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.
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.