Go slowly before committing to wind power
The letter from Julia Gosier published on May 16 is headlined “Wind energy option environmentally sound” although its content is principally a snide commentary directed toward Chuck Ebbing and me. There are many downsides to placing large industrial wind turbines, particularly in populated areas, and these have been amply described in your publication and others. As for the claimed benefits, as engineers, we do not simply accept the simplistic declarations of the developers full of such appealing but meaningless terms as “green” and “free.”
Since the wind does not always blow at sufficient velocities, wind turbines, if properly located, may produce on average over a year approximately 25-30 percent of their rated power. Therefore, the remaining 70-75 percent of the wind facility’s rated capacity will be supplied by conventional sources. In order to back up the natural variability of wind, however, these conventional sources of power must be run 100 percent of the time. Thus, even when the wind is generating power, these other sources must be running and ready to ramp up quickly as the wind dies down. While running, some of these machines continue to use fuel and create emissions.
In New York state, there are a number of different sources of power that supply our electrical energy. There are many considerations for the grid operator in deciding, when wind-generated power becomes available, which source to cut back.
Many other scenarios are possible, and the question is too complex for definitive analysis. What is apparent, however, is that the wind developers grossly exaggerate the potential savings in fuel and emissions from the use of wind power. The best guide may be to examine actual usage in areas where wind generators have been operating. Denmark and Germany have both invested heavily in wind turbines for electrical generation and the experience in both countries is that their extensive use of wind has not saved fuel or reduced emissions of greenhouse gases.
Because the benefits from wind are uncertain and marginal at best, it is apparent that we should go slowly and carefully. We must evaluate all of the positive and negative aspects of wind power before committing large areas of the north country to these industrial turbines. What is certain is that there are substantial added costs, shared by taxpayers and ratepayers, for the electricity produced by wind turbines.
Albert H. Bowers
Chaumont
27 May 2009
Tags: Wind power, Wind energy
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