facts, analysis, exposure of wind energy's real impacts
Noteworthy
Let's get real. This is not about climate change or even electricity generation. It is purely about money.
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Bob Graham, chairman of Highlands Against Windfarms Group,in 'Beauty spots 'at risk' from wind farms', Stratspey & Badenoch Herald 3/30/06
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Getting Real on Wind and Solar
Why are we ignoring things we know? We know that the sun doesn't always shine and that the wind doesn't always blow. That means that solar cells and wind energy systems don't always provide electric power. Nevertheless, solar and wind energy seem to have captured the public's support as potentially being the primary or total answer to our electric power needs.
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Other Recent Opinions:
- Dangerous Delusions (2009-04-24) I feel compelled to share my considerable alarm about the views expressed by the new Chairman of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), Mr. Wellinghoff. His suggestion that "baseload capacity is going to become an anachronism" and that renewable energy can meet all our future energy needs represents a dangerous delusion, at least for the next several decades. I am not dismissing the vital contribution of renewables in addressing climate change, or the potential of a smarter electricity grid to accommodate a greater share of generation from renewable sources than would be feasible today. ...Visionary leadership [...] must be grounded in reality, and not skewed by wishful thinking or the ingrained habits of a long career spent in advocacy for renewable energy. more »
- The economic cost of climate change legislation (2009-04-23) The bill would require doubling in three years of the share of electric utility output that comes from renewable sources-wind, solar, geothermal, biomass-from three percent now to six percent in 2012. In a further leap of central-planning arrogance, the bill would raise that standard in stages to 25 percent in 2025. Sounds good? Maybe, but the technology to do it doesn't exist. more »
- Groups must weigh power versus forests (2009-04-19) The agencies proposing to install 600 miles of high-voltage power lines had better be ready for a fight, because residents along the route are ready to give it to them. Most importantly, they should be prepared to explain why it's even necessary that they cut through as much forest as currently envisioned. The 200 people who showed up last week at the Red Lion Hotel's ballroom in Redding were just a taste of what's to come. more »
- Ontario, don't be seduced by wind's breezy glamour (2009-03-24) We do need to invest in technologies that reduce our reliance on fossil fuels that contribute to greenhouse gas emissions. But I believe we must do so with intelligence and not be seduced by vague or reckless promises that clearly do not stand up to scrutiny. Nor should we proceed with enormous public expenditures without appropriate due diligence and reasonable care, especially when it comes to the health and welfare of our fellow citizens and the future of our children. more »
- Trees, not turbines: No Coos County wind farm (2009-03-22) When thinking of alternative energy sources, windmills sound so appealing. The reality is different from the romance, however. Wind turbines are an inefficient and periodic source of electric power that are most useful only in limited locations. Atop a mountain ridge in Coos County is not one of those places. more »
- Green Energy Act draconian (2009-03-04) The Green Energy Act seeks to do away with any need for proper environmental assessments for renewable energy projects, strip all planning decisions from municipalities, silence citizens and give more power to the energy companies with the help of a new Energy Czar. Rural Ontario will be wide open for exploitation and local government will be have absolutely no say. This is greenwashing with a gun to your head. more »
- An ill wind An ill wind An ill wind An ill wind (2009-03-02) So now the state would electrify our mountains and turn the Berkshires into the Land of the Giant Turbines -- likely for the benefit -- if any -- of communities in Boston or Central Mass. This is a bad idea at best, with so many arguments against it that it's hard to know where to begin, other than to suggest that state Sec. of Environmental Affairs Ian Bowles be run out of state on a high-speed rail. more »
- A 292-foot mistake (2009-02-27) Residents raised those exact concerns months ago before the turbine was built, but their worries were dismissed by a stack of reports and experts who said those problems, if they existed at all, would be so insignificant, that no one would notice. And what's troubling about all the experts and turbine proponents being so far off the mark on these issues is the fact that most were equally dismissive about concerns the neighbors have raised about safety. more »
- Costs of industrializing the desert could be staggering (2009-02-22) California desert lands are in some ways a perfect fit with the renewable energy industries necessary to combat climate change. ...But without careful planning and regulation, these "climate solutions" could irrevocably damage the planet they are intended to protect. The biologically rich but arid desert ecosystems are remarkably fragile. Once topsoil and plant life have been disrupted for the placement of solar arrays, wind farms, power plants, transmission lines and carbon dioxide scrubbers, restoration would be cost-prohibitive, if not technically impossible. And widespread desert construction - even of projects aimed at environmental mitigation - would devastate the very organisms and ecosystems best able to adjust to a warming world. more »
- Hard times can make it easier to gut safeguards (2009-02-21) The federal government seems set to gut environmental protection laws that were among the major victories of the "green" wave in the 1980s. It's sharpening three tools for the evisceration. They will remove assurances that all significant projects will face careful public scrutiny of their potential impact. Ottawa wants to get those infrastructure shovels in the ground as quickly as possible: No pesky environmental challenges should delay its proposed array of highways, bridges, wharves and other projects. more »
- Wind power threatens to silence songbirds (2009-02-21) Punching enormous holes into those contiguous forests for turbines, roads, and transmission lines would destroy the breeding habitat of songbirds as well as the habitats of terrestrial wildlife. ...If we fail to heed the precautionary principle in our haste to combat global warming, we could very well hasten the demise of our beautiful avian choristers, raptors, and insect devouring bats all of whom would have to dodge fast spinning blades of 450 foot tall turbines strung out all along their major migration routes. more »
- Don't count on 'Countless' green jobs; The evidence shows alternative energy is expensive (2009-02-20) In signing the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act this week in Denver, President Barack Obama claimed that the law -- which among other things will ramp up funding for renewable energy development -- is "laying the groundwork for new green energy economies that can create countless well-paying jobs." ...If the green-jobs claim sounds too good to be true, that's because it is. more »
- Life at 1,500 ft (2009-02-20) When we're outside, the noise created by the turbine echoes off the buildings and seems to be amplified. When the wind is strong, the noise is masked, but about 75% of the time, the turbines are the dominant sound outside. A big concern we have at this time, is that as the weather improves (which we hope it will soon) windows will open, weather proofing will be removed and the noise that dominates the outdoors will intrude on the indoors even more. At 1500 ft, we thought we may be safe, but we were mistaken. I don't know what the answer is for setbacks, but 1500 ft. is to close. more »
- Could green kill the desert? (2009-02-15) The biologically rich but arid desert ecosystems are remarkably fragile. Once topsoil and plant life have been disrupted for the placement of solar arrays, wind farms, power plants, transmission lines and CO2 scrubbers, restoration would be cost-prohibitive, if not technically impossible. And widespread desert construction -- even of projects aimed at environmental mitigation -- would devastate the very organisms and ecosystems best able to adjust to a warming world. Nevertheless, there is a public land rush underway. more »