subsidy era, the costs of maintaining and operating wind turbines far outweighs the minimal power they generate in many areas, which has left a patchwork of wind turbine graveyards in many of the most popular wind farming areas of the US.

"Thousands of abandoned wind turbines littered the landscape of wind energy's California 'big three' locations which include Altamont Pass, Tehachapin and San Gorgonio, considered among the world's best wind sites," writes Andrew Walden of the American Thinker. "In the best wind spots on earth, over 14,000 turbines were simply abandoned. Spinning, post-industrial junk which generates nothing but bird kills."

Walden speaks, of course, about the birds, bats, and other air creatures that routinely get tangled in and killed by wind turbine propellers. And as far as the "post-industrial junk" language, well, if it costs too much to run the machines in the first place, then it definitely costs too much to uproot and remove them post-construction.

This whole wind energy mess just further illustrates how the American people have been played by their elected officials who bought into the "global warming" hysteria that spawned the push for wind energy in the first place. And now that the renewable energy tax subsidies are gradually coming to an end in some places, the true financial and economic viability, or lack of wind energy, is on display for the world to see.

"It is all about the tax subsidies," writes Don Surber of the Charleston Daily Mail. "The blades churn until the money runs out. If an honest history is written about the turn of the 21st century, it will include a large, harsh chapter on how fears about global warming were overplayed for profit by corporations."

Sources for this article include:

http://blogs.dailymail.com/donsurbe...

http://toryaardvark.com/2011/11/17/...

Learn more: http://www.naturalnews.com/034234_wind_turbines_abandoned.html#ixzz1eeDXyzva

[Pride in the USA]

ping

[rockinqsranch]

"If an honest history is written about the turn of the 21st century, it will include a large, harsh chapter on how fears about global warming were overplayed for profit by corporationsLeftist, Marxist, Politicians." pandering to Leftist Corporate opportunists. The politicians made this green crap opportunity for taxpayer pillage by salivating Leftist contributers whom are all sitting back with wads of cash in their pockets today at the expense of the taxpayers, and the environment as bats, and birds, and the American landscape continue to suffer the loss of what was. WE been ripped off.

[Carry_Okie]

Good story, but Don Surber of the Charleston Daily Mail is a blithering idiot when he says “...fears about global warming were overplayed for profit by corporations.”

He's closer than you are. It has been the charitable foundations of the major energy company stockholders funding the green groups that have promoted green racketeering.

[lonevoice]

Thanks for the ping. From the article linked in #36...

California's attempts to switch to green energy have inadvertently put the survival of the state’s golden eagles at risk.

Scores of the protected birds have been dying each year after colliding with the blades of about 5,000 wind turbines…the number of newborn golden eagles may not be able to keep pace with the number of turbine fatalities.

Another recovering species, the California Condor, is also said to be at risk from the giant blades.

‘We taxpayers have spent millions of dollars saving the California condor from extinction,’ Gary George, spokesman for Audubon California, told the Times.

Gadz, I hate these ignorant greenie communists.

[Tailback]

Ping for hilarious pictures

[DeoVindiceSicSemperTyrannis]

For some reason I’m thinking that you didn’t mean to ping me...

[JimWayne]

The crony capitalists were not unwilling participants. Many times, they advised the government on what technology to subsidize and invested in those technologies. Believe me, just as there are supporters of the free-markets and there are supporters of socialism, there are quite a few crony capitalists as well out there. By any yardstick, George Soros cannot be considered to be part of either the government or the academia even though he wields immense clout with various governments. People like him are part of the group known as cronies in the crony capitalist setup.

[ConjunctionJunction]

I had forgotten that. Thanks for the reminder!

[Arrowhead1952]

JT Council Addresses CM Energies Criminal Investigation

October 20, 2011

In a specially called meeting this morning, the Jonestown City Council addressed a single agenda item: a $2 million wind energy grant that is the focus of an ongoing criminal investigation.

After convening at 9 a.m., the council went almost immediately into executive session to, according to the agenda, consult with the city attorney concerning a grant application involving CM Energies, the city of Jonestown and $2 million in federal funds. Based on legal considerations, the executive session was not attended by either Mayor Deane Armstrong or Alderman Lance Wedell.

After an hour and a half, Mayor Armstrong called the meeting back into public session. Alderman Bill Nichols then read a statement, prefacing it with a comment that, due to the ongoing criminal investigation, no further remarks would be made today by the council.

Nichols’ statement was as follows: “The city will continue to fully cooperate with federal, state and county investigators on all points associated with this issue. The Council will initiate an internal review of the administration of this grant. There will be a discussion item on the agenda for the next regular meeting of the City Council. The Council will also address employee comments and actions at the appropriate time, when all information is available to the Council.”

http://northshorebeacon.com/jt-council-addresses-cm-energies-criminal-investigation-p196-89.htm

[cherokee1]

Funny you mentioned the idea of salvage. The first thing one has to disassemble is the blade unit. The blades are all fiberglass and totally worthless as scrap. Disposing of those huge junk chunks will be impressively expensive not to mention the cost of the crane to get them down in one piece (blowing them loose is out of the question). The gearbox and generator unit might have some value if it was on the ground already but blowing the tower would eliminate any value except scrap.-————I wrote about this years ago saying that if you think we’re dependent on oil now just wait until we might be dependent on windmills. Currently we use a supertanker load of oil/year to make the blade material for windmills. It takes a second tanker load to process the first load. The blades don’t really last very long so the process must be continuous just to keep the current stuff running.————The only reasonable way windpower can ever be industrially reliable is if the energy can be stored at the time the wind blows then metered as needed. My favorite way to do this is to pump water out of a river uphill to a reservoir then generate hydropower as needed by giving the water back to the river——doesn’t lose fish, doesn’t lose water, doesn’t lose wind——but is way too much to expect from the democommiegreenweenies. Apologies if I’ve left anyone out.

[supremedoctrine]

The archive of MAJOR FAIL grows larger and larger,
and of course the MSM will only touch on stories like
this glancingly, if at all.
No one really feels it yet of course, because it’s all hidden within the muffled ticking of the time bomb known as DEBT-—makes one almost feel sympathetic for any nation who decides to back out of their financial involvement with us.

[Melchior]

More than a decade ago I stopped in Mojave, California, just below the Tehachapi Pass. In a local pub I got into a discussion regarding the large number of wind turbines sited on the pass on the way to Tehachapi. The locals were very unhappy with the great number of birds that were killed by the turbines. The last time I was there the locals were still complaining about the huge blades, and they claimed that there were no more raptors or owls in the mountains, and the bird life in general was sparse.

The killing of birds is an unintended but very real consequence as the tree huggers seek alternative (and more expensive) forms of energy.

[samtheman]

Do you all remember what it was that the animals in "Animal Farm" were ordered to build by the pig leaders? It was a windmill. Just sayin'.

I'm not "just sayin'". I'm accusing the left of being explicitly guilty of every characterization Orwell created to describe them.

Orwell knew these people inside and out and they haven't changed one iota from 1917 under Lenin and 1933 under Stalin and 1952 under Mao and 1975 under Pol Pot. They are the exact same people. They just have less power in our society than in our society... so far.

(This is not a criticism of your excellent post and I want to thank you for reminding me of the windmill in Animal Farm. I completely forgot about it.)

[Lancey Howard]

Connected political scum ran away with billions of taxpayer dollars.
So what's new?

This kind of theft is still going on every day (Solyndra) and Democrats still get reelected by the parasites and morons who comprise the party "base". (shrug) That's just the way it is, and if you are not looking for every conceivable angle to get back whatever you can from scumbag government, then shame on you. It's a war for your money, and you either fight or close your eyes and grab your ankles.

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Who Qualifies? Everyone Who Lives In America..
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[AGreatPer]

Last summer my son visited Shanksville, PA to see the Flight 93 memorial. They found the closest camping area.
Couldn't sleep because of five of these doing whoosh, woosh all night. He said it is a disgusting way to ruin a country side in Somerset County.

[steelyourfaith]

Thanx for the ping Army Air Corps !

 

Beam me to Planet Gore !

[hinckley buzzard]

The market will be the most rational arbiter. When windmills can compete on their own merits, without gubmint subsidies, they will appear in volume and in the right places, at no cost to the taxpayer. It is the perversion and corruption of the economy that outrages sensible people, and dooms these crap-farms to extinction.

[Humble Servant]

This sounds like a good demolition practice for the Navy Seals to me. Think of the video possibilities! How about a competition for most artistic and entertaining demolition of a windmill field? Commission the writing of poems and songs about the joys of C4. Do it up like the 4th of July with the Boston Pops; blowing windmills to smithereens in perfect time with the 1812 Overture. Put sparklers on the blade ends—really, the possibilities are endless and quite joyful.

I want my money’s worth out of these things one way or another.

[RetiredTexasVet]

Don’t care what it is ... if it takes a subsidy to do it, then it isn’t worth doing because the cost is too high. Whether it is energy, farming, educating, or whatever, the cost is too high!

[DMG2FUN]

“The blades are all fiberglass and totally worthless as scrap.”
I would dare to bet. Some burned out leftist aka progressive artist will use them.