Posted 03 April 2019 - 04:40 PM
I won't take time to address all the specious assertions you quote from these Pollyanna wind advocates. But let's start with one.
To replace a fossil fuel capacity of 1000 gigawatts you would need 3000 gigawatts of wind capacity ... AND ... ALWAYS RUNNING fossil fuel plants to keep electricity flowing.
Just because a wind turbine has a capacity rating of 1.5 megawatts, that doesn't mean it will produce that much power in practice.
Wind turbines commonly produce considerably less than rated capacity, which is the maximum amount of power it theoretically COULD produce if it ran all the time. For example, a 1.5-megawatt wind turbine with an efficiency factor of 33 percent may produce only half a megawatt in a year -- less if the wind isn't blowing reliably.
Industrial scale turbines usually have capacity ratings of 2 to 3 megawatts. However, the amount of energy actually produced is reduced by efficiency and wind availability -- the percentage of time a unit has enough wind to move.
If the wind drops in half, the output drops by a factor of 8. They work between 30 and 50 mph. Above 50 they have to be turned off.
Just once read some objective, factual, articles, not just those that make you feel right and are likely NOT written by scientists/engineers.
"Don't think...LOOK!"
Carl Swenlin, founder of Decision Point and original Fearless Forecasters board.