Opinions
Pulling back the curtain on wind power
The proposed Calvert Cliffs 3 nuclear reactor would be sited on about 350 acres. The 1,200 offshore wind turbines needed to produce the same amount of energy would require 74,000 acres. Onshore, 2,400 turbines would be needed and would require 8,500 acres. This is a lot of land or water and a big impact on the rich mountain ecosystems and habitats or ocean ecosystems about which we know little.
February 1, 2011
by Ajax Eastman
in Baltimore Sun
Because wind turbines are minimally productive more than half the time, fossil fuel power plants will be needed as backups and will contribute to greenhouse gases. Ever wonder why sailing ships no longer ply the oceans with goods and passengers? It's a question wind energy advocates might ask themselves. They ignore the fact that the wind doesn't blow consistently, even though its intermittent nature makes wind an undependable source of power and restricts wind generators from consistently reaching their potential.
The relative effectiveness of a generation facility to produce electricity is called its "capacity factor," or CF for short. It... [continue via Web link]
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