Wind power loses match with cold, cold winter
February 5, 2010 by Tom GuayPosted in: In this week's e-newsletter, Latest News & Views, News, Wind Power, energy efficiency, solar power
Every new technology’s bound to stub a toe or two as the first generation equipment debuts. Take for example, the wind turbines that can’t turn in Minnesota’s cold winter blasts.
A handful of towns were expecting clean, green renewable power from their new wind turbine installations this winter. However, it ain’t happening because the turbines freeze and can’t spin during the cold blasts that make Minnesota so famous.
Problem: The turbines were made in sunny California. But in a Minnesota winter, the grease, oil and hydraulic fluids that lubricate the turbines freeze up and the turbines can’t spin. They just sit there, still. Result: No power.
The turbines were supposed to be on line before Christmas. But they haven’t been working since frigid weather settled in back in. The Minnesota Municipal Power Agency told the StarTribune that the 115-ft wind towers that were supposed to supply clean power to 11 towns won’t be back in operation for another couple of months, when spring comes around.
Meanwhile, in another setback for wind power, officials in Sangamon County, Illinois, are clamping down on zoning rules to restrict placement of future wind farms. The Illinois Times reports that county officials are considering new rules to require bigger buffers between communities and wind farms.
Wind farms would have to be at least half-a-mile away from communities of 10,000 citizens. Larger communities would get a 1.5-mile buffer between them and the turbine farms.
Tags: wind energy, zoning buffers
GreenandMore.com
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February 5th, 2010 at 7:49 am
I live in Bliss NY were the wind towers were placed about 2 years ago all around my home, since then our electric bills are steadily going up because of a verity of added delivery costs that were never that high. Example:
My last bill $279 for what I used and $150 for delivery. Makes you wonder I have the windmills all around me and my bills are going up for DELIVERY COST, WERE IS THE ELECTRIC GOING??????
February 8th, 2010 at 10:45 pm
A great deal of the generated power is lost in transmission dependant on how far away you are from the source. In my view it would make more sense to put wind turbines on top of every home or building. There are many makers of small turbines and with your own turbine, your bill would be zero. The cost for the turbines could be built into the construction (for new construction) And because the turbine is atop your home, transmission losses would be negligible. I don’t know how much was spent to build these windfarms, but I bet that had that amount of money been given as a subsidy to every homeowner who purchased a winturbine, the same power could have been generated without the ongoing costs or the bills.
The answer will not be in building vast windfarms or solar farm, but rather a decentralized approach where each home or building generates its own power. You could also get rid of the need for distributed water sewage systems with a combination of atmospheric water generators and incinerating toilets. Combined with highly efficient design and appliances, our energy use could be reduced to a third of what it is today.