February 3, 2005
February 2, 2005
Ireland: Wind-generated power is expensive and ineffective
Similar to the leaked report from Germany (see earlier post) a study published last year by the Irish grid manager (172-KB PDF) found the benefits of wind-generated power to be small and that they decreased as more wind power was added to the system and as the system as a whole grew. Their model assumed that all energy produced from wind facilities would be used and did not consider less than hourly output fluctuations -- quite generous assumptions.
Three problems they described that mitigate the benefits of wind power were the large amount of extra energy required to start up thermal generators that would otherwise never have been turned off, the mechanical stresses of more frequent ramping of production levels up and down, and the increased prices of energy necessary to pay for any lower usage of thermal plants. They noticed that there was very little possibility of closing any non-wind facilities, because their capacity would still be needed to respond to periods of peak demand. So wind plants add more capacity (requiring more infrastructure) with almost no reduction of non-wind capacity, the latter of which must be used more inefficiently than otherwise.
As for CO2 reduction -- the primary argument for wind-generated power -- the study concludes, "The cost of CO2 abatement arising from using large levels of wind energy penetration appears high relative to other alternatives."
Three problems they described that mitigate the benefits of wind power were the large amount of extra energy required to start up thermal generators that would otherwise never have been turned off, the mechanical stresses of more frequent ramping of production levels up and down, and the increased prices of energy necessary to pay for any lower usage of thermal plants. They noticed that there was very little possibility of closing any non-wind facilities, because their capacity would still be needed to respond to periods of peak demand. So wind plants add more capacity (requiring more infrastructure) with almost no reduction of non-wind capacity, the latter of which must be used more inefficiently than otherwise.
As for CO2 reduction -- the primary argument for wind-generated power -- the study concludes, "The cost of CO2 abatement arising from using large levels of wind energy penetration appears high relative to other alternatives."
February 1, 2005
Recovered history
Courtesy Sam Smith's Progressive Review.
PETER GROSE, NY TIMES, SEP 4, 1967 -- United States officials were surprised and heartened today at the size of turnout in South Vietnam's presidential election despite a Vietcong terrorist campaign to disrupt the voting. According to reports from Saigon, 83 per cent of the 5.85 million registered voters cast their ballots yesterday. Many of them risked reprisals threatened by the Vietcong. The size of the popular vote and the inability of the Vietcong to destroy the election machinery were the two salient facts in a preliminary assessment of the national election based on the incomplete returns reaching here. ... A successful election has long been seen as the keystone in President Johnson's policy of encouraging the growth of constitutional processes in South Vietnam.
PETER GROSE, NY TIMES, SEP 4, 1967 -- United States officials were surprised and heartened today at the size of turnout in South Vietnam's presidential election despite a Vietcong terrorist campaign to disrupt the voting. According to reports from Saigon, 83 per cent of the 5.85 million registered voters cast their ballots yesterday. Many of them risked reprisals threatened by the Vietcong. The size of the popular vote and the inability of the Vietcong to destroy the election machinery were the two salient facts in a preliminary assessment of the national election based on the incomplete returns reaching here. ... A successful election has long been seen as the keystone in President Johnson's policy of encouraging the growth of constitutional processes in South Vietnam.
January 31, 2005
January 30, 2005
"Germany shelves report on high cost of wind farm–produced energy"
In today's Telegraph (U.K.):
'A damning report warning that wind-farm programmes will greatly increase energy costs and that "greenhouse gases" can be reduced easily by conventional methods has been shelved.
The findings of the 490-page report, commissioned by the German government and due for publication last week, were so embarrassing that ministers have sent it back to be "re-edited". Jürgen Trittin, Germany's Green Party environment minister, said: "We do not want the findings of this report to be misinterpreted. ..."
'The findings of the unpublished report were leaked to Der Spiegel magazine last week. They suggest that if Germany presses ahead with its plan to double the number of wind turbines, annual energy costs for consumers will rise from €1.4 billion to €5.4 billion ...
'The research also cast doubt on one of the main arguments for wind power: that it cuts the amount of "greenhouse gas" polluting the atmosphere. The report says that almost the same effect can be achieved -- at substantially reduced costs -- by installing modern filters at existing fossil-fuel power plants.'
'A damning report warning that wind-farm programmes will greatly increase energy costs and that "greenhouse gases" can be reduced easily by conventional methods has been shelved.
The findings of the 490-page report, commissioned by the German government and due for publication last week, were so embarrassing that ministers have sent it back to be "re-edited". Jürgen Trittin, Germany's Green Party environment minister, said: "We do not want the findings of this report to be misinterpreted. ..."
'The findings of the unpublished report were leaked to Der Spiegel magazine last week. They suggest that if Germany presses ahead with its plan to double the number of wind turbines, annual energy costs for consumers will rise from €1.4 billion to €5.4 billion ...
'The research also cast doubt on one of the main arguments for wind power: that it cuts the amount of "greenhouse gas" polluting the atmosphere. The report says that almost the same effect can be achieved -- at substantially reduced costs -- by installing modern filters at existing fossil-fuel power plants.'
January 29, 2005
Stray voltage -- or dumped electricity?
The dramatic effects of "stray voltage" from the wind facility in Kewaunee County, Wisconsin, seem to be awfully extensive for simple leakage from the buried transmission lines, particularly as those lines were brand new.
The electrician who helped the affected farmers noted that except in California there is no limit in the U.S. of how much electricity can be dumped into the ground. Consider, then, the fundamental problem of aerogenerators on the grid: Their production depends on the wind and cannot be adjusted according to actual demand (the grid must keep production and consumption in constant balance). What, then, is done when the grid is meeting demand and the wind rises unnecessarily? The electricity from the aerogenerators is an excess and must be dumped. In western Denmark, the grid operator calculates that 84% of the wind-generated power must be exported, because it is not needed when it is produced.
Wind facilities complicate the balancing act of the grid. In Ireland, connections were halted last year because of the instability they cause. The German grid operator Eon Netz describes the problem of wind-generated power suddenly dropping off and the unpredictability of production levels, requiring substantial backup facilities that would seem to negate any benefit claimed for the aerogenerators.
Yet they are highly profitable because of tax breaks, mandated sales, and, most significantly, the market for "renewable energy credits" (or "renewables obligation certificates"). Logically, the best situation for a utility involved in a wind facility would be to not have to deal with its erratic supply yet still be able to enjoy the sale not only of the power produced but the "green credits" as well. They need only record the power that arrives at a substation from all of the turbines and then "ground" it whenever it's not actually needed, which is most of the time. The utility sells what is produced whether or not it is actually used.
Other production plants can adjust their output, but aerogenerators can't. Theirs is subject only to the wind. The only way to control it is to direct it into the ground instead of the grid. Is this what is happening in Kewaunee County? Is this the normal design of wind "farms"?
The electrician who helped the affected farmers noted that except in California there is no limit in the U.S. of how much electricity can be dumped into the ground. Consider, then, the fundamental problem of aerogenerators on the grid: Their production depends on the wind and cannot be adjusted according to actual demand (the grid must keep production and consumption in constant balance). What, then, is done when the grid is meeting demand and the wind rises unnecessarily? The electricity from the aerogenerators is an excess and must be dumped. In western Denmark, the grid operator calculates that 84% of the wind-generated power must be exported, because it is not needed when it is produced.
Wind facilities complicate the balancing act of the grid. In Ireland, connections were halted last year because of the instability they cause. The German grid operator Eon Netz describes the problem of wind-generated power suddenly dropping off and the unpredictability of production levels, requiring substantial backup facilities that would seem to negate any benefit claimed for the aerogenerators.
Yet they are highly profitable because of tax breaks, mandated sales, and, most significantly, the market for "renewable energy credits" (or "renewables obligation certificates"). Logically, the best situation for a utility involved in a wind facility would be to not have to deal with its erratic supply yet still be able to enjoy the sale not only of the power produced but the "green credits" as well. They need only record the power that arrives at a substation from all of the turbines and then "ground" it whenever it's not actually needed, which is most of the time. The utility sells what is produced whether or not it is actually used.
Other production plants can adjust their output, but aerogenerators can't. Theirs is subject only to the wind. The only way to control it is to direct it into the ground instead of the grid. Is this what is happening in Kewaunee County? Is this the normal design of wind "farms"?
January 28, 2005
Information missing
Mark Jacobson of Invenergy, which is seeking the use of 6,000 acres in Monroe County, Wisconsin, for 30-50 wind turbines, provided a prime example of developers' lack of respect for their marks, much less for the truth. (His partner's estimate of payment to landowners of $3,800/turbine/yr also is deceitfully low. At a meeting Wednesday, backed by two of his coconspirators, Jacobson "provided information" by answering one concern after another by simple denial:
Stray voltage: The fact is that it's completely legal to ground any amount of electricity, including dumping excess production (e.g., when the wind is good but there is no corresponding increase demand on the grid), so there is no reason for developers to worry about the effect of it. Dairy farmers near the wind facility noticed high rates of cancer, birth deformities, and other illnesses, including dehydration because the water had become electrified, in their herds. Each farm has had to spend tens of thousands of dollars to isolate their land from the stray voltage. Their families, as well as visiting workers, also suffered ill effects.
Noise: 67% of residents living 800-1,300, and 52% of residents 1,300-2,600 feet from the turbines complained of the noise. The developer (Wisconsin Public Service, WPS) was ordered to do a noise study, which, though laughably spotty, showed that the turbines added 5-20 dB(A) to the ambient sound level. Ten dB is perceived as a doubling of the noise level. As a result, WPS offered to buy the neighboring homes and raze them.
Birds: Jacobson and his pals might like to know that the effects on birds are still an issue, and a new concern for bats is growing. On Backbone Mountain in West Virginia, for example, 2,000 bats were killed in just 2 months last year. In the Altamont Pass, where thousands of raptors have been killed, the Fish and Wildlife Service says that new turbines will not mitigate the problem; the only solution is to shut them down. Like the raptors in Altamont Pass, migrating songbirds fly by the hundreds of thousands over the ridges targeted by wind-power developers. They are not equipped for dodging a giant blade chopping through the air at up to 150 mph, particularly at night or in fog.
Property values: WPS's buyout offer of the uninhabitable neighboring homes is pretty strong evidence of a decline in value. Even without considering those, it was found that properties in Lincoln Township decreased in sales value from 104% to 78% of assessed value within 1 mile of the wind turbines and from 105% to 87% beyond 1 mile.
'Jacobson said he knows of no documented cases of stray voltage connected to wind turbines.'Let's help Mr. Jacobson out here, with information gathered in Lincoln Township, Kewaunee County, Wisconsin, after the construction of a 22-turbine wind facility.
'Turbines generate less than 50 decibels. As a comparison, a quiet room measures 40 decibels, Jacobson said.'
'[Birds -- a] "hot topic in the 70s," Jacobson conceded due to early designs because birds could perch in turbines. Now tubular designs have limited bird mortality rates to an average of two birds per year per turbine.'
'Jacobson has not heard of any cases where property values decreased because of turbines. Due to the potential economic return of having a turbine on your land, property values may increase. Jacobson encouraged landowners to call local assessors to seek their input.'
Stray voltage: The fact is that it's completely legal to ground any amount of electricity, including dumping excess production (e.g., when the wind is good but there is no corresponding increase demand on the grid), so there is no reason for developers to worry about the effect of it. Dairy farmers near the wind facility noticed high rates of cancer, birth deformities, and other illnesses, including dehydration because the water had become electrified, in their herds. Each farm has had to spend tens of thousands of dollars to isolate their land from the stray voltage. Their families, as well as visiting workers, also suffered ill effects.
Noise: 67% of residents living 800-1,300, and 52% of residents 1,300-2,600 feet from the turbines complained of the noise. The developer (Wisconsin Public Service, WPS) was ordered to do a noise study, which, though laughably spotty, showed that the turbines added 5-20 dB(A) to the ambient sound level. Ten dB is perceived as a doubling of the noise level. As a result, WPS offered to buy the neighboring homes and raze them.
Birds: Jacobson and his pals might like to know that the effects on birds are still an issue, and a new concern for bats is growing. On Backbone Mountain in West Virginia, for example, 2,000 bats were killed in just 2 months last year. In the Altamont Pass, where thousands of raptors have been killed, the Fish and Wildlife Service says that new turbines will not mitigate the problem; the only solution is to shut them down. Like the raptors in Altamont Pass, migrating songbirds fly by the hundreds of thousands over the ridges targeted by wind-power developers. They are not equipped for dodging a giant blade chopping through the air at up to 150 mph, particularly at night or in fog.
Property values: WPS's buyout offer of the uninhabitable neighboring homes is pretty strong evidence of a decline in value. Even without considering those, it was found that properties in Lincoln Township decreased in sales value from 104% to 78% of assessed value within 1 mile of the wind turbines and from 105% to 87% beyond 1 mile.
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