Getting past the hype behind wind energy (anti-wind energy misinformation)

The Hill ^ | Nov 16, 2012 | John Droz, Jr

[Elsie]

...it drives you batty after just a few minutes of experiencing it.

[Elsie]

What country will build future wind turbines?

To SELL to whom?

I think 'that country' has a LOT of coal and they WILL be utilizing every last bit of it for their own power needs!

[Elsie]

If the UFOs would just quit tapping the power; the gears would last a LOT longer!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7nSB1SdVHqQ

[mountainlion]

It's a proven, scientific fact that water power is going downhill.

What goes up must come down.

[polymuser]

Just noting that European wind turbine construction (where we now get ours) is heading to China.

[DTogo]

Could they do that without a federal subsidy...???

Nope. But again, a lot of other economic activities (housing, farming, etc) occur with some form of "subsidy," tax credit, write off, or other form of government incentive.

If the "playing field" were to be completely levelled 100% with no industry getting ANY type of support or incentive, fine, but that's not likely.

[DTogo]

The height of these things IS a very significant driver in the MAINTENANCE of these things.

Only during a significant event where a specialized crane needs to be brought in.

You need specially trained personnel, the time it takes to climb and get parts and tools up to these things and the remoteness of the site.

Yes, wind farm O&M personnel are specially trained, but not highly paid. And, many newer/larger turbines have elevators in the towers and/or a small crane in the nacelle to hoist some heavier items. O&M personnel are also located on site (or nearby) with an anticipated level of spare parts if needed.

Also, there is no economy of scale with wind farms.

There is indeed an economy of scale when planning the construction and O&M for smaller or larger wind farms.

You need hundreds of these units to just to equal the output of a coal or nuke plant, which usually have just a couple of units.

I'm not arguing to replace coal, nuke, or gas-fired generation with wind. The wind is free, the energy in the wind can be harnessed, so why not tap another resource even if it is a little more expensive? Like adding some fixed income or gold to an investment portfolio even though the returns aren't as high or risky as other options?

[MileHi]

Wind power is an expensive joke.

[NYFreeper]

The wind is free, the energy in the wind can be harnessed

I have nothing against wind power as long it is economically competitive against other sources of power without subsidies and able to integrate with the demands of the power grid.

so why not tap another resource even if it is a little more expensive?

Even with subsidies its more expensive, without subsidies, its alot more expensive.

[okie01]

If the "playing field" were to be completely levelled 100% with no industry getting ANY type of support or incentive, fine, but that's not likely.

So, we should add one more industry to the uneconomic subsidy list? Just because you think it's cool?