Why build wind turbines at all?
Kenilworth Weekly News, www.kenilworthweeklynews.co.uk 30 October 2011
Kenilworth Weekly News, www.kenilworthweeklynews.co.uk 30 October 2011
Your article (Courier 14/10) asks the question “Is it realistic to expect all wind farms to be built outside scenic areas?). In reply I would ask – why build wind turbines at all?
They are grossly inefficient and have to be backed up by conventional power stations when “the wind refuses to blow”! Their output is grossly exaggerated by talking only in terms of their “capacity”, as if this is what they actually produce. Of course, with the variation of wind speeds and sometimes no wind at all, the output of the turbines is generally on average a quarter of their stated capacity. The BBC is particularly good at exaggerating the figures in this way.
No one would build wind turbines unless they were guaranteed a huge government subsidy paid for through household bills. If the 10,000 wind turbines, as promised by the government are built, then customers can expect their bills to rise by hundreds of pounds. Of course the government and the power companies will ensure that these “green taxes” are not detailed on the bills. What will we be left with when the subsidies run out? Thousands of useless, rusting turbines spoiling the countryside for generations to come.
The “green fanatics” would have us believe that the use of wind power will make a vital contribution to “saving the planet” by a reduction in Co2. The reality is different. The Co2 reduction saved by one large wind farm is considerably less in a year than generated by one jumbo jet flying daily between the UK and America over the same period. The building of the metal turbines generates enormous amounts of Co2. This, coupled with the conventional power stations required to “back up” the wind turbines when the wind does not blow, makes any savings negligible.
The effect on the countryside of these monster wind turbines is horrendous. For example Romney Marsh in Kent. Most people will think of this area as one of natural beauty and a wildlife site. Not anymore, the installation of 26 wind turbines, 370 feet high, have totally destroyed the area.
Other countries have realised the folly of a reliance on wind power. Denmark who have more wind farm turbines per head than anyone else has also the highest electricity prices in Europe. Germany is now going back to coal fired power stations. Wind turbines in Spain have proved to be a national disaster. Only in the UK do we continue with this “green infatuation”. – Barry Mcloughlin, Spring Pool, Warwick.
URL to article: https://www.wind-watch.org/news/2011/10/31/why-build-wind-turbines-at-all/