tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7597656451205429515.post1883851374850630460..comments2024-02-16T17:52:44.944-06:00Comments on The Nuclear Green Revolution: Tragic windCharles Bartonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01125297013064527425noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7597656451205429515.post-17936043311016161732009-02-05T09:10:00.000-06:002009-02-05T09:10:00.000-06:00Warren Heath wrote:... and the quadruple or quintu...Warren Heath wrote:<BR/><I>... and the quadruple or quintuple oversized, long distance power transmission system.</I><BR/><BR/>I had forgotten about that aspect. We had an incident here in Washington State last year where it was windy at all the wind power sites, all at the same time. The folks at Bonneville Power Administration (who manage the transmission lines that the wind turbines feed into) were pulling their hair out. They were on the edge of power system instability with all the power being dumped into the system. With other forms of generation, they just request the power input be reduced, and it is done. However, by law they are forced to accept all the power the wind turbines put on the grid.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7597656451205429515.post-72756612275593670952009-02-04T21:22:00.000-06:002009-02-04T21:22:00.000-06:00There’s an excellent summary of World Wind Turbine...There’s an excellent summary of World Wind Turbine Installation costs, <A HREF="http://www.wind-watch.org/documents/wp-content/uploads/leyland-cost-projecthayes-nz.pdf" REL="nofollow"> here </A>. Average capital cost, documented in the report is $US 2586 per installed kw, with capital costs in Europe expected to rise to $US 4342 per peak kw in the next few years. With Germany & Denmark’s capacity factor at about 20% that works out to an incredible $21,710 per avg kw, not including the cost of the fossil fuel backup NG power plant, output smoothing battery bank and the quadruple or quintuple oversized, long distance power transmission system. Even at USA’s 25% average and $US 2586 per pk kw, that’s $US 10,344 per avg kw, plus $1000 per kw for backup power, plus $2000 per kw for the transmission line infrastructure, plus at least $500 per kw for grid stabilization battery banks (like Altairnano is selling), that’s about $US 13,000 per avg delivered kw. A mite pricey for unreliable, intermittent, environmentally destructive energy. Even the anti-nuclear critics can’t come up with prices that high for modern nuclear, which lasts for 60 years vs 20 years for the Wind Turbines.<BR/><BR/>The author lists about 1.5 US cents per kwh for maintenance costs – comparable to modern nuclear operating costs. Not included is royalties to landowners for transmission line right-of-ways and land usage.<BR/><BR/>And that NG backup power produces considerable CO2 emissions, as well as depleting precious NG fuel reserves. The modern, more reliable, Wind Turbines are also depleting our very limited supplies of rare-earth magnets which are vastly more useful economically and environmentally, when used for motors in E-Bikes, E-Scooters and Electric and Hybrid Electric Vehicles.<BR/><BR/>After about 20% of Grid Capacity, the United States would have no viable option but to use surplus Wind Energy to produce liquid fuels for energy storage, which will be at most 50% efficient, resulting in a doubling of the above costs.<BR/><BR/>Here’s is another excellent document on <A HREF="http://www.wind-watch.org/documents/wp-content/uploads/ProblemWithWind.pdf" REL="nofollow"> the Facts about Industrial Wind Energy </A>. Note that Danish Wind Turbines, in actual fact, only supply less than 6% of Denmark’s electricity consumption, not the 20% commonly reported, as most of their Wind Energy is exported, displacing cleaner, greener hydro power in Norway.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com