Wind power: Is it an 'ill-wind' that blows no good? | Eastern North Carolina Now

    Publisher's Note: This article originally appeared in the Beaufort Observer.

    We sat and listened to the speakers at the Utilities Commission hearing the other night and thought: "this wind stuff sounds real good." We particularly like the part about being pollution free and reducing CO2. But nagging in the back of our mind, we recalled reading reports that said wind power is not the answer to our energy needs. So we did a little research.

    One of the interesting findings of the latest research is that not only is wind power not pollution free, it actually generates more carbon than conventional fossil fuel-generated electricity. We'll save you the technical explanation, but here's the bottom line. The current produced by wind turbines fluctuates considerably. The reason this is so is simply because the wind seldom blows at a steady rate all the time. The turbines have to adjust if the wind gets too high and of course they don't produce anything when the wind gets still.

    The turbines feed into the conventional power grid. So the grid still has to be capable of meeting peak demand even when the wind is still. So there's no upfront savings. Wind power can only be used when the demand is in excess of the normal operating range of the coal, gas or nuclear generators. But the problem is that this supply from the wind turbines is not constant. Therefore, the conventional generators have to adjust or else they will produce too much power or not enough for the consumption on the grid.

    As anyone who has ever thought about why the lights often go down when a heavy demand, such as an air conditioner or even the refrigerator comes on realizes, it is the "start-up" of the electrical system that is the heaviest load. It is during this time that the conventional process dispenses more CO2. And when the extra supply coming from the wind turbines increases, the conventional generators have to be cut back. Conventional generators have a hard time cutting back instantaneously. Only gas can be reduced immediately, but even then the steam it is generating takes time to respond. The simple explanation is that electricity generation does not like constant fluctuations.

    That's an oversimplified layman's description but if you want more technical explanation click here. At this link you will find other links to recent studies that measured the results of several electrical systems that used wind generated power for part of its supply. There are no clear and substantial savings and no demonstrable reduction in pollution, in most cases. In fact, there is typically an increase in CO2.

    As most everyone knows, the Dutch have been using windmills for hundreds of years. They were early to the wind generation of electricity. Now it appears that they are realizing that wind generated electricity is not what it was sold to be. Click here to read more about their experience. If you want to know more, check out the links on the left sidebar of the article above.

    And by the way, some of the same inherent disadvantages of wind power exist with solar power also.

    The bottom line: At this time, wind generated electricity costs more (as much as twice as much), is less reliable and actually produces a net increase in pollution. The only thing really it has going for it is the money some of its supporters can make from government bailouts. Something to think about is it not?