wind technology is overblown

8/14/2019 Wind Technology is Overblown

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WIND TECHNOLOGY IS

OVERBLOWN

The first great requisite ofmotive power is thatit shall bewholly at our command, to beexerted when, and where, and inwhat degree we desire. The wind,

for instance, as a direct motivepower, is wholly inapplicable to asystem of machine labour, forduring a calm season the wholebusiness of the country would bethrown out of gear.

William S. Jevons, 1865


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THE STUFF DREAMS ARE MADE

OF


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Facts of Life for Wind Energy

Electricity must be used immediately; it cant

be stored at industrial scales

Supply must match demand precisely

Wind Capacity Factors Are Low and Statistical

Wind Energy is Highly Variable

Wind Energy Not Controllable or Dispatchable

Wind Flux Destabilizes Grid

Wind Energy is Inimical to Demand Cycles

Wind Produces Energy, Not Capacity (it cannot

power any homes)


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240 MW Maple Ridge, New York Wind Project--July-September 2006. Wind

Capacity Factor: 25% Courtesy: Eric Rosenbloom, NWW


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On tario IES O H ou rly W ind G ene

R epo rt for M arch 7 , 2009 (w ith 88

In sta lled W in d)

0200400600800

1000

0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 20 22 24

H o u r

MW

L i ne

L i ne


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Ontario skitter detail


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In reviewing Germanys extensive wind plants, E.ON Netz, the

nations largest grid operator, showed:

At no point in 2003 did wind energy exceed 80% of its rated

capacity

For more than half the days in 2004, the total wind plant output to

the grid was lower than 11% of its rated capacity

Sizable weather forecasting errors: On 6250 MW of installed

capacity, the average errors ranged from -370 MW to +477 MW; for

individual hours, the error was as large as +/-2900 MW

These results have been echoed both in Britain and the UnitedStates. Weather forecasting for wind makes astrology look

respectable.


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SUPPLYING ELECTRICIY SUPPLY IS LIKE

REPLENISHING A LEAKING TUB OF WATER

The real work is done byreliable, responsivemachines that pump just theright amount of water in and

out at the right time.

Whimsical wind can add onlyan occasional few drops,which cant keep pace with

demand increases.


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WIND FLUX HAS THERMAL COSTS

Wind skittersunpredictably on andoff the grid, likesandpipers at thebeach. Each skitterproduces a thermalreaction as the gridseeks to balance it.


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WIND CAN ONLYBE AN OCCASSIONAL

FUEL SUPPLEMENT

BUT IT REQUIRES A LOT OFSUPPLEMENTATION

COMPENSATORYCONVENTIONAL GENERATON

INCREASED FREQUENCYCONTROL

ADDITIONAL, OFTENDEDICATED, TRANSMISSIONLINES


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INFINITE REGRESSION

The more wind installedon the grid

the moreconventional generationthat must be addedat90% of the rated windcapacity.


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Any measurement of carbon offsets due to wind technology must

account for:

The uncertainty about what power sources wind energy would

replace or avoid from minute to minute (it must be rapidlyresponsive units);

The operational inefficiencies inherent in switching conventional

power sources off and on to accommodate winds continuously

changing energy;

Frequency controls and transmission constraints necessary forbringing the wind energy across long distances; and

Emissions created in the construction and operation of the wind

facilities.


19/21

Be Careful What You Wish

ForInternal Combustion Engine

20% Capacity Factor

99.99% Capacity Value

The Windmobile

26% Capacity Factor

0 Capacity Value


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WIND CANNOT REPLACE CONVENTIONAL

POWER

Mathematically, more than 3000 wind turbines, each rated at

2.0MW, would be needed to equal the energy from one 1600MWcoal or nuclear plant. But because these turbines, spread over 800

kilometers, can produce no capacity value, they could never replace

the need for these conventional units.


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wind technology is overblown

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