Posted 2/05/2011 12:15:00 PM by Douglas

With rolling blackouts affecting many Texas cities this week, it's painfully clear the state needs to take a look at the grid. First stop, wind power. Even though we know they won't generate enough electricity to pay for themselves before they suffer failure, there's always some concern with what happens when the wind stops blowing. You guessed it, they stop generating electricity. But with all the wind from the winter storms this week, these prairie turbines must be replete with electrons, right? Well no. Turns out they stop generating power when the wind blows too much, too.

Turbines capture the wind about 300 feet in the air, where there is less drag from the surface of Earth, so the speeds are even higher. Strong winds can cause the turbines, which normally thrive on the gusty Panhandle breezes, to shut down. Some are programmed to shut down automatically when winds reach a certain speed.

Sleep tight, Texas. Next time you're shivering in the dark, rest assured that hundreds of millions of your tax dollars were spent buying these huge windmills from some European country.

Labels: wind power

Posted 2/29/2008 03:47:00 PM by Douglas

What happens when a stable, very predictable demand for energy is met with a supplier that comes and goes, literally, as the wind blows? This:

A drop in wind generation late on Tuesday, coupled with colder weather, triggered an electric emergency that caused the Texas grid operator to cut service to some large customers, the grid agency said on Wednesday.

ERCOT said the grid's frequency dropped suddenly when wind production fell from more than 1,700 megawatts, before the event, to 300 MW when the emergency was declared.

Get used to it, Texas, as this is the price we're going to pay for being the "largest wind-farm state" in the country. Or as the long-time reader who sent me this story asks, "if wind is so reliable, why don't the tankers that bring us oil have sails on them?"

Labels: wind power

Posted 9/12/2007 12:43:00 PM by Douglas

Of all the criticisms of the ridiculousness of wind power, this is probably the most silly. But I'm glad someone's saying it. And don't miss the slideshow.

After the industry's recent boom years, wind power providers and experts are now concerned. The facilities may not be as reliable and durable as producers claim. Indeed, with thousands of mishaps, breakdowns and accidents having been reported in recent years, the difficulties seem to be mounting. Gearboxes hiding inside the casings perched on top of the towering masts have short shelf lives, often crapping out before even five years is up. In some cases, fractures form along the rotors, or even in the foundation, after only limited operation. Short circuits or overheated propellers have been known to cause fires. All this despite manufacturers' promises that the turbines would last at least 20 years.

Things break. No one should be surprised at this. How 'bout pointing out that these things don't provide reliable power that would allow taking a gas or coal plant off-line? Not to mention that they don't even make enough power to pay for their own construction.

Labels: wind power