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Energy Dept. Wants Big Wind Energy Technology In All 50 US States
coondoggie writes: Bigger wind turbines and towers are just part of what the U.S. needs in order to more effectively use wind energy in all 50 states.That was the thrust of a wind energy call-to-arms report called "Enabling Wind Power nationwide" issued this week by the Department of Energy. They detail new technology that can reach higher into the sky to capture more energy and more powerful turbines to generate more gigawatts. These new turbines are 110-140 meters tall, with blades 60 meters long. The Energy Department forecasts strong, steady growth of wind power across the country, both on land and off shore.
Plus it kills a lot of birds.
Incorrect.
upon the advice of my lawyer, i have no sig at this time
Since 1978, utilities have been obligated to purchase electricity from qualified facilities (QFs) under a law called PURPA. Net Metering isn't a federal requirement, but PURPA sure as heck is.
Support a few technologists in Washington.
You are using a very bad model to think of the electrical grid. It is not a huge pool where electricity injected anywhere on the grid is instantly available anywhere else on the grid. I call that the lake analogy. It is much more like a canal system with specific capacities between specific points and each canal has to be keeps full but not overflowing. Even though the grid may theoretically be balancing input and output there will be local shortages/oversupply because electricity takes time to move.
Here is a graph of California renewables output. The Wind line is not very smooth even though it is an average and there are no major storms going through which cause more fluctuation.
Without a shell game of tax dollars shuttling in and out with many transfers of project ownership, there would be NO turbines standing.
Do you really expect us to believe that power plants burning coal or gas don't involve any political shenanigans and don't benefit from any subsidy?
You do realize that even when those monsters are turning in the wind, they usually are just lubricating internals and not generating?
Wrong: The EROI for wind energy is between 20 and 25, meaning they produce 20 to 25 times more energy than has been used for their construction, operation and decommission.