While the U.S. is dumping billions of dollars into wind farms and onshore and offshore wind turbines, this energy source is being cast aside as a failure elsewhere in the world.
Some 410 federations and associations from 21 European countries, for example, have united against deployment of wind farms charging it is “degrading the quality of life.”
The European Platform Against Wind farms (EPAW) is demanding “a moratorium suspending all wind farm projects and a “complete assessment of the economic, social, and environmental impacts of wind farms in Europe.” The EPAW said it objects to industrial wind farms which “are spreading in a disorderly manner across Europe” under pressure from “financial and ideological lobby groups,” that are “degrading the quality of life living in their vicinity, affecting the health of many, devaluing people’s property and severely harming wildlife.” A petition for a moratorium has been sent to the European Commission and Parliament, said EPAW chairman J.L Butre.
France, earlier his year ran into opposition to its plan to build 3,000 megawatts (MW) of offshore wind turbines by 2020. That year is the target date the European Union set for providing 20 percent of its energy through renewable sources. An organization called the Sustainable Environment Association, opposes wind power, saying the subsidies will “not create a single job in France.”
In Canada, Wind Concerns Ontario (WCO) has launched a province-wide drive against wind power. It said Aug. 8 it wants to ensure that the next government is clear that “there is broad based community support for a moratorium…and stringent environmental protection of natural areas from industrial wind development.” WCO claimed, “The Wind industry is planning a high powered campaign to shut down support” for the WCO’s aims. “Our goal is to store the petition until the next legislative session gets underway in the fall…”
The Netherlands has approximately 2,000 onshore and offshore wind turbines. But even though Holland is synonymous with windmills, the installed capacity of wind turbines in the Netherlands at large has been stagnant for the past three years, according to an article in February in the Energy Collective. It was 2237 megawatts (MW) at the end of 2011. That was said to be about 3.37 percent of total annual electricity production. The principal reason for the stagnant onshore capacity “is the Dutch people’s opposition to the wind turbines.” They are up to 400 feet in height.
The Dutch national wind capacity factor is a dismal 0.186. The German wind capacity factor “is even more dismal at 0.167,” the article said.
Expanding wind power to meet the European Union’s 20 percent renewables target by 2020 meant adding at least another thousand 3 MW, 450-foot wind turbines to the Dutch landscape “at a cost of about $6 billion.” Not surprisingly, the Dutch people found that to be far too costly—“an intrusion into their lives and an unacceptable return on their investment, especially when considering the small quantity of CO2 reduction per invested dollar.”
An added 3,000 MW of offshore turbines also was rejected. The capital cost was figured at $10 to $12 billion. The cost was judged to be too much and the wind energy produced too little. “The energy would have to be sold at very high prices to make the project feasible.” The article added, “The proposed Cape Wind project in Massachusetts is a perfect example of such a project.” Environmental Lawyer Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. in July wrote an op-ed piece in the Wall Street Journal blasting the project off Cape Cod as “a rip-off.” Recently, the Netherlands became the first country to abandon the European Union target of producing 20 percent of its domestic power from renewables by 2020.
"Government's obsession with wind turbines is one of the greatest blunders of our time." The same with the solar power. A greatest blunder – and another proof of the misery of the human condition in general.
The previous examples of such unscientific politically motivated voluntarism originated in the former USSR: the notorious name of Lysenko(and Lysenkovchina) comes to mind first. But that was under the cannibal like Stalin…
Now the infection of obscene ignorance spread into the freest of the worlds without any such "convincing" arguments as GULAG…
Indeed, nobody of the ideologues realizes how low is the density of the wind and solar power vs. the huge energy needs in the modern world. They have never learned what is the Solar constant: just about 1 Kwt per sq. meter at the best conditions, of which perhaps only 10% may be captured. Hey, if we comfortably live and survive in the solar and wind media, its by itself proves how low its energy density is!
The only available source with the energy density compatible with the modern needs is the nuclear energy: based so far on fissionable materials. Surprisingly, France has been consistently following this avenue for decades…
Wind power is a Leftist green fantasy promoted by charletans and other such frauds and ''true believers'' , and it's all part of the cult of ''global warming ''..it's the return of Lysenkoism …science corrupted by politics
"Clean energy" mandates are what one gets when lawyers and activists, who've never built or created anything, set an agenda without due consideration to markets, technology, and basic economics. And it is only by ignoring them that they can foist those schemes on us, dangerously distorting the markets to do so. One sees this, for example, in the mandated "purchase" by power suppliers of renewable energy at four or five times the price they can resell that same energy, with the taxpayer picking up the difference. They've mandated the future; now they force us to meet them somehow, no matter the cost or economic impact.
Ted Kennedy and Walter Cronkite were all for windmills … that is until the authorities wanted to put some offshore of Nantucket, which would spoil the view from their estates. "Be kind to an old man" was Cronkite's response to a pressing reporter's questions on his NIMBYism. http://www.capecodtoday.com/blogs/index.php/2006/…
The Kennedy's didn't want the windmills to ruin their Hyannisport view. So he gov't waited for ol'Teddy to assume room temperature before starting construction.
Another big negative is the loss of bird life including bald eagles. I notice the left couldn't care less.
Only if Halliburton were killing and cooking eagles they would care.
The only wind turbine with a prayer of being profitable is one in Congress.
I predict that, if corporations and governments do it, it will prove to be not efficient and feasible, if individuals do it, it will work well, . . .
Here's an idea. How about we go truly "free market" with energy choices. 1) Remove all subsidies for ALL energy types. They are all subsidized – wind, solar, fossil, nuclear, you name it. 2) At the same time, let's include ALL of the real economic costs of each energy option, including variability of the resource, public health costs, military costs associated with keeping foreign supplies accessible, risk adjusted costs of catastrophic failures, etc. Do both of those things and then make an informed decision based on real economics. If we did, wind energy would be a part of the mix based purely on economic criteria.
Far left or far right rhetoric does nothing to encourage rational, objective discussion of such an important issue like energy.
The shortcomings of wind energy are becoming increasingly evident. It has been overhyped by those who stand to make money from its deployment . Uninformed and under-resourced public servants have largely accepted as gospel the pronouncements of the wind industry ,on the assumption that their political masters were in favour of green sounding schemes as a vote getter. Now the reality is becoming increasingly obvious.Wind energy is expensive, randomly intermittent, can not make any real contribution to the energy needs of the modern world ,ruins valued landscapes and coastlines , endangers birds and wildlife , does not cut need for fossil fuel generation , has negligible impact on CO2 emmissions, does not deliver long term local jobs, enriches the few at the expense of the many etc) , It is time for politicans, public servants and green party activists to admit the increasingly evident shortcomings. Big Wind is no different to Big Oil and Big Tobacco. Profit is the guiding force. Informed people power will eventually put a stop to unsustainable development.
The problem with wind energy is high cost for base loaded supply. In an earlier age, where poverty was common and environmental lawyers did not exist, wind energy was a miracle on remote farms, and the wind swept levees in Holland. It is a cheap energy (a vital consideration) for intermittent supply, it only works when the wind blows. Wind energy is not dense, therefore you need zillions of towers, therefore electrically coordinating all of these generators is a technical(expensive) nightmare.
We now have evolved such that well fed windy proponents have coined a concept, "external costs" whereby the bad guy's idea is larded with costs to make my good (but impossibly expensive) idea feasible. In a simpler age, we would just have lobbied for subsidies, or mandated government purchases. Today, your dumb, dirty, scary, dangerous technology costs more because it causes pink elephants, evil sin, or warts, and thus my imposed penalty on your dumb idea, makes me competitive. This is the only rational the wind industry has. Nuclear and fossil fueled power is continuous and cheaper and always will be, as long as the wind blows.
The alternative, real, choice is no electricity, which US voters have chosen for generations. Our grid is creaky, and will collapse one day. Elections matter.
A couple of years ago II was at a local farm show in the coop electric booth registering for a door prize. An employee of the local group of utilites (maybe after she had determined I was not an environmentalist) informed me why so many towers across Iowa are standing still in the wind.
I had assumed it was maintenance, but it is because the lines are not there to carry the current. She said most generated electricity goes to Chicago.
Wind generated electric power suffers from 15th centry technology, windmills have not changed much, just taller and more expensive, yet not effective and they kill birds. There is a product on the horizon called Windshine Electric Generators that will be the quantum output change necessary for the industry. Just like airplanes went from propellers to jets Windshine Electric Generators do the same thing. Now production in both low wind and very high wind will be available. Also scalable for low cost home owner units and down to auto units that will make electric cars viable. They will not kill birds and they can replace current windmills on those towers that can actually be cut down to a more normal heigth. With no exposed blades they are not an eye sore and will not make a whoosh noise. With only one moving part they will be operational more than down for maintenance.
The need for power to be produced in all fashions available is still necessary, just the platforn from which it comes from needs to be changed.
On Facebook at Windshine Electric For more info just leave me a note on the wall
Extremely useful many thanks, I believe your current readers might want way more posts along these lines continue the good hard work.
I live below minimum income bracket, deriving most of my income of a very small farm. Small farmers are some of the poorer business people in America. Yet I solar power my modern home and use wind generators for the last 10 years. I did this without any government financial aid. I don't suffer from lack of electricity either. I've never found one dead bird at the base of the wind towers. I'm willing to guess, more birds die from impacting cars then ever wind generators, so should cars be banned as well ? What I do not understand, is the little guy can easily do what Corporations and Governments can't seem to do, not only in energy but nearly everything. If you had the Russian or Japanese nuclear disaster at your back door, and got to see your children and their children all come down with premature cancer, I think maybe you might try opting for something else. Nuclear plants need much improvement before you will put one behind my home, and in the back yard of my children. Life is more important then even electricity itself. This generation does not know it, but they are a little energy greedy and wasteful. I believe society can do better if they are willing to firm their fat energy waist line even just a little.
Wind energy's cradle is Enron. End the public subsidies committed to unreliable and cost-prohibitive wind energy Boondoggles.
The wind industry as we know it, should die
It is time for everyone to take a closer look at the true character of the wind industry. For over 25 years there has been bird mortality/wind turbine cover-up. As it now stands at wind farms across the world, thousands of protected bird species are killed daily. I have been told by good sources the industry has been hiding the bodies of rare and endangered species for decades. Today body disposal is all a part of a days work at a wind farm. This tragic cover-up will continue until the wind farms are forced to report all carcasses and it is made a felony to conceal fatalities at wind farms. Not until enough people stand up against this industry can they be forced to implement new turbine designs into their wind farms. Until then the profiteers will lie, pacify the public with bogus studies, do their own rigged on site mortality studies, and continue to make their fortunes from these killers.
Today the California Condor habitat in the mountainous region of Tehachapi and Tejon ranch has been destroyed for the condors. This is due to the thousands of lethal wind turbines constructed in their natural habitat. The wind industry has made a complete mockery of the condor recovery.
Despite the success of condor breeding programs there are few if any free flying condors and it will stay that way as long as there are propeller style turbines.
Now the only way to keep the condors from flying off into the turbines is by the permanent feeding stations that have been set up for them. Without the feeding stations the condors would be hopping on the same wind currents used to spin the turbines searching the countryside looking for a meal. Their clumsy slow flights that would normally cover hundreds of square miles a day make them an easy target for the spinning wind turbine blades. Now the condors primarily just wander from perches close to the stations where the carcasses are dumped. If condors start to wander, they are trapped so they will not perish.
Despite industry propaganda, cats, windows, cars etc. kill almost no rare and endangered species such as Condors, Whooping Cranes, Red Kites, Tasmanian Wedge Tailed Eagles, and Egyptian Vultures. I could go on and on with this industry death list. The fact is, once these turbines are put into their foraging and nesting habitats they become the primary killers of these
species. The reality is that no bird or bat is safe from these turbines. The public rarely hears about it because of bogus studies, wind farm security and carefully written contracts with gag orders. Think about it. Why would an honest industry ever need gag orders? Why would they rig Environmental Impact Documents? Why hide bodies?
Being a Wildlife Biologist with decades of observations I can report to your readers
that every wind industry impact report I have read has had deception, incompetence, omissions or outright fraud. If there is an impact from a project to a critical species, mercenary biologists create bogus documents to predict minimal impacts. Then after the projects are installed, protected species killed by the turbines are routinely hidden.
Currently, the meaningless, Wind Energy Guidelines from the USFWS allow this self-regulation.
I will finish by saying that in order to keep all this in proper perspective one must keep in mind that state and federal renewable energy mandates that were written into law were created by this industry. They are their mandates. The laws that absolve this industry from killing endangered species were also created by them. These deliberate actions created a demand for their products and enabled the industry to circumvent Federal Wildlife Laws.
It is time to rethink what has taken place and acknowledge the terrible impact this industry will have on the world. New non-lethal turbine designs have to be put into production. If not, then there will be the inevitable extinction of several bird species in the near future.
My brother recommended I may like this blog. He used to be entirely right. This put up actually made my day. You can not believe just how much time I had spent for this information! Thank you!