It beggars belief that Energy Minister Eamonn Ryan has committed billions of our money to the wind industry over the next 15 years.
If any real benefits could accrue it might be worth it. But sadly there is none.
Wind turbines, on average, only produce about 25pc of rated capacity and most of this goes to waste because it’s produced at times of low demand.
Even when produced at peak demand, wind power is pretty worthless on the grid because its unreliability means that it must always be backed up by conventional power plants, fully fired up and belching out CO.
Consequently there is no saving on fossil fuels, no reduction in harmful emissions and the combined carbon footprint is actually worse than before.
Wind power can indeed be useful for certain projects which can use it whenever it blows, such as pumping water to high storage for hydro power generation.
But putting it on the national grid is as useless as a spare groom at a wedding.
Dick Keane
Glenageary,
Co Dublin
11 February 2008
URL to article: https://www.wind-watch.org/news/2008/02/11/wind-energy-talk-is-full-of-hot-air/