Not a practical solution
Traverse City Record-Eagle, record-eagle.com 19 April 2012
This is in regard to the April 4 forum written by Mr. Chris Bzdok about the cost of industrial wind.
Mr. Bzdok had quite a few cost estimates from various sources, some of which involved predictions of the future costs of electric power. Reading predictions of the future and cost estimates in Mr. Bzdok’s essay brought to mind the same sort of soothing but inaccurate cost analysis that led to the Grand Traverse septage plant fiasco.
We don’t need cost estimates that reflect the particular biases of those who make them. What we need is hard, empirical data that reflects real-world industrial wind power. Companies that are currently involved in building wind turbines are only doing it for the government subsidies.
Also, the well known author, Jeremy Rifkin, an advisor to the European Union and various heads of state, mentions in his latest book, “The Third Industrial Revolution,” that when wind power flowing onto a commercial grid reaches 15 percent or more, it needs a backup source or much of that electricity is lost.
In my opinion, wind power doesn’t sound like a very practical solution if it has to be backed up by conventional methods.
Richard F. Hug
Benzonia
URL to article: https://www.wind-watch.org/news/2012/04/20/not-a-practical-solution/