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WIND TECHNOLOGY IS
OVERBLOWN
The first great requisite ofmotive power is thatit shall bewholly at our command, to beexerted when, and where, and inwhat degree we desire. The wind,
for instance, as a direct motivepower, is wholly inapplicable to asystem of machine labour, forduring a calm season the wholebusiness of the country would bethrown out of gear.
William S. Jevons, 1865
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THE STUFF DREAMS ARE MADE
OF
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Facts of Life for Wind Energy
Electricity must be used immediately; it cant
be stored at industrial scales
Supply must match demand precisely
Wind Capacity Factors Are Low and Statistical
Wind Energy is Highly Variable
Wind Energy Not Controllable or Dispatchable
Wind Flux Destabilizes Grid
Wind Energy is Inimical to Demand Cycles
Wind Produces Energy, Not Capacity (it cannot
power any homes)
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240 MW Maple Ridge, New York Wind Project--July-September 2006. Wind
Capacity Factor: 25% Courtesy: Eric Rosenbloom, NWW
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On tario IES O H ou rly W ind G ene
R epo rt for M arch 7 , 2009 (w ith 88
In sta lled W in d)
0200400600800
1000
0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 20 22 24
H o u r
MW
L i ne
L i ne
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Ontario skitter detail
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In reviewing Germanys extensive wind plants, E.ON Netz, the
nations largest grid operator, showed:
At no point in 2003 did wind energy exceed 80% of its rated
capacity
For more than half the days in 2004, the total wind plant output to
the grid was lower than 11% of its rated capacity
Sizable weather forecasting errors: On 6250 MW of installed
capacity, the average errors ranged from -370 MW to +477 MW; for
individual hours, the error was as large as +/-2900 MW
These results have been echoed both in Britain and the UnitedStates. Weather forecasting for wind makes astrology look
respectable.
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SUPPLYING ELECTRICIY SUPPLY IS LIKE
REPLENISHING A LEAKING TUB OF WATER
The real work is done byreliable, responsivemachines that pump just theright amount of water in and
out at the right time.
Whimsical wind can add onlyan occasional few drops,which cant keep pace with
demand increases.
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WIND FLUX HAS THERMAL COSTS
Wind skittersunpredictably on andoff the grid, likesandpipers at thebeach. Each skitterproduces a thermalreaction as the gridseeks to balance it.
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WIND CAN ONLYBE AN OCCASSIONAL
FUEL SUPPLEMENT
BUT IT REQUIRES A LOT OFSUPPLEMENTATION
COMPENSATORYCONVENTIONAL GENERATON
INCREASED FREQUENCYCONTROL
ADDITIONAL, OFTENDEDICATED, TRANSMISSIONLINES
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INFINITE REGRESSION
The more wind installedon the grid
the moreconventional generationthat must be addedat90% of the rated windcapacity.
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Any measurement of carbon offsets due to wind technology must
account for:
The uncertainty about what power sources wind energy would
replace or avoid from minute to minute (it must be rapidlyresponsive units);
The operational inefficiencies inherent in switching conventional
power sources off and on to accommodate winds continuously
changing energy;
Frequency controls and transmission constraints necessary forbringing the wind energy across long distances; and
Emissions created in the construction and operation of the wind
facilities.
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Be Careful What You Wish
ForInternal Combustion Engine
20% Capacity Factor
99.99% Capacity Value
The Windmobile
26% Capacity Factor
0 Capacity Value
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WIND CANNOT REPLACE CONVENTIONAL
POWER
Mathematically, more than 3000 wind turbines, each rated at
2.0MW, would be needed to equal the energy from one 1600MWcoal or nuclear plant. But because these turbines, spread over 800
kilometers, can produce no capacity value, they could never replace
the need for these conventional units.
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