Category: Wind Energy
Renewable Energy Is Not a Free Lunch, But That Doesn’t Make It Worthless
| May 17, 2012 | Posted by Craig Shields under Wind Energy |
Ryan Radecki, from The Green Room at Ohio University, writes:
I agree with some of your proposed ideas on the problems with environmentally friendly forms of energy, and I used your comments about having no free lunch for energy in my essay. I also feel that renewable energy forms by themselves are not helping, but the combination of many types of renewable sources is our future. Would you mind reading my blog at http://ryansfuturefuels.blogspot.com I would like to have your perspective.
Ryan:
I agree with the basic idea, i.e., the pros and cons / no free lunch concept. But I think your perspective here is too harsh and a little unfair. Read More
Do Wind Turbines Contribute To Global Warming?
| April 30, 2012 | Posted by Craig Shields under Wind Energy |
A reader sent me this article in Scientific American that suggests the possibility that wind turbines contribute to global warming and requested my response.
It seems to me that the first commenter nailed it: “the article also seems to forget warmist theory discounts the concept of local climate having any affect on the globe, only the average global temperature matters.” Moreover, let’s do a bit of math here. Could the waste heat produced by a wind-driven generator offset the benefit derived from not burning that amount of coal? Forget about the negative effects of mining and transporting the coal, and think of the thermodynamics in the coal plant itself, where you have waste heat from both the burning of the coal and the generation of electricity.
Also keep in mind that climate change is only one of half a dozen reasons to migrate away from fossil fuels.
Overall, this sounds silly. But apparently, Scientific American isn’t held in the esteem I thought it was; those comments really shredded them.
Do Wind Turbines Cause Health Issues?
| April 27, 2012 | Posted by Craig Shields under Wind Energy |
Patricia A. Holden of West Dennis, MA writes:
I am concerned about the big push for industrial wind turbines in this country. I frequently visit a friend in Falmouth, Massachusetts who has had three of these turbines installed within in a mile (one is less than 1/2 mile) away from his home. He and his neighbors are having health issues as a result of the operation of these turbines so close to their homes……Please be sure that your research and understanding is all-encompassing before you continue to advocate wind energy.
Thanks for this, Patricia. Though I’m certainly not an expert on the subject, I am aware of Wind Turbine Syndrome (WTS), controversial as it is. Read More
Integrating Large Amounts of Wind Power Onto the Grid
| April 7, 2012 | Posted by Craig Shields under Wind Energy |
I wrote a piece a few months ago on nay-sayers to wind, in which I pointed out that the UK’s Duke of Edinburgh just may be the king. In it, I noted:
Here in the U.S., we have climate change deniers, and all manner of other opponents to renewable energy. In essence, they’re the oil and coal companies, the members of Congress they influence, and those who believe the torrents of propaganda they generate on “clean coal,” “safe nuclear,” and the other oxymorons that are creeping into our vocabularies.
In the U.K. however, they come in the form of certain members of the nobility. Read More
The Pros and Cons of Wind Power
| March 5, 2012 | Posted by Craig Shields under Wind Energy |
Here’s a short video I made explaining the basics of wind energy for young people, or newcomers to the subject. I explain why the wind blows, offer a brief history of man’s attempts to harness wind energy, and discuss our current efforts to use wind to generate large amounts of electricity with relatively little environmental impact.
Wind Energy — Playing a Role in Distributed Generation
| January 15, 2012 | Posted by Craig Shields under Wind Energy |
When we think of wind energy, we generally think of those multi-megawatt farms in western Texas, the plains states, and California. Conversely, when we think of solar PV, we normally conjure images of “distributed generation” — “DG” for short — rooftop mounts on thousands of geographically dispersed homes and commercial buildings.
Increasingly, however, wind is sporting a DG face, with smaller turbines appropriate for “campus” settings: schools, cities, counties, farms, factories, communities, and other large power users who want to stabilize their energy costs.
My colleague Jim Boyden acts as an advisor to a company called Continental Wind Power, which offers a range of campus wind solutions. Considering that an incremental 8 gigawatts of new capacity will be installed in the U.S. alone this year, this may not be a bad place to be.
Renewable Energy: Vision or Mirage
| December 12, 2011 | Posted by Craig Shields under Wind Energy |
Think we advocates of renewables in the U.S. have trouble? Our friends in the U.K. are running into a buzzsaw of misinformation, like the report “Renewable Energy: Vision or Mirage”, published today by the Adam Smith Institute and Scientific Alliance. The report includes:
“Wind does little to reduce carbon emissions.”
and
“Nuclear and gas are the most viable energy sources for the near future.”
What a remarkable thing to say, when the U.K. has already installed enough wind turbines to provide clean electricity to more than 3.2 million homes, according to RenewableUK, the trade association representing the wind, wave, and tidal energy industries. RenewableUK also makes the point that I always do about nuclear: even if you consider it safe, it takes a minimum of eight years to permit and build a reactor, and the cost overruns are legendary. Referring to it as “viable” seems ridiculous.
Onshore Wind at Grid Parity by 2016
| December 6, 2011 | Posted by Craig Shields under Uncategorized, Wind Energy |
According to Bloomberg, New Energy Finance, improved efficiencies and declining costs will make the average wind farm cost-competitive with coal, gas, and nuclear by 2016 (the best ones already are there). According to Justin Wu, the firm’s lead wind analyst:
The press is reacting to the recent price drops in solar equipment as though they are the result of temporary oversupply or of a trade war. This masks what is really going on: a long-term, consistent drop in clean energy technology costs, resulting from decades of hard work by tens of thousands of researchers, engineers, technicians and people in operations and procurement. And it is not going to stop: In the next few years the mainstream world is going to wake up to wind cheaper than gas, and rooftop solar power cheaper than daytime electricity. Add in the same sort of deep long-term price drops for power storage, demand management, LED lighting and so on – and we are clearly talking about a whole new game.
The UK Has Its Own Opponents to Renewable Energy
| November 21, 2011 | Posted by Craig Shields under Wind Energy |
Here in the U.S., we have climate change deniers, and all manner of other opponents to renewable energy. In essence, they’re the oil and coal companies, the members of Congress they influence, and those who believe the enormous amount of propaganda they generate on “clean coal,” “safe nuclear,” etc.
In the U.K. however, they come in the form of certain members of the nobility. According to The Guardian, the Duke of Edinburgh has made a fierce attack on wind farms, claiming that “they don’t work,” and describing them as “a disgrace” and “absolutely useless.” Pictured here, however, he looks rather jolly. Who would know that such scathing (and foolish) statements lie behind such a winsome smile and excellent breeding? Read More
Business Plan to Develop Synthetic Fuels
| August 20, 2011 | Posted by Craig Shields under Wind Energy |
Here, I summarize a business plan that contemplates the development of synthetic fuels from off-peak wind, water, and CO2. This is exciting stuff, as it uses entirely proven chemical processes, the thermodynamics make sense, and the demand to deal with issues like peak oil is considerable.
