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Wind Power News: Opinions
These news and opinion items are gathered by National Wind Watch in its noncommercial educational effort to help keep readers informed about developments related to industrial wind energy. They do not necessarily reflect the opinions of National Wind Watch. They are the products of and owned by the organizations or individuals noted and are shared here according to “fair use” and “fair dealing” provisions of copyright law.
Don’t believe the renewables myth. Wind and solar are not cheap.
Politicians everywhere are repeating the mantra that renewable energy is cheap, and we need to use it instead of gas (currently expensive in and near Europe) to bring down energy costs for households. As US President Joe Biden said of clean energy before signing the poetically named Executive Actions on Tackling Climate Change, Creating Jobs, and Restoring Scientific Integrity “it’s affordable; because it’s clean; because, in many cases, it’s cheaper… [clean technologies] will ultimately become cheaper than any other kind . . . Complete story »
Texas Land Commissioner commits to protecting Texas waters from 860 square-mile “wind farm”
As a ninth-generation Texan, I have always loved and respected our beautiful coast, its vibrant economy, and the hard-working men and women whose livelihoods depend on the preservation of these waters. Since taking the helm of the General Land Office as the first female Land Commissioner in state history, I have also had the immense responsibility of stewarding over 13 million acres of state lands, protecting our state’s open beaches, and providing critical relief to Texans in the aftermath of . . . Complete story »
The financial viability of New Jersey’s offshore wind energy projects in jeopardy
New Jersey’s commitment to clean energy and climate change has taken a precarious turn as the financial viability of its offshore wind energy projects has come under scrutiny. With multiple offshore wind farms in development at the Jersey Shore, mounting concerns from residents, politicians, and financial experts are putting these projects at risk. Rising Concerns Residents along the Jersey Shore have been protesting the wind farms, fearing potential impacts on the local environment and industries. Politicians, too, are now taking . . . Complete story »
Murphy’s wind turbine project could be stopped by little ol’ Ocean City
Whether you’re a Democrat, Republican or independent, you have to know Phil Murphy is as slick and slippery as they come. Rather than go through the Legislature for approval of his climate cult schemes, he does it through the regulatory process. This way you have no say in the matter. It just gets rammed through by way of the BPU or the DEP. They’re made up of unelected bureaucrats appointed by the governor. Back in March Murphy chose not to . . . Complete story »
Maine must hit pause on offshore wind turbines
You wouldn’t buy a house without an inspection, so why would we fill the Gulf of Maine with wind turbine superstructures without understanding how they interact with the marine environment? Offshore wind energy features too many unknowns to proceed at this point with widescale ocean industrialization. That’s why my organization, the New England Fishermen’s Stewardship Association (NEFSA) has joined with partner organizations to call on state and federal authorities to reset our renewable energy policy. The state of Maine is . . . Complete story »
Cost of “net zero” grid explodes 20-fold
Given the cost of hiring an electrician, a bill of $78 billion to rewire the nation always sounded cheap. The then opposition leader reassured us in December 2021 that the figure was backed by “the most comprehensive modelling ever done for any policy by any opposition in Australia’s history since Federation”. The same unimpeachable modelling told us that the average household electricity bill would fall by $275 under a Labor government. Asked how confident he felt, Anthony Albanese replied: “Well, . . . Complete story »
A proposal for exposing the true costs of getting electricity from wind and sun
Every place that tries increasing the percentage of electricity generation that comes from wind and sun then experiences rapidly rising consumer electricity costs. The reasons why this happens are not complicated. Even at relatively low levels of wind and solar penetration, backup fossil fuel or other generation cannot be closed, so consumers must pay for two duplicate generation systems. At higher levels of wind/solar penetration, things like overbuilding, curtailment, and hugely expensive grid-scale energy storage come into play. In my . . . Complete story »
The dirty details of offshore wind’s ‘clean energy’
“In New Jersey, it’s go hard or go home,” Gov. Phil Murphy Tweeted after signing an executive order to up the state’s offshore wind goals by nearly 50% last September. Perhaps, the governor didn’t consider the fact that those in the state who question the perils and efficacy of offshore wind turbines are playing by the same saying. This “clean energy economy,” as conceived and fast-tracked by the Biden administration (and treated as the holy grail by Gov. Phil Murphy), . . . Complete story »
Offshore wind is a terrible way to reduce CO2 emissions
The sole justification offered for the offshore wind stampede is that we need to reduce CO2 emissions from electric power generation. A quick look at the numbers shows that this is a truly terrible idea. Here is a very simple gander at the likely costs and supposed benefits. First let’s do what I call a “fantasy cost benefit analysis” for offshore wind emission reductions. It is a fantasy because it simply assumes (1) every MWh of wind generation eliminates a . . . Complete story »
Misfortune will blow our way if we rely on wind turbines for almost all our electricity
The fine weather of recent weeks is starting to worry the farming community. Seen from their perspective, it marks the start of drought conditions that can play havoc with farm output and profitability. Met Éireann has already announced that 24 out of 25 weather stations are currently observing “absolute droughts”, a period of 15 or more consecutive days with daily rainfall of less than 0.2mm. Indeed, most have already experienced between 15 and 26 days of “absolute drought”.” Perhaps the . . . Complete story »
