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For news items from 2008 click here and for 2007 and earlier, click here.
August 27, 2010: Wind Energy Gets Huge Subsidies. So Where Are The CO2 Reductions?
Article by Robert Bryce
from www.energytribune.com This
is an extended version of an article that appeared in the Wall Street Journal on
August 24.
"Over the last few years, the wind industry has achieved remarkable growth
largely due to the industry’s claim that using more wind energy will result in
major reductions in carbon dioxide emissions. There’s just one problem with
that claim: it’s not true. Recent studies show that wind-generated electricity
may not result in any reduction in carbon emissions, or those reductions will be
so small as to be almost meaningless.
There are two reasons wind can’t make major cuts in carbon emissions. The wind
blows only intermittently and variably; and wind-generated electricity largely
displaces power produced by natural gas-fired generators rather than that coming
from plants that burn more carbon-intensive coal.
Because the wind is not dependable, electric utilities must either keep their
conventional power plants running all the time (much like “spinning reserve”
in industry parlance) to make sure the lights don’t go dark, or they must
continually ramp up and down the output from conventional coal- or gas-fired
generators (“cycling”).
Coal-fired and gas-fired generators are designed to run continuously. If they
don’t, fuel consumption, and emissions of key air pollutants, generally
increases. A car analogy helps explain the reason: An automobile that operates
at a constant speed -- say, 55 miles per hour -- will have better fuel
efficiency, and emit less pollution per mile travelled, than one that is stuck
in stop-and-go traffic. But the wind, by its very nature, is stop-and-go. The
result: minimal or no reductions in carbon emissions by shifting conventional
generation to wind."
For the full article see:www.energytribune.com/articles.cfm/5103/Wind-Energy-Gets-Huge-Subsidies-So-Where-Are-The-CO2-Reductions
January 3, 2010: "Scarecrow" wind farms put rare birds to flight
Britain’s upland birds are in danger of being driven off hills and mountains by onshore wind farms.
Recent scientific study indicates the extent of the potential negative impact of Britain's wind farm programme on wildlife. Scientists have found that birds, including buzzards, golden plovers, curlews and red grouse, are abandoning countryside around wind farms because the turbines act as giant scarecrows, frightening them away.
The impact is small now because there are few wind farms but researchers warn that, with hundreds more planned, plus an increase in the size of turbines, the effect could become much worse.For the full article from the Sunday Times, January 3, go to:
www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/environment/article6974082.ece
December 30, 2009: Insurance companies refusing to cover damage caused by wind turbines
It has come to light that some insurance companies do not cover damage caused by wind turbine developments.
If
a wind turbine caused total loss (for example by starting a fire) – their
conditions deprive the owner of cover for that disaster even if the wind
turbine belongs to another person. The property owner with a wind turbine
may also be deprived of cover against damage to third parties, in the
worst case a major fire could incur costs far beyond the property owner's
resources to pay. Farmers eager to host turbines may not be aware of this!
For
example see: http://www.bankofscotlandhalifax.co.uk/insurance/pdf/HalifaxHomeInsuranceMORPolicyWording_1_337329-2.pdf
December 2, 2009: German wind turbine burns
A wind turbine burns in the German city of Uelzen.
The fire on the around 100 meter tall turbine caused €750,000 in damage
and is believed to have been caused by a technical defect
![]()
See also:
For a summary of Wind Turbine Accident data to 31 December 2008 go to:
http://www.wind-watch.org/documents/wp-content/uploads/accidents.pdf
November 15, 2009: £250 Billion, the real cost of wind power?
An
internal document from the National Grid, seen by the Sunday Express and
reported in an article today, says wind turbine energy will at times cost over
3,000 per cent more than conventional power. The
Government’s renewable energy strategy is in tatters after a report exposing
the true costs of generating electricity by wind power. Industry experts say
over-reliance on wind power could mean fuel poverty for consumers, as older
power plants reach the end of their working lives while
The revelations will make uncomfortable reading for Gordon Brown and his team,
who have pinned much of their hopes of meeting carbon emission targets on wind
power. Professor Ian Fells, Emeritus Professor of Energy Conversion at
The National Grid document, Accessing Renewable Energy, deals with the issue of
“balancing the grid” to get the right amount of power from different sources
across the
To
read the complete article go to:
www.express.co.uk/posts/view/140456/-250bn-The-real-cost-of-wind-power
October 2, 2009: German politicians now admit wind turbines and solar panels have not reduced CO2 emissions in Europe.
Despite Europe's boom in solar and wind energy, CO2
emissions haven't been reduced by even a single gram. Now, even the Green Party
(in Germany) is taking a new look at the issue -- as shown in e-mails obtained
by SPIEGEL ONLINE. For the full article go to: http://www.spiegel.de/international/business/0,1518,606763,00.html
September 25, Press Release from the Renewable Energy Foundation (REF)
The Danish
governing party moves to correct over-emphasis on on-shore wind power
In a press statement released on the 17th of September,
Lars Christian Lilleholt, energy and environment spokesman for Venstre pointed
out the very heavy burden now placed on consumers to support wind power, and
announced the intention of putting a cap on this in order to concentrate on
other technologies.
For further
information please contact Margareta Stanley on 020 7930 3636 or 07968 049 832,
email press@ref.org.uk
or visit our website www.ref.org.uk
September 14, 2009 Press release: Scientist exposes wind farm scam
In The
Wind Farm Scam, to be released on 30th September 2009, Dr. John Etherington
argues that wind farm technology is a wholly counter-productive and undesirable
response to the problems of climate change and electricity generation. Dr.
Etherington is a former Reader in Ecology, Thomas Huxley Medallist at the Royal
College of Science and former co-editor of the Journal of Ecology.
The Wind Farm Scam explains that the intermittent nature of wind power
cannot generate a steady output, a fact that necessitates back-up systems from
coal and gas-powered plants that significantly negate any reduction of
greenhouse gas emissions. In addition, there are the ecological drawbacks,
including damage to habitats and wildlife, and the far from insignificant
aesthetic drawback of the assault upon natural beauty which wind turbines
entail.
Moreover, wind power is being excessively financed at the cost of consumers who
have been neither consulted nor informed that this subsidy is being paid from
their bills to support an industry that cannot be cost-efficient.
With the recent proliferation of local groups opposing wind farm planning
applications (now over 300), and the increasingly frequent and challenging
discussions on wind farms in all the media - including a round condemnation by James
Lovelock on the BBC’s Hard Talk programme - this meticulously researched
and compellingly-argued book could not be more timely.
As Christopher Booker says in his introduction:
“Eventually the obsession of our politicians with tower blocks was seen to be one of the greatest follies of the age. In time to come – it may be sooner than we think – the obsession with wind power will likewise come to be seen as an even greater folly”
The
Wind Farm Scam: ISBN 9781905299836, £9.99, published 30th September 2009 by
Stacey International Please
contact David Birkett on 020 7221 7166, 07982 75 4646 or by e-mailing him at marketing@stacey-international.co.uk
July 2009
Very
expensive electricity coming our way
July, 2009
"Onshore wind turbines : the myth, the reality and the bottom line"
Mr.
John Webley, Chairman of the The
Kentish Weald Action Group (KWAG) has prepared
a new article that
challenges much of the information provided by the wind industry. His conclusion, based on
UK wind data,
is that
virtually
all the energy from onshore wind turbines will have to be backed up.
William Hyde, a Chartered Engineer and
retired South Eastern Electricity Board engineering manager, has taken three
daily readings from 30 Met Office weather stations across the whole
June 15, 2009
Grass-roots revolt against wind farms
The launch members of NAWAG will recruit
as many as possible of the estimated 200-plus local action groups in existence
across
April 2009
|
March
2009: RSPB calls for more The
Royal Society for the Protection of Birds has announced its support for an
increase in onshore wind farms in the |
For earlier news items, click here for the News Archive page for 2008
and here for 2005 to 2007.
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