Wind Energy Is a Sham
Industrial wind turbines are a seductive idea, but they do not significantly offset coal-powered electricity or CO2 emissions.
Krochalis is a freelance writer living in Bent Mountain and director of the Paw and Whisker.
The vision of harnessing the wind to replace fossil fuel sources is seductive, but like Odysseus sailing past the Sirens, it is a seduction that takes us away from the true journey. It is not a choice between wind and mountaintop removal. It is a choice between corporate subsidies and community. Industrial wind turbines are a gift like the Trojan Horse; once in the gates, there is hidden danger.
Industrial wind turbines such as those proposed for Poor Mountain do not significantly offset coal-powered electricity or CO2 emissions. J. Boone’s “Less for More: The Rube Goldberg Nature of Industrial Wind Development” explains that industrial wind energy does not reduce greenhouse gas emissions. In “Wind Power or Hot Air?” Dave Erb discusses the situation in western North Carolina.
Industrial turbines rely on the grid to operate and intermittently send electricity to the grid. Thus, the power plant may need to vary the degree of operation, slowing a bit and speeding up now and then. This actually increases emissions as the plant moves from standby to full operation. Low output speeds use more power. Wind power is not a steady supply, varying with wind presence and strength. The coal-fired power plant will remain as the first feeder to the grid. The input of wind power is negligible and measurement of output must include subtracting the actual use of electricity by the turbines.
Electricity is used from the grid to keep blades perpendicular to the assembly and prevent bowing of the structure. Electricity is also required to keep a desirable blade temperature, to provide a dehumidifier and heat/cooling to the gearbox and nacelle, for magnetizing the stator (coil system) and operating the generator.
Turbines use a generator as a motor to keep blades turning even if there is no wind available. The amount of coal-powered electricity may be supplemented by wind, but it is not true in reverse — coal power operates wind turbines for a questionable amount of return. The market is supported by energy credits to corporate suppliers who charge higher prices for wind energy that cannot be distinguished from coal-powered energy in the grid — an important fact considering that turbines generally produce only 25 percent of their rated capacity.
If we look to longer term wind-power locations, such as Great Britain and Denmark, we find real disillusionment with the experience. Details of this are discussed by Glenn Schleede in “The Naked Truth About Wind Power.”
Denmark struggles with meeting demand using a dual source system of wind and existing grid source power. Niels Sandøe, writing in the Danish newspaper, Jyllands Posten, says, “if this balance is not achieved, there will be an automatic disconnection of either supply (to prevent physical damage to generating plant) or of loads (blackouts). Conventional plants have to be run in conjunction with the unpredictable wind generators and their output varied in order to provide a cushioning effect.”
In the UK, the reliance on windfarms for the renewables sector prevents meeting the government’s targets for CO2 reduction from power generation.
The Invenergy proposal does not provide a way to store wind power not accepted by the grid. That power will be sent into the land. This is a dangerous practice, as the current then seeks a ground — be it metal, human or someone’s cattle. The turbines are locked down by an electric/hydraulic brake when wind reaches 55 mph. The site is labeled Class 3 for wind, the lowest possible score for any siting. It is located between the Nature Conservancy’s Bottom Creek Gorge and the Poor Mountain Preserve.
Invenergy has asked to buy land to widen the road for their construction. Existing roads are 600-level rural roads, ending in dirt and gravel roads to the top of the mountain.
Industrial wind power does not reduce the horrors of mountaintop removal mining because it does not reduce our reliance on a coal-fired grid. Sadly, it gives corporations a way to qualify for renewable portfolio standards credits and subsidies at the expense of mountain eco-systems and communities.
This is a project dealing in tax credits and not in energy. Once again, the Appalachians are being exploited by big coal and its new partner, the Chicago Energy Exchange where RPS credits are traded.
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