Free Republic

The taller the wind turbine, the harder they fall. And they sure are falling. Wind turbine failures are on the uptick, from Oklahoma to Sweden and Colorado to Germany, with all three of the major manufacturers admitting that the race to create bigger turbines has invited manufacturing issues, according to a report from Bloomberg.

Opponents of wind power have always known and been mocked, but now serious studies prove them right: Wind turbines can apparently really increase global warming. They may even trigger droughts (German business news, October 19, 2022). The fact that wind turbines are environmentally friendly was previously considered almost undisputed by the general public. Some residents were only bothered by their noise and appearance. But that's probably not their biggest problem. The latest findings suggest that at least larger wind farms are heating up the climate regionally and thus increasing the risk of local droughts. Among other things, a study by...

California has banned the sale of internal combustion cars and light trucks beginning in 2035, natural-gas furnaces from 2030, and small gas engines starting in 2024. The state’s newest green plan is to install 5,000 megawatts (MW) of offshore wind by 2030 and 25,000 MW by 2045. That’s an average of 1,400 MW of new offshore wind yearly for the next 18 years—the equivalent of erecting one 14 MW turbine every four days for the next 23 years. Unfortunately, this is a fantasy so wild that even Don Quixote would blush—one that lawmakers should abandon if they’re serious about finding...

The rush to build wind farms to combat climate change is colliding with preservation of one of the U.S. West's most spectacular predators—the golden eagle—as the species teeters on the edge of decline. Ground zero in the conflict is Wyoming, a stronghold for golden eagles that soar on 7-foot (2-meter) wings and a favored location for wind farms. As wind turbines proliferate, scientists say deaths from collisions could drive down golden eagle numbers considered stable at best. Yet climate change looms as a potentially greater threat: Rising temperatures are projected to reduce golden eagle breeding ranges by more than 40%...

A U.S. wind power developer pleaded guilty to multiple violations of the Migratory Bird Treaty Act after its wind turbine blades allegedly killed more than 135 bald and golden eagles across the country. The company, ESI Energy, pleaded guilty Tuesday to three counts of violations in the form of golden eagle deaths. Prosecutors said the birds were documented to have been killed by blunt force trauma after being struck by its wind turbine blades at its facilities in Wyoming or New Mexico, where ESI had not applied for the necessary permits. As part of the settlement, ESI “acknowledged that at...

On Day One of his presidency, Joe Biden shut down the Keystone XL Pipeline and banned drilling on federal land as part of his plan to save the planet from so-called climate change. But one of the “alternative energy” sources he is promoting is on the skids, and solar power advocates say they need a government bailout. The Financial Times reported: Solar capacity installations in the fourth quarter last year were about 2.5 gigawatts, the lowest quarter of the year and down 43 per cent year-on-year, according to data from S&P Global Market Intelligence. Now, the slowdown is stretching into...

Germany, as we well know with its Russian gas capers, is a highly industrialized society in need of a lot of energy. Fine and dandy. But how they get it presents increasingly bad options. They got rid of their nuclear power in the wake of the 2011 Fukushima nuclear meltdown after a big earthquake in Japan, (despite Germany not being in a quake zone), driving themselves to dependency on foreign suppliers. That's presented problems for them what with Russia filling that role, so their other recourse has been the one Joe Biden is touting for America: Green energy -- like...

How close would a solar and wind-dependent power grid have come to giving us the electricity we needed during the three-week freeze in Alberta where the average temperature was -22 C from Dec. 15 to Jan. 9?... Alberta needs a supply of about 10,500 MW (megawatts) on average, said Mackay. If they are running at maximum capacity, solar can provide 736 MW and wind 2,269 MW.... If we had been reliant on far more solar and wind, how would we have done? “You’d have to start with rolling blackouts or brownouts,” Mackay said. “If we lost the bulk of our...

The Biden administration laid out an ambitious plan Wednesday for government-funded wind farms along the east coast, which it said would sustain millions of Americans’ energy needs. Multiple federal agencies are planning to collaborate on the project, which will be completed by 2030, Interior Department Secretary Deb Haaland said during a renewable energy conference in Boston on Wednesday. Overall, at least 30 gigawatts will be produced by offshore wind farms by decade’s end. “The Interior Department is laying out an ambitious roadmap as we advance the Administration’s plans to confront climate change, create good-paying jobs, and accelerate the nation’s transition...

Skyrocketing gas prices are sparking major concerns in the UK, with households bracing for higher bills and food prices. The energy crisis has already hit millions of Brits, but is set to hit more still. The UK is highly dependent on consumer spending to generate output, indicating the economy could still be in the mire heading into the spring. A wave of concern over the swelling cost of living is sweeping across Britain. While households are bracing for higher tax bills and are already being stung by food prices leaping, it is swelling energy costs that will hit hardest in...

President Biden’s offshore-wind scheme will be terrible for consumers. If those 30,000 megawatts of capacity get built — which, given the history of scuttled projects like Cape Wind, is far from a sure thing — that offshore juice will cost ratepayers billions of dollars more per year than if that same power were produced from onshore natural-gas plants or advanced nuclear reactors. Of course, offshore wind will create an armada of problems that go well beyond the price of power. As Rockefeller University environmental expert Jesse Ausubel told me recently, it will require “massive industrialization” of the oceans. Indeed, building...

Proven technologies for a net-zero energy system already largely exist today, according to a report published Tuesday by the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA). The report predicts that renewable power, green hydrogen and modern bioenergy will shape the way we power the world in 2050. Adopting such solutions would set world leaders on track to meet their target of keeping the planet from heating by more than 1.5 degree Celsius above preindustrial levels this century, according to the World Energy Transitions Outlook report. The UN had warned in November that pledges to meet this goal were so far “woefully inadequate.”...

Sen. Ted Cruz is under attack for flying to Mexico while Texas is facing severe winter weather and power outages. Cruz explained why he went there: With school cancelled for the week, our girls asked to take a trip with friends. Wanting to be a good dad, I flew down with them last night and am flying back this afternoon. My staff and I are in constant communication with state and local leaders to get to the bottom of what happened in Texas.If true (and I’m unaware of any reason to believe it isn’t), this is a complete defense to...

(CNSNews.com) - Coincidentally, but right on cue, the generator-supplied power went out in the home of former Texas Governor and former Trump Energy Secretary Rick Perry Monday night, just as Perry began his interview with Fox News's Tucker Carlson. Carlson said the power outage was "proving the point that we're making" -- that it's the government's responsibility to provide reliable power during life-threatening cold snaps, and green energy is not up to the job. "So the point is, you need to have a diversity of energy sources, no matter where you are, and it couldn't be a greater example of...

In an epic case of poor foresight, the “clean, green” wind industry forgot to come up with a plan for what to do with wind turbine blades after they stop working. Like all things, they get old and stop functioning properly after a while, but the plastic used to make them lasts virtually “forever.” The industry has found ways to recycle the steel used to build the towers, but not the fiberglass (a type of plastic) used to build the blades of the high-tech windmills. Now that the first generation of wind turbines has reached the end of their “lives,”...

Boris Johnson has declared that wind power is the future of Britain's energy .. But an investigation has revealed turbine owners are being paid over the odds .. Civil servants set subsidy rate so high it's been branded ‘licence to print money’.. A botched green scheme is paying wind turbine owners seven times the value of the electricity they generate – and it is set to cost UK consumers an estimated £1.4billion. The Daily Mail can reveal the eyewatering fiasco in the week Boris Johnson declared that wind power was the future for the nation’s energy generation. The scheme was...

Environmentalists and wind energy opportunists (entrepreneurs who take advantage of overly generous tax credits and multiple other subsidies) want you to believe wind energy is as pure “green” as newly driven snow is white, and as cheap as Taco Bell. They never tell you about the costs – or the environmental destruction – that they have hidden from you for decades. But neither do most governments, news media or social media.Ars Technica science editor John Timmer says wind hardware prices are dropping, even as new turbine designs are increasing the typical power generated by each turbine. Timmer did admit that “wind is...

Australia’s obsession with chaotically intermittent wind and solar has left it with a power pricing and supply calamity. It’s a disaster that was as predictable, as it was avoidable. To date, the Federal Liberal/National Coalition’s feeble attempts to resolve it provide a study in practised inertia, mixed with a series of pointless Band-Aid ‘solutions’. Last week, the PM, Scott Morrison announced a raft of policy initiatives aimed at purportedly unlocking Australia’s gas reserves (locked up by recalcitrant State Premiers) and using that gas to fuel new power plants.

Wind energy companies will have the option of using decommissioned wind turbine blades as backfill material when reclaiming surface coal mine sites soon, thanks to a new bill signed into law earlier this year. But first, the state needs to set the rules. ... The blades.. are made of fiberglass. Fiberglass is a tricky material that can’t be recycled or easily repurposed. And as utility companies look to replace aging wind turbines, the machines’ blades are being buried in stacks at a handful of landfills around the country, ... old mine sites to suddenly become a landfills, which could affect...

Seabird feces poses a serious health risk to offshore wind workers, due to its highly carcinogenic qualities, and is also very expensive and unpleasant to remove. But installing a ‘scaretech’ system on the substation at the 56-turbine project has led to guano coverage being reduced from 50-60% to zero, according to Galloper operator RWE Renewables. The ‘scaretech' system is based on the centuries-old concept of a scarecrow – using a model to scare birds away from crops – and is installed on a stainless steel base and powered by a lithium-drive cell battery and floating solar panels. It consists of...