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Wind power more inefficient than fossil fuels
Credit: The Journal Gazette, www.journalgazette.net 11 May 2012 ~~
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Translate: FROM English | TO English
This is in response to the April 19 letter, “Vote for innovation in U.S. energy policy,” in which the author is lamenting the “evil” oil companies. We all need to be honest in regard to pulling back some subsidies on oil. Thanks to the speculators investing in the market, all our pocketbooks are suffering. However, subsidies for industrial wind farms have been going on since the Carter administration, and I am disgusted with the use of American tax dollars invested in the 14,000 abandoned wind turbines rusting and dripping oil in California that could not stand on their own whatsoever without 100 percent tax subsidies and inflated utility purchase costs which, by the way, will triple the electric costs for our homes. When subsidies are pulled from oil and gas, I guarantee we shall still see a product and a profit. But when wind and solar subsidies are pulled, that is when companies go bankrupt and steal the hard earned American dollar.
This is not a Republican or Democratic thing; this is a science and engineering thing, wrapped up in common sense. When a person truly starts researching the inefficiency and total output of an industrial wind farm, it is quite startling. Remember, the technology to store electricity does not exist in a wind turbine, so unless you get up at 2 a.m. when the wind is blowing, forget about doing the laundry. Also, when one hears that a single wind farm will provide electricity for 20,000 homes, what is being censored is that it is only enough electricity for your toaster and your water heater, not your whole house. The total electricity output of this country from industrial wind farms is only 1.5 percent to 2 percent total needs. Ridiculous.
Putting in renewable energy such as wind and solar will not get us off of fossil fuels because, due to industrial battery storage not existing, fossil fuel plants have got to be running on idle all the time. Instead of getting us off of fossil fuels, it instead forever marries us and there is no hope for getting off. It is cheaper to build newer fossil fuel facilities with clean technology than to have fossil and wind. Each wind turbine has 300-500 gallons of petroleum and gear oil and substations have 10,000 gallons that need to be changed annually. And, sadly enough, these turbines are completely non-recyclable and have a five-year warranty. So tell me: How green is that? Ridiculous.
CAROLINE DENNIS
Columbia City
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