Windmills bring little real benefit
Tri-City Herald | April 9 | www.tri-cityherald.com
The proposed Horse Heaven windmill farm will best case generate 600 MW only at peak wind periods, or about what a Snake River dam or half what the Energy Northwest nuclear does on a 24/7 basis on demand. And only when the wind blows, which is less than 25% of the time year around; mostly in the spring with full hydro runoff and low consumption when more power is least needed.
Wind makes minimal contribution during peak demand. BPA is forced to buy at well over their real costs of generation whether they need the power or not; and at high prices passed to ratepayers. The Stateline windmill farm in Walla Walla County since 2001 has paid less than a teachers annual salary per year to the local schools. Scout will “blow” into town, put up their windmills, collect the huge PTC subsidy, and leave us to pay the bill and see Horse Heaven littered up with the massive windmills not generating power for many days per year. Until storage technology is commercially available and affordable, the last thing we need is more windmills. Let the green side activists and money grubbers like Scout build them on their skylines, not ours.
Michael Scrimsher, Burbank Heights
URL to article: https://www.wind-watch.org/news/2020/04/09/windmills-bring-little-real-benefit/