December 7, 2012
Letters, Massachusetts

Putting the Hoosac Wind Project in perspective

North Adams Transcript | 12/05/2012 | www.thetranscript.com

At the ribbon-cutting ceremony for the Hoosac Wind Project on Dec. 3, Gov. Deval Patrick and others frequently claimed that this project will provide power for 10,000 homes. These projects are always promoted this way.

In truth, residential electricity only accounts for about a third of total electricity consumption. Massachusetts has 2.5 million households. To put this in perspective, this largest wind farm in Massachusetts will produce, on an annual basis, only enough power for one out of every 250 households in the state … or one 750th of electrical power consumed in Massachusetts.

Electric power consumption, total, only accounts for about a third of anthropocentric green house gas emissions. The best you could say is that Hoosac Wind will offset 1 ton of Massachusetts green house gases for every 2,250 tons that are produced.

However, this large figure needs to be tempered by the fact that a considerable amount of green house gases were emitted in the process of eliminating 75 acres of forest, as well as in manufacturing, transporting and installing massive amounts of concrete and steel. And, of course, the figure assumes that wind energy can be incorporated into the grid without affecting the efficiency of fossil fuel generators needed to offset the erratic nature of wind energy.

Disturbingly, demand for new electricity is growing faster than in-state wind/solar generating capacity. So, contrary to what the governor said to the media, we are actually losing ground.

These facts eclipse all other facets of the debate about wind power in that they challenge the very core of widely held assumptions about what we can really accomplish with wind energy. When so little is gained, why is it worth the massive public subsidies and impact on neighbors, wildlife, etc.?

Lloyd Crawford

Hawley

Dec. 4

URL to article:  https://www.wind-watch.org/news/2012/12/07/putting-the-hoosac-wind-project-in-perspective/