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Slowing Wind Energy Production Suffers From Lack of Wind

HughPickens.com writes: Gregory Meyer reports at the Financial Times that electricity generated by U.S. wind farms fell 6 per cent in the first half of the year, even as the nation expanded wind generation capacity by 9 per cent. The reason was some of the softest air currents in 40 years, cutting power sales from wind farms to utilities. The situation is likely to intensify into the first quarter of 2016 as the El Niño weather phenomenon holds back wind speeds around much of the U.S. "We never anticipated a drop-off in the wind resource as we have witnessed over the past six months," says David Crane. Wind generated 4.4 per cent of US electricity last year, up from 0.4 per cent a decade earlier. But this year U.S. wind plants' "capacity factor" has averaged just a third of their total generating capacity, down from 38 per cent in 2014.

EIA noted that slightly slower wind speeds can reduce output by a disproportionately large amount. "Capacity factors for wind turbines are largely determined by wind resources," says a report from the Energy Information Administration. "Because the output from a turbine varies nonlinearly with wind speed, small decreases in wind speeds can result in much larger changes in output and, in turn, capacity factors." In January of 2015, wind speeds remained 20 to 45 percent below normal on areas of the west coast, but it was especially bad in California, Oregon, and Washington, where those levels dropped to 50 percent below normal during the month of January.

224 comments

  1. meanwhile solar output from the sun was stable by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0, Insightful

    wind was always stupidly indirect

    1. Re:meanwhile solar output from the sun was stable by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Very true. Solar generation output was steady at 0kW/h at night for the 100,000,000,000,000th year in a row!

    2. Re:meanwhile solar output from the sun was stable by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      But on average, far more cost effective.

    3. Re:meanwhile solar output from the sun was stable by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      There's a fascinating new invention called "batteries," you should check into this technology, it's even popular with wind farms.

    4. Re:meanwhile solar output from the sun was stable by ShanghaiBill · · Score: 1

      But on average, far more cost effective.

      ... which makes it less stupid. Wind may occasionally drop in intensity, but sunlight drops in intensity every night.

    5. Re:meanwhile solar output from the sun was stable by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Yup. A great way to double the cost of what is already the most expensive way to generate electricity.

    6. Re:meanwhile solar output from the sun was stable by behrooz0az · · Score: 2

      I don't think universe is that old, YMMV.

      --
      Moderating "-1, Disagree" is simple censorship. Have the guts to post your opinion. -- Spazmania (174582)
    7. Re:meanwhile solar output from the sun was stable by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      and intermittant

    8. Re:meanwhile solar output from the sun was stable by msauve · · Score: 1

      The solution is obvious. There's never a lack of hot wind coming out of Washington, DC.

      --
      "National Security is the chief cause of national insecurity." - Celine's First Law
    9. Re:meanwhile solar output from the sun was stable by reboot246 · · Score: 1

      I prefer my power be produced locally. Our state capital has plenty of hot wind for our needs.

    10. Re:meanwhile solar output from the sun was stable by caviare · · Score: 1

      There's another one called an HVDC supergrid. Its cheaper than nukes. It's cheaper than replacing all the coal fired power stations. If you want to be fully informed on the energy debate, you need to check this out. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/...

    11. Re:meanwhile solar output from the sun was stable by rubycodez · · Score: 1

      You mean those things that drop to 60% efficiency when over 80% charged?

    12. Re:meanwhile solar output from the sun was stable by rubycodez · · Score: 2

      HVDC supergrids generate no power whatsoever. Now plug some nuclear reactors into that and then you'd really have something that could drive civilization and prosperity for mankind forward.

    13. Re:meanwhile solar output from the sun was stable by WolfWithoutAClause · · Score: 1

      Still, people use less energy at night, so PVs aren't as silly as they look.

      --

      -WolfWithoutAClause

      "Gravity is only a theory, not a fact!"
    14. Re: meanwhile solar output from the sun was stable by terrywirth5 · · Score: 1

      It just goes to show the urgent need to install wind turbines surrounding DC in oder to capture the plethora of hot air emanating from within.

    15. Re:meanwhile solar output from the sun was stable by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Wind energy was the energy that made Europeans conqueror the world, wind land from seas, protect land form rising seas, increase food production, get water in more dry area's etc. We have to thank all progress to the wind energy ('that was always stupidly indirect). Even some exploring Italian had a problem with a lack of wind, but it didn't stop him from reaching the Eastern Part of India, although he was quite mistaken about where he arrived.
       
      And about nuclear power. We have problems with the energy supply in our country because the majority of our electricity is generated by nuclear power plants that have been paid pay tax money but privatized and given almost for free to a company would can undercut every new player on the market.

      Nuclear power has a stranglehold on the free energy market. Nobody is willing to invest in save, more green power centrals when the investments are high and strong player like the nuclear power lobby can undercut the prices of the competitors while remaining profitable.

      Meanwhile nobody knows for sure what happens with the nuclear wast deep under ground. Some have found evidence that some people where trying to dig a way to the waste (maybe just kids, but maybe the black market merchants who have wealthy potential customers). The waste dumps have now to be guard 24/7 by a well trained squad who are paid with ... tax payer money. The nuclear power plant owners claim they don't have the money and work with a loss. That's true because they move all profits to some offshore tax heaven to avoid paying taxes.

      The technology of nuclear plants, I always loved them. But i don't like the implementation of the huge important plants whose weakest link is human behavior.

    16. Re:meanwhile solar output from the sun was stable by blindseer · · Score: 1

      Great idea! Except that it would double the cost of an energy source that is already three times the cost of coal.

      So, not such a great idea. How about we try something else, like nuclear power?

      --
      I am armed because I am free. I am free because I am armed.
    17. Re:meanwhile solar output from the sun was stable by Bob+the+Super+Hamste · · Score: 1

      Might I suggest bio incinerators.

      --
      Time to offend someone
    18. Re:meanwhile solar output from the sun was stable by morgauxo · · Score: 1

      Batteries are just horribly inefficient boxes of future environmental contamination. The better ones also include hefty portions of strip-mined rare earth metals. I do hope that someday batteries are better but a lot of very smart people have been working on the problem for over a century. There is still a long way to go before it's solved and given the law of diminishing returns I'm not convinced it even can be.

    19. Re:meanwhile solar output from the sun was stable by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      There's a fascinating new invention called "batteries," you should check into this technology, it's even popular with wind farms.

      It's one thing when someone responds to a Slashdot article that the didn't read, and it another when someone links to an article that they didn't read.

      I read your link. From your link:
      "Predictable power: It is critical that power producers provide the grid with consistent power, but changes in the wind can sometimes hinder successful grid integration. Over periods of 15-60 minutes, the Predictable Power application smoothes out any short-term wind peaks and valleys, making it more consistent, and more predictable. "

      The average night lasts much longer than 15-60 minutes, and El Nino periods last even longer.

  2. Non linear... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    Specifically, the amount of power present in wind is proportional to the third power of the wind speed, so small changes in speed can have a large effect on the amount of power that can be generated.

    1. Re:Non linear... by Falos · · Score: 1

      While that surely lines up with the physics formula of a moving fluid (and resulting blade RPM) my gut's takeaway from skimming TFS figured it also meant baselines, ie anything below N force won't turn blades at all, or certain electrical/circuit bits don't open/flow until certain breakpoints. IANAengineer.

    2. Re:Non linear... by sribe · · Score: 1

      ...my gut's takeaway from skimming TFS figured it also meant baselines, ie anything below N force won't turn blades at all...

      Correct.

  3. caused by climate change by known_coward_69 · · Score: 0, Troll

    and the koch brothers to protect big oil

    1. Re:caused by climate change by stoolpigeon · · Score: 3, Insightful

      No - we just hit peak wind faster than anyone expected.

      --
      It's hard to believe that's how Micronians are made. Why don't we see it right now by having you both kiss one another?
    2. Re:caused by climate change by sycodon · · Score: 4, Funny

      Quick!

      Tax something!

      --
      When Fascism comes to America, it will call itself Anti-Fascism, and tell you to give up your guns.
    3. Re:caused by climate change by blindseer · · Score: 2, Interesting

      Yes! Let's tax those evil rich coal producers so we can give the money to those evil rich windmill makers!

      This is what I don't get about those tax-n-subsidize proponents that want to subsidize things like wind, solar, and what not. The argument goes something like, "Those evil fossil fuel people are making money off the poor! They take our money and poison the planet! We need to make them pay!" Okay, so we tax them. What do we do with that tax income then?

      I'll tell you where that money goes. We subsidize electric cars because they are so expensive. Yep, very expensive. So expensive that only a rich person can afford them even after the subsidies and car makers sell them at a loss. Who's getting those subsidies then? Yep, rich people that are looking for a four door penis enhancement and car makers that use that money to make more SUVs.

      Solar subsidies? Same thing. Expensive solar panels are bought by rich people that want to feel good about themselves and then file for a tax rebate for doing so.

      Windmills? We tax the evil corporations that make coal so that another evil corporation can afford to make windmills. With the complex structure of corporate ownership in this economy it's quite likely that those that own the coal company also own the windmill company.

      This is not a problem that can be solved with taxes, as the parent post pointed out. This is a technology problem, and a policy problem. We'd have many more safe, reliable, and cheap nuclear power plants if only the government would get out of the way. One possible solution I see is taking nuclear regulation from the federal government and give it to the states. Let the states regulate their own nuclear power plants. The US Department of Energy is so fearful of dong anything wrong that they don't do anything at all.

      --
      I am armed because I am free. I am free because I am armed.
    4. Re:caused by climate change by Barsteward · · Score: 1

      i don't see any reference to subsidies/tax breaks etc given to the fossil fuel industry to keep their prices low. there is a reason why the fossil fuel industry donates to government coffers in a large way.

      --
      "The hands that help are better far than lips that pray." - Robert Ingersoll (1833-1899)
  4. Maybe wind farms cause global calming by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0, Funny

    Maybe wind farms cause global calming. Big Wind doesn't want you to believe in that.

    1. Re:Maybe wind farms cause global calming by TWX · · Score: 1

      Maybe we can store up some of that big wind. Some kind of special stretchy flexible container perhaps. We can call them windbags...

      --
      Do not look into laser with remaining eye.
    2. Re:Maybe wind farms cause global calming by cayenne8 · · Score: 1

      We can call them windbags...

      AKA: Senators.

      --
      Light travels faster than sound. This is why some people appear bright until you hear them speak.........
    3. Re:Maybe wind farms cause global calming by fustakrakich · · Score: 1

      All he capitol buildings has a more than adequate supply

      --
      “He’s not deformed, he’s just drunk!”
    4. Re:Maybe wind farms cause global calming by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      No - that is a source of hot air (causing global warming?). not wind.

      Windbags always get deflated... It always takes even more money to reinflate them - a loss both ways.

      Part of the problem is that wind always goes from a high pressure to a low pressure area. And the less the temperature differential, the less the pressure differential - and less wind.

    5. Re:Maybe wind farms cause global calming by ChunderDownunder · · Score: 1

      Shouldn't that be A Mighty Wind?

      If youÂre going to make a fart joke...

    6. Re:Maybe wind farms cause global calming by dbIII · · Score: 1

      Ironically there are compressed air energy storage systems for wind already - at least one uses an old salt mine instead of building storage tanks and there's the offshore idea of having underwater bags of air instead of building storage tanks. You want higher pressure air - change the depth of the bags in the design.

  5. Not quite ready by jodido · · Score: 2, Insightful

    to replace reliable hydrocarbons or nuclear power

    1. Re:Not quite ready by Coren22 · · Score: 3, Informative

      Reliable hydrocarbon?

      http://www.wusa9.com/story/news/local/2015/04/07/power-outage/25411283/

      An equipment failure at a switching station? That is your example?

      http://www.carbonbrief.org/blog/2014/10/how-national-grid-keeps-the-lights-on-when-a-large-power-stations-catches-fire/

      So, the grid handles a fire pretty well, thanks for that update...

      Reliable nuclear?

      http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-29058644

      Wow...so they found some issues that impacted safety, shutdown the reactors safely, and are now fixing the issues? Oh the humanity! All those lost lives...that didn't happen..

      What was your point again?

      --
      APK likes to ask for responses to the same things over and over. Maybe he just likes the responses?
    2. Re:Not quite ready by gurps_npc · · Score: 2
      It is not supposed to 'replace', but to supplement.

      Creating really bad straw-man arguments and congratulating yourself on beating reflects poorly on you, not your opponent.

      --
      excitingthingstodo.blogspot.com
    3. Re:Not quite ready by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0, Flamebait

      "An equipment failure at a switching station? That is your example?"

      Yes. What do you not understand about "not reliable"? It means "it went down without planning or choice at an inconvenient time, leaving us short".

      "So, the grid handles a fire pretty well, thanks for that update..."

      And the grid is handling this event too. But you didn't notice because it doesn't fit on message for you.

      "Wow...so they found some issues that impacted safety, shutdown the reactors safely, and are now fixing the issues?"

      Yes. This wasn't an example of dangerous nuclear, this was an example of UNRELIABLE nuclear.

      Is this all entirely beyond your grasp?

    4. Re:Not quite ready by bws111 · · Score: 3, Informative

      When a hydrocarbon or nuclear plant goes offline, how does the grid handle it? By getting power from other hydrocarbon and nuclear plants.

      When wind does not produce power, how does the grid handle it? By getting power from hydrocarbon and nuclear plants.

      One of those is not like the other.

    5. Re:Not quite ready by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      and when we run out of hydrocarbons in 200 years or so how reliable is it when you can't find oil or coal or natural gas? I've never heard wind being suggested to replace hydrocarbons, but to reduce our dependence on it. non-renewable resource vs renewable resouces...

    6. Re:Not quite ready by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      "An equipment failure at a switching station? That is your example?"

      Yes. What do you not understand about "not reliable"? It means "it went down without planning or choice at an inconvenient time, leaving us short".

      Wind produced power provided by utilities still has to go through these same switching stations and would have failed the same way. A switching station really doesn't have a clue if the power was produced by hamsters on exercise wheels, burning Anonymous Cowards, a nuclear reactor, or a windmill. Do you subscribe to homeopathy and believe the electrons include an "essence" of their source that can be discerned by the switching station?

    7. Re:Not quite ready by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      You don't even know what you're talking about. The issues you are representing are normal and manageable issues. When a coal plant goes down, other coal plants pick up the slack; that's building redundancy into the grid and how "the grid manages it".

      The issue with these wind turbines is that the wind wasn't blowing and there was nothing the utility could do about it. A coal metaphor would be if coal suddenly didn't burn for a period of time, that just doesn't happen.

      The other big issue is the capacity factor. The CF for wind is atrocious and one of the reasons it's not financially viable. It's down from a peak of 38% to 33%? That's a 15% drop in revenue for the same cost, the wind turbine plants lose big money that way. Compared to nuclear which is reliably 90% and coal which is reliably 62-65%, the ability to make money on wind is seriously poor and easily affected.

      Nuclear is the best, most environmentally friendly option out there, followed by solar thermal as it can scale to utility grade plants, but you'll never beat natural gas or coal to meet demand shifts on the grid.

    8. Re:Not quite ready by Coren22 · · Score: 3, Insightful

      A switching station has exactly nothing to do with a power plant. A switching station failure does not weigh in on the unreliability of any particular source of power.

      #2 was dealt with quite well by bws111 above.

      So, a planned safe shutdown counts as unreliability? Huh?

      Unreliable is when you expect something to product power and nothing comes out. Shutting down a power plant isn't unreliability of the power plant, it is a planned event that happens with every type of plant. If suddenly the nuclear fuel pellets stopped producing heat, that would be unreliable, however, I don't think that has EVER happened.

      What I find incredible is this quote from TFS:

      "We never anticipated a drop-off in the wind resource as we have witnessed over the past six months," says David Crane.

      You never anticipated the drop off on wind asociated with El Nino? El Nino is a cycle, it cycles between El Nino and La Nina on a pretty regular basis:

      https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/...

      How could you not plan for this to happen? Why is it such a surprise that the wind could drop off for 6 months at a time due to seasonal variances?

      --
      APK likes to ask for responses to the same things over and over. Maybe he just likes the responses?
    9. Re:Not quite ready by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      By your definition, the entire power grid is unreliable. Power goes out several times a year, every year here, just wait for the winds to blow down some trees.... Brownouts in areas of over use (California and New York for example), etc

      So your point about wind not being ready is mute to begin with, wind power is just as reliable as hydro, nuclear, solar, and even that shitty pollution filled coal power. They ALL have drawbacks. Hydro has much larger impacts on the environment than the Army Corp of Engineers is willing to admit, solar goes dark every night, coal kills us, nuclear can leak and then kill us, wind can stop.

      Perhaps you should take a look at the power grids in some other countries, does this look reliable?
      http://www.bangkokpost.com/news/asia/483626/manila-kicks-chinese-off-power-grid

    10. Re:Not quite ready by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Wind power is nowhere near as centralised so have vastly fewer stations to go through and more routes to take.

      But what makes you think that there's only been one failure ever in the USA?

    11. Re:Not quite ready by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      "How could you not plan for this to happen? Why is it such a surprise that the wind could drop off for 6 months at a time due to seasonal variances?"

      It could be planned and it isn't a surprise. FT is owned by Murdoch. 6 months is PLENTY of time to start up any monolith generator like a mostly mothballed nuclear power station or unused coal fired power station. Or build more solar panels and wind turbines.

      But it doesn't make for good "That renewable stuff doesn't work" BS.

    12. Re:Not quite ready by rubycodez · · Score: 1

      You're funny, we have over 1,000 years supply of coal (sadly)

    13. Re:Not quite ready by WolfWithoutAClause · · Score: 1

      They're called 'peaker plants'. They're inefficient hydrocarbon plants that are relatively cheap to build that kick in when all else fails.

      But not all places need them. For example, if there's hydroelectric dams nearby you can just vary the hydroelectric output; it doesn't use any more water, it averages out.

      Denmark for example is on 40% wind power right now; they use Norway's hydro to even out their power. Norway doesn't on average supply them any power; but at any instant, Denmark will be powering them, or they will be powering Norway.

      Other schemes also work; having some biofuel around also helps, or batteries or pumped hydroelectric etc. etc.

      There's lots of ways to skin this cat.

      --

      -WolfWithoutAClause

      "Gravity is only a theory, not a fact!"
    14. Re:Not quite ready by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      But it's not even good at that. Typically wind is high when demand is low. You can't base load with it, you always have to have spinning reserve of some sort to back it up. It's a bill of goods sold to the public by crooks who play on the fact that most people don't understand the finer points of energy production.

    15. Re:Not quite ready by dbIII · · Score: 1

      The switching station is more relevant than you think because we are now shifting to more small distributed generators such as windmills and PV that are distributing to a small local area.
      These things are already part of the energy mix instead of "not quite ready". Of course a strawman of 100% wind or 100% PV is just as silly as a strawman of 100% nuclear or 100% coal. Until there is a cheap 1MW nuke there is a place for windmills, PV or gas turbines since demand is not a square wave with 500MW steps.

    16. Re:Not quite ready by GNious · · Score: 1

      It is not supposed to 'replace', but to supplement.

      Creating really bad straw-man arguments and congratulating yourself on beating reflects poorly on you, not your opponent.

      Judging from discussions in the US media, it is all-or-nothing - either you replace everything with Wind Power, or you replace everything with Solar Power, or you keep running 40+ year old nuclear plants and build more coal plants

    17. Re:Not quite ready by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      High winds occur in the evening (sea breezes) and in bad weather (when clouds reduce SPV), and in the evening, people go home and cook dinner, watch TV and have the light on (especially if it's dark outside, like during a storm).

      Meanwhile nuclear and coal HAS no peak, it's constant (less outages failures and explosions) and cannot cover the daytime load without overproducing at full expense but no revenue to pay for it at night.

      Therefore nuclear and coal cannot be used to generate power!

    18. Re:Not quite ready by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      YES! ALL power generation is unreliable. Because NOTHING is 100% reliable.

      Therefore EVERYTHING needs backup.

      Shortage of oil? Oil powered stations cannot run.

      Shortage of coal? Coal powered stations cannot run.

      Shortage of cooling water? Nuclear power stations cannot run.

      Shortage of wind? Wind power stations cannot run.

      Shortage of sunlight? Solar powered stations cannot run.

      When the wind is running out, this is no more proof wind cannot work than a summer outage proves nuclear can't work.

    19. Re:Not quite ready by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      lol 40% for Very short periods! hyped up mis-leading value

      now go find the correct figure for long term (year) ! its nowhere near 40%, lucky if they get 10%

    20. Re:Not quite ready by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Forgot hydro and stored energy(pump storage or others...)

      Wind could power it all - *IF* you stored the harvested energy till needed. Not likely due to costs, but possible.

  6. Idiot wind... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    ..blowing through the buttons of our coats
    Blowing through the letters that we wrote
    Idiot wind blowing through the dust upon our shelves
    We're idiots babe
    It's a wonder we can even feed ourselves.

  7. Who could have foreseen? by digsbo · · Score: 3, Funny

    Who could have foreseen that wind power would be variable, even unpredictable?

    1. Re:Who could have foreseen? by blindseer · · Score: 2, Insightful

      I told you so.

      We need more nuclear power.

      To those that say choosing nuclear power is just choosing death from radiation than climate change I say you need to look at molten salt reactors. MSRs will "eat" radioactive waste from current nuclear reactors and make it inert, while producing electricity and valuable radioisotopes for medicine and industry.

      Another response to the nuclear opponents, I thought climate change was a worldwide problem that was going to kill us all so anything must be better than that. Seems like we can choose the status quo which gives us inevitable death from rising sea levels and destruction of the food chain, or freezing to death when winter comes and the windmills don't spin, or the slightest chance of increased cancers from radioactive waste in the environment. Which is a false choice of course because with a truly modern nuclear reactor we'd actually see less radiation in the environment.

      --
      I am armed because I am free. I am free because I am armed.
    2. Re:Who could have foreseen? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      I'm sick of this trope where new technology will completely solve all the problems with old technology and work flawlessly. If you believe that nonsense you should be on a website for consultants rather tech people.

    3. Re:Who could have foreseen? by digsbo · · Score: 1

      This is effectively what I'm hearing consistently from a friend who is a nuclear engineer. The fear of "nuclear", coupled with the directly associated regulatory environment, have crippled investment and development. Who's going to put millions into commercialization when the democratic fear state makes the resulting technology illegal?

    4. Re:Who could have foreseen? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Everyone in the wind industry!

  8. Output is proportional to wind velocity cubed. by Ihlosi · · Score: 5, Informative

    Wind turbine power output is proportional to the third power of wind velocity. It only takes small changes in average wind velocity to effect large changes in turbine power output.

    1. Re:Output is proportional to wind velocity cubed. by alvinrod · · Score: 2

      What I think is interesting is that there are some people who are quite sure that we're in for massive climate change over the next fifty to two hundred years regardless of what we do now. Shouldn't those people be arguing against wind installations because there's no good way to predict how weather patterns will change in response. What is windy today, might be rather calm in thirty years. While it is certainly possible to move a wind turbine to a new location, I can't imagine that the cost of doing so is trivial.

      Out of all the different forms of green energy, I find wind to be the least useful on a variety of counts.

    2. Re:Output is proportional to wind velocity cubed. by Ihlosi · · Score: 3, Insightful
      While it is certainly possible to move a wind turbine to a new location, I can't imagine that the cost of doing so is trivial.

      The service life of wind turbines is finite. If a location proves to become less windy (which won't happen overnight) and moving the turbine isn't an option, you just take the whole thing down once it breaks for good.

      Climate change will make most places more windy, though, due to more energy being stored in the atmosphere.

    3. Re:Output is proportional to wind velocity cubed. by AmiMoJo · · Score: 2

      Just because change is inevitable doesn't mean that we can't lessen the scale of it. If you notice your car is speeding towards a brick wall too fast to stop before crashing, you still put your foot on the brake anyway.

      --
      const int one = 65536; (Silvermoon, Texture.cs)
      SJW, n: "Someone I don't like, and by the way I'm a fuckwit" - AC
    4. Re:Output is proportional to wind velocity cubed. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      if that was true there would not have been a problem...

      logic and enviromentalists total ignorance

  9. Capture Hurricanes by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    All we really need are some good batteries and portable wind turbines. Put them in the path of the latest hurricane and we are all set.

    1. Re:Capture Hurricanes by ShanghaiBill · · Score: 1

      All we really need are some good batteries and portable wind turbines. Put them in the path of the latest hurricane and we are all set.

      But that is the problem. There are few Atlantic hurricanes during El Nino years.

    2. Re:Capture Hurricanes by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      The other problem is that wind turbines are turned off in high wind conditions.

      No power when low wind... no power in high wind...

      And battery power doesn't last very long in either case.

  10. Do as Germany by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Where, for solar power generation, where you sell your solar power to THEM for more than you pay THEM for power. It's nuts. You don't use the solar power you generate since you can buy it for less than you can sell it. It's nuts!

  11. obvious fix by frovingslosh · · Score: 4, Funny

    If only we had some way to warm the planet, so that there would be more wind. Perhaps by putting more CO2 in the air and letting the sun warm us up.

    --
    I'm an American. I love this country and the freedoms that we used to have.
    1. Re:obvious fix by Ihlosi · · Score: 1
      Perhaps by putting more CO2 in the air and letting the sun warm us up.

      More CO2 in the atmosphere also increases the density of air, giving wind more power even if its velocity stays the same.

      What could go wrong? Let's do it.

    2. Re:obvious fix by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Doesn't work - you also need cold to provide circulation.

      There is no wind when everything is hot.

    3. Re:obvious fix by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      A heated atmosphere will expand, turning the air less dense. A less dense atmosphere will lead to lower atmospheric pressures. Lower pressures lead to more fierce storms. Maybe we could use it.

    4. Re:obvious fix by frovingslosh · · Score: 1

      Well thank you Mr. genius AC. I had based that comment on all of the climate change "scientists" that are telling us that global warming is causing the increased intensity of storms, but you have explained that they are ignorant liars.

      --
      I'm an American. I love this country and the freedoms that we used to have.
    5. Re:obvious fix by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Oh, I dunno.

      Eat a few burritos with jalapenos and I am sure you will get a powerful hot wind.

    6. Re:obvious fix by rubycodez · · Score: 1

      No, coriolis effect produces most winds.

    7. Re:obvious fix by Oligonicella · · Score: 1

      So, how much more would the density increase and how much more power that would yield if we say double the percentage of CO2 (0.04 -> 0.08%)?

    8. Re:obvious fix by frovingslosh · · Score: 1

      "No, coriolis effect produces most winds."

      So you are saying that the earth has been rotating slower lately?

      --
      I'm an American. I love this country and the freedoms that we used to have.
    9. Re:obvious fix by Xyrus · · Score: 1

      If only we had some way to warm the planet, so that there would be more wind. Perhaps by putting more CO2 in the air and letting the sun warm us up.

      Well, since wind is driven by temperature differentials, reducing those differentials will actually weaken winds. :P

      --
      ~X~
    10. Re:obvious fix by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Well, since wind is driven by temperature differentials, reducing those differentials will actually weaken winds.

      Hey! That explains why it hasn't been working!

      We should ban CO2 generation in Asia and Africa so as to create the right temperature differentials.

    11. Re:obvious fix by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Yes

  12. the good old days by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    We at Big Wind yearn for the good old days of 38% total capacity.

  13. Wind Wind Everywhere by DumbSwede · · Score: 1

    And not a gust to reap.

    I find it ironic that with 3 Category 4 Hurricanes Developing In Pacific we have a lack of wind. It seems a shame we can’t mine wind in some semi-relocatable way and store the energy in some form like maybe cracking hydrogen from seawater. Similarly for lightning. Seems we let these large energy events pass by without getting some real use out of them.

    1. Re:Wind Wind Everywhere by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      You can mine wind in some semi-reliable way. Have more of it all over the country.

      You know, for example, in areas that aren't becalmed and in areas that are seeing more wind than normal.

      Build some more. Don't whine that the few places you're "mining" wind that it sometimes isn't there. Mine more. If the wind won't come to mohammed, mohammed must go where the wind is. And build his fucking wind turbines there too.

    2. Re:Wind Wind Everywhere by ShanghaiBill · · Score: 1

      I find it ironic that with 3 Category 4 Hurricanes Developing In Pacific we have a lack of wind.

      Hurricanes in the eastern pacific tend to move west and north, and then dissipate over the cooler waters of the North Pacific. They rarely track over land, where their energy could be captured by windmills.

      Here is a graphic of the tracks.

    3. Re:Wind Wind Everywhere by DumbSwede · · Score: 1

      For an AC you are most wise. However it may be a while before the economics of wind-turbines in areas with lower wind currents is practical – it would be intriguing however it there were lanes of wind that worked in an almost binary fashion allowing for more smooth, more continuous output -- it might even been an under-researched idea.

  14. Attention contrarian investors: by hey! · · Score: 1

    There's a reason they're called "wind farms": like a farms they have good years and bad years.

    El Niños come every five to seven years, and then go away. It's called the "El Niño/Southern Oscillation", or ENSO, and we're bound to get the *opposite* end of ENSO some time in the next couple years (the so-called La Niña). So if this news has people dumping their wind stocks, this'd be a great year to buy. Then dump them in three years when the news sounds insanely good.

    --
    Post may contain irony: discontinue use if experiencing mood swings, nausea or elevated blood pressure.
  15. Say it isnt so. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    The wind is variable in its velocity and direction!? Who'd have figured.

    Go go gadget windmill.

  16. Who knew? by tompaulco · · Score: 1

    Who knew we would run out of wind before we ran out of oil?

    --
    If you are not allowed to question your government then the government has answered your question.
  17. LFTR - THORIUM by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    We need LFTRs (Liquid Fluoride Thorium Reactors) to be built and we won't have to worry about the damned wind.

    1. Re:LFTR - THORIUM by ShanghaiBill · · Score: 1

      We need LFTRs (Liquid Fluoride Thorium Reactors) to be built and we won't have to worry about the damned wind.

      Nerds like LFTRs. In theory, they solve a lot of problems. Yet, nobody actually builds them. Why? They seem like such an obvious solution. Cheap, safe, endless fuel supply, etc. So why isn't it happening?

    2. Re:LFTR - THORIUM by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Corporate greed.

      It's not worth it, it would destroy their existing profit centers.

    3. Re:LFTR - THORIUM by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      In the 60s, the MSRE [1] proved that the molten salt reactor design was possible and worked as intended; research was stopped by a lack of government's funds.

      Nowadays there are plenty of companies that are developing various molten salt designs:
      http://terrestrialenergy.com/
      http://thorconpower.com/
      http://flibe-energy.com/
      http://www.transatomicpower.com/

      [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Molten-Salt_Reactor_Experiment

    4. Re:LFTR - THORIUM by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      So why isn't it happening?

      It's happening in India, where they can't easily get their own Uranium but have access to a lot of Thorium. It's not happening here because decades ago the feds considered two alternatives and decided to put their money on the one they could commandeer to produce nuclear warheads. (Or if you want the less tinfoil version: the navy nixed anything to do with liquid salts in their Nautilus submarine.)

    5. Re:LFTR - THORIUM by dbIII · · Score: 1
      It's very amusing to see "cheap, safe" mentioned in association with liquid fluoride, but yes, in terms of $ per GW/h at scale over decades of life it could be correct, and safe if extreme care is taken with very reactive liquid metals. Meanwhile the world has moved on from the early 1950s and you may want to look at what India is doing with the legacy of that Thorium experiment and half a century of other stuff. LFTRs are almost the Tesla broadcast power legend of nukes.

      So why isn't it happening

      It sort of is only with a far more practical descendant of the idea in India.

    6. Re:LFTR - THORIUM by ShanghaiBill · · Score: 1

      It's very amusing to see "cheap, safe" mentioned in association with liquid fluoride

      Umm ... they don't have any "liquid fluoride". They use a liquid SALT that contains fluoride.

      Chlorine gas will kill you. Chlorine based salt makes your food taste better. Big difference.

      safe if extreme care is taken with very reactive liquid metals

      There are no "liquid metals" either, unless you consider salt to be "metal". Salt is not "reactive".

    7. Re:LFTR - THORIUM by dbIII · · Score: 1

      They use a liquid SALT that contains fluoride

      Look up HF to get some ideas about reactive things that contain fluoride.

      There are no "liquid metals" either

      There was an experimental reactor along those lines.

    8. Re:LFTR - THORIUM by dbIII · · Score: 1

      I think i've gotten it a bit mixed up with clementine (mercury cooled) and some of the russian lead cooled reactors.

  18. My fault. by HornWumpus · · Score: 1

    I found activated carbon dog treats. I'm surprised the % down isn't more.

    In my defense it was necessary...

    --
    John McAfee 'It was like that time I hired that Bangkok prostitute; to do my taxes, while I fucked my accountant'
  19. Where's Al Gore when you need him? by xxxJonBoyxxx · · Score: 1

    >> ...some of the softest air currents in 40 years... "We never anticipated a drop-off in the wind resource as we have witnessed over the past six months," says David Crane.

    You mean you thought Al Gore was right around ever-more energetic winds, while ignoring historical wind trends?

  20. in case anyone's brain is napping by raymorris · · Score: 1

    In case anyone took this comment seriously, because I know some on here wish that were so:

    https://pbs.twimg.com/media/Ba...

    That's a typical storm system. Notice 3/4 of the country is covered with clouds. It typically takes about a week for a storm system to pass across the country. The next week, it may be sunny or there may be another storm system.

  21. We have reached 'peak wind' by fustakrakich · · Score: 1

    All those windmills are slowing down the air.

    --
    “He’s not deformed, he’s just drunk!”
    1. Re:We have reached 'peak wind' by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Yup, and that also explains why there is global warming - all those fans are turning slower.

    2. Re:We have reached 'peak wind' by Ichijo · · Score: 1

      A generator is just a motor with different circuitry. Maybe they could turn the windmills into giant fans whenever more wind is needed like on hot, breezeless days.

      --
      Any sufficiently unpopular but cohesive argument is indistinguishable from trolling.
    3. Re:We have reached 'peak wind' by Applehu+Akbar · · Score: 1

      And here I was thinking that 'peak wind' just meant Congress.

      If we want there to be more wind, subsidize it. Subsidies also get you more of something.

    4. Re:We have reached 'peak wind' by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      they do, when the wind is too week to turn them, they suck power to rotate to stop bearing warp

  22. It's simple... by cayenne8 · · Score: 4, Insightful
    NUKES!!

    Build up and put in the safer nuclear reactors we have nowadays...and supplement them with wind and solar.

    There is no need to just have a monoculture when it comes to power.

    --
    Light travels faster than sound. This is why some people appear bright until you hear them speak.........
    1. Re:It's simple... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Nukes are way too dangerous. There is a reason why Jimmy Carter put a presidential order with a permanent moratorium on any and all power reactor construction.

      Just compare the deaths per terawatt compared to more stable energy sources, even coal, and you will find that there is a HUGE separation between nuclear and the next runner up, even wind. Just this fact along gives credence to the people who rather live without power than deal with nuclear.

    2. Re:It's simple... by tmosley · · Score: 0

      Uhh, I'm going to have to see your numbers on that one.

      And as for your idiots who would rather live without power than have nuclear, they are, well, idiots. Even if they had a reactor in their bathroom they would still live much longer lives with power than without. No running water means no sanitation, and no sanitation means your life ends on average a few decades earlier. Never mind things like refrigeration and electricity fueled mass production.

    3. Re:It's simple... by WolfWithoutAClause · · Score: 2

      Actually nuclear energy is more expensive than wind, and the lead times on nuclear reactors are huge, whereas wind turbines can be put up in a few years at most.

      Wind is not a direct replacement for nuclear, but it mostly doesn't matter. Also, variable power sources don't mesh well with nuclear reactors; nuclear reactors are expensive infrastructure, and have to be run flat out to be cost effective.

      For these reasons, as well as others, we're unlikely to see large widespread deployments of nuclear reactors any time soon, and renewables can be expected to continue to grow exponentially for perhaps a decade or so.

      --

      -WolfWithoutAClause

      "Gravity is only a theory, not a fact!"
    4. Re:It's simple... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I thought you were going to say we should detonate nukes to create some wind.

    5. Re:It's simple... by CanadianMacFan · · Score: 1, Insightful

      Also nuclear power doesn't allow you to respond to fluctuating power demand. It's great for base load power requirements where you can set the output at a specific level and leave it running. But you can't just dial back the output by 10% or throttle it up by 5% with 5 minutes notice. For that type of flexibility you need hydroelectric (dams) or natural gas.

    6. Re:It's simple... by Applehu+Akbar · · Score: 2, Informative

      "Jimmy Carter put a presidential order with a permanent moratorium on any and all power reactor construction."

      Not so. Carter's order was against the US building a recycling plant for nuclear waste. And yes, there is a huge separation between deaths from nuclear and from the next runner up, but it's in favor of nuclear: http://www.the9billion.com/201...

    7. Re:It's simple... by Mr+D+from+63 · · Score: 2, Informative

      Actually, nuclear can load follow just fine. Its only that the existing fleet was not designed to do so. There is zero reason it cannot be variable, and the re are plenty of designs that allow it, either inherenlt or as an option.

    8. Re:It's simple... by dywolf · · Score: 1, Insightful

      The only idiots are those who pretend the choice is nuke or nothing.

      --
      The guy who said the election was rigged won the presidency with the second-most votes.
    9. Re:It's simple... by WolfWithoutAClause · · Score: 1

      Actually, you can change nuclear power pretty quickly (provided you don't want a complete shutdown) you just shove the rods in a bit and it cools down quite rapidly.

      The problem is that it just makes the electricity more expensive when you do that; when you run at 80% power, the energy is 20% more expensive, and it wasn't cheap to start with.

      --

      -WolfWithoutAClause

      "Gravity is only a theory, not a fact!"
    10. Re:It's simple... by thegarbz · · Score: 1, Insightful

      Both cost and lead times on nuclear power are artificial. I agree in its current form there's little we can do, but if we were to consider wide spread use of nuclear again then we first need to overhaul the regulatory requirements which in the west gimp the investment in nuclear.

    11. Re:It's simple... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      And Wind and Solar can?

      Heh...boy, are you in for a nasty surprise.

    12. Re:It's simple... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Did that comment make you feel good? I bet it did.

    13. Re:It's simple... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      It wasn't cheap mainly because we're not BUILDING them. With the cruel truth expressed in TFA, Wind and Solar are not cheap, not reliable, and vastly more expensive...just like many have been saying all this time.

    14. Re:It's simple... by penguinoid · · Score: 3, Informative

      Just compare the deaths per terawatt compared to more stable energy sources, even coal, and you will find that there is a HUGE separation between nuclear and the next runner up, even wind. Just this fact along gives credence to the people who rather live without power than deal with nuclear.

      I'm pretty sure that there is as you said a HUGE separation between per terawatt for nuclear vs other power sources -- just not in the direction you think. For coal, death and poisoning are considered standard operation, rather than a catastrophe -- and that's not even counting global warming.

      --
      Don't waste your vote! Vote for whoever you want, unless you live in a swing state it won't matter anyways
    15. Re:It's simple... by TapeCutter · · Score: 2

      Nuclear power is so reliable, safe, and inexpensive that using wind and solar becomes nonsensical.

      Reliable and safe yes, inexpensive no. Economics and a very long lead time to build are the major issues holding back the use of nukes. Numbers vary but solar and wind are now cheaper per kwh than importing brown coal to countries like India. Costs per kwh are still steadily dropping for wind and solar, whereas costs for nukes are stagnant or rising.

      people will freeze to death because the sun didn't shine and the wind didn't blow when we needed it to..snip...people will die needlessly.

      That's just silly fear mongering, every bit as ignorant an mis-informed as the anti-nuke people you are arguing against. Local weather variations are irrelevant to a national solar/wind grid, climate wobbles such as the el-nino phenomena mentioned in TFA have a minor impact on output because they change the average weather conditions over the entire planet. Note the impact of natural climate wobbles on output can also be positive, it just happens that the one on TFA is negative for the US (it's likely the same climate event had a positive impact on Australian renewable output).

      I have no ideological problems with nukes, the appear to work very well in parts of Europe apart from the occasional political spat. However the costs and long lead times associated with building nukes means they will continue to be used in the future only where renewables are impractical. Worse still for the nuke industry, the economic niches for profitable nukes are shrinking as the renewables industry steadily continues improving their technology and ROI numbers. One thing is certain, king coal's crown is slipping, "book values" for coal assets are falling fast, the world bank, IMF, etc, have all recently stopped investing in coal and advised other to follow, nobody wants to be stuck with a "stranded asset", except the luddites running the fucking country down here in Oz, who are doing everything in their power to build the port/rail infrastructure to service "the world's largest coal mine", the mine itself is likely to fall into the "stranded asset" basket before it is even constructed.

      --
      And did you exchange a walk on part in the war for a lead role in a cage? - Pink Floyd.
    16. Re:It's simple... by Blaskowicz · · Score: 1

      First, nuclear reactors reduce the amount of radioactive material. The energy that comes from a nuclear reaction is from taking something radioactive and making it not radioactive. The only reason that nuclear "waste" is considered "waste" right now is because the old boiler reactors are terribly inefficient.

      Sorry but that is really inane. The fuel has very low radioactivity (700 million years half-life for U235) and you create Strontium, Cesium and all sorts of crap with it.
      I'm also not convinced that there exists really better tech than the gen2 1970s designs, but that may be fine. We'd know better if some non-breeder reactor designs were built for commercial exploitation rather than merely existing on paper.
      I wonder if you are out of your mind, wishing fission products away is stupid.

      I believe gas turbines are very efficient, but the ramping up and down kill them (figuratively for the efficient figure, and effectively as they break down and require maintenance).
      Not sure how it compares with coal power, but in a country with about 80% electricity from nuclear power I agree that developing wind energy increases carbon emissions.

    17. Re:It's simple... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Crisis averted by surplus found in parent post

    18. Re:It's simple... by dbIII · · Score: 1

      Its only that the existing fleet was not designed to do so

      Because it massively shortens the life span of the turbines and a lot of other components. That's why load following with coal fired plants isn't done very much any more. One tiny one I worked at used to have one unit at a time follow a mine dragline and that resulted in a lot of thermal fatigue and other problems over less than a decade.

    19. Re:It's simple... by dbIII · · Score: 1

      There's one country where by law each windmill needs a certain amount of local investment. The landowners adjacent to the property with the windmill also get a cut of the revenue. The idea is that if money is going into the area nearest to the windmill the NIMBY factor almost vanishes.

    20. Re:It's simple... by Mr+D+from+63 · · Score: 1

      Not so much a problem if you design for it. Even most coal plants were not designed for load follow.

    21. Re:It's simple... by Trax3001BBS · · Score: 1

      Nukes are way too dangerous. There is a reason why Jimmy Carter put a presidential order with a permanent moratorium on any and all power reactor construction.

      The nuclear reactor I operated was brought back into production mode (Plutonium) during the Regan years.

      The reactor was dedicated by John F. Kennedy so built prior to 1963. A lot of modernization was under way during that time.

      At the same time 5 new plants were being built of which one was completed, the rest a financial disaster. http://www.king5.com/story/tec...

    22. Re:It's simple... by blindseer · · Score: 0

      Reliable and safe yes, inexpensive no.

      I saw a YouTube video of some engineers that went over the numbers on building a nuclear power plant. They priced out the labor, materials, and so on to build this plant but their numbers were as low as half as what real costs were showing. After a bit of thought they realized they had not accounted for the regulatory costs. We can build a safe, reliable, and profitable nuclear power plant if only the government would allow us to do so. There is nothing inherently expensive about building a nuclear power plant, it is only government policy that prices it out of existence.

      The only bright side I see on this is that no matter how hard the government tries to kill nuclear power with regulation it is going to happen. Wind and solar is too expensive and unreliable to run a First World economy. Coal, oil, and natural gas are only going to get more expensive as we use up what we can reach economically. At some point those price curves flip and nuclear becomes "cheap" compared to everything else. A large part of the costs of any energy source we have now is due to regulation.

      I'm not saying we need to do away with regulation. We cannot have liberty without law. What I'm saying is that regulation being such a high cost in nuclear power means that we can do away with those costs by simply deciding that nuclear power is something we want. Nuclear power has already proven to be the safest power source we have, and that is with the technology being relatively unchanged for decades. If we allow ourselves to advance that technology then we'd make it even safer, even cheaper, while everything else becomes more expensive.

      --
      I am armed because I am free. I am free because I am armed.
    23. Re:It's simple... by Barsteward · · Score: 1, Insightful

      i guess it was too complicated for you to understand.

      --
      "The hands that help are better far than lips that pray." - Robert Ingersoll (1833-1899)
    24. Re:It's simple... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      Yes, you could build a safe and cheap nuclear power plant, but the evidence is that unless you're forced to, you won't. You will cut corners to safe costs and run off with the profit.

      The two 20year and still not finished Finnish plants are delayed mostly by the contractor not implementing what they agreed to put in for safety and this being found out after the fact and them having to go back and refit.

      You could do it without government interference, but you won't because it is more profitable not to.

    25. Re:It's simple... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Coal causes many times more deaths than nukes, even when you include all of the accidents and calculate their effects. Coal power has more nuclear waste than nukes. Funny that.

    26. Re:It's simple... by morgauxo · · Score: 1

      Deaths per terawatt? You think there are actually statistics for that?

      Well.. when there is an accident at a nuclear power plant everybody knows it and somebody will count the bodies. When millions of people get cancer and die some years earlier than they otherwise might have without coal exhaust nobody can identify any one specific carcinogen source that made it happen. And lets not get the increased suffering for asthmatics.

      Or were you planning on moving the entire population into the desert where cloudy days are rare and we can actually rely on solar? I guess we will have to get used to drinking unicorn piss since that will be more plentiful than water for us.

    27. Re:It's simple... by macpacheco · · Score: 1

      Nukes too dangerous ?
      How many people died from nuclear power worldwide/US/whatever in the last 10 years, how about the last 20 years ?
      The numbers are positively tiny.
      For all the sensationalism, Fukushima killed a grand total of 10 people while the tsunami killed 20000.
      In the meantime, coal is killing hundreds every day (200000 yearly worldwide) and natural gas is killing about 10000 yearly worldwide.
      If we remove USSR nuclear accidents, nuclear power killed less people since its inception than natural gas kills yearly or coal kills every few weeks.
      I suggest you go take a real free online class on the subject and educate yourself on nuclear facts instead of the nuclear fiction you seem to know.
      The real problem with nuclear power is to make a comparison with airplanes we're still using the nuclear equivalent of large piston aircraft, rather than modern turbofans. We're using nuclear tech that was ideal for the US Navy in the 50s, and nobody wants to invest another US$ 10 billion on commercializing advanced (safer at a lower cost, much higher efficiency, quicker to build) nuclear tech. There are some limited efforts, but the US NRC regulation is so tied on outdated water cooled reactors it almost seem hopeless to design Gen IV reactors in the USA.

    28. Re:It's simple... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Nukes are way too dangerous. There is a reason why Jimmy Carter put a presidential order with a permanent moratorium on any and all power reactor construction.

      Just compare the deaths per terawatt compared to more stable energy sources, even coal, and you will find that there is a HUGE separation between nuclear and the next runner up, even wind. Just this fact along gives credence to the people who rather live without power than deal with nuclear.

      Absolutely false
      There was no Jimmy Carter presidential order with a permanent moratorium on power reactor construction.
      There was a temporary hold on new licenses put in place by the NRC after the Three Mile Island.
      Jimmy Carter asked that the NRC complete the investigation within six months and resume licensing.

      Here's his postion speech.
      http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu...

      Did you know that Jimmy Carter was a Nuclear Engineer? He was most certainly NOT anti-nuclear power.
      He went to the Three Mile Island three days after the meltdown to reassure people that the danger was minimal.
      Few presidents have that kind of balls, and that wasn't President Carter's only sticking his neck out for the country.

    29. Re:It's simple... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Bet that one made you feel REALLY good.

    30. Re:It's simple... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Also nuclear power doesn't allow you to respond to fluctuating power demand. It's great for base load power requirements where you can set the output at a specific level and leave it running. But you can't just dial back the output by 10% or throttle it up by 5% with 5 minutes notice. For that type of flexibility you need hydroelectric (dams) or natural gas.

      Nuclear plants can follow load just fine, so long as you don't put in significant generation from sources that wildly flucuate from minute to minute such as solar and wind.

  23. There is wind if you look in the right places by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    There is wind. Recapture the wind from traffic. Cars travel on highways at a rough estimate of 60 mph, generating wind as they travel, everyday. Put wind turnbines on the sides of the roads to recapture all that lost power.

  24. Switching lights on and off really fast . . . by Latent+Heat · · Score: 1
    My Momma always told me not to play with the light switch . . . or "rev" the vacuum cleaner by switching it on and off to make it sound like a Honda.

    You would think that if your kid was actually finding some entertainment in sweeping the living room that you would cut some slack to playing with the power switch to make a "cool" sound.

    But I digress but only a little bit. The hydrocarbon and nuclear plants are backed up by brother hydrocarbon and nuclear plants. If one goes down and another takes its place, no one notices the difference. If wind cuts out, however, this miasma of partially burnt hydrocarbon fumes and radon gas permeates the land. The whole point of wind is to not burn hydrocarbons or split uranium atoms into dangerously radioactive elements, but it is too expensive to back up wind with excess wind capacity to prevent using those foul backup sources.

    1. Re:Switching lights on and off really fast . . . by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      So your reliable stuff needs backup. That's expensive, especially if you're hoping never to have to use it.

      And that wind stuff. It's backed up by brother solarPV, sister SCP, uncle hydropower, auntie tidal and the tiny bit of fossil fuel generation that is needed on very few occasions, who are previously used to backup your reliable main nuke and hydrocarbon stations, so already paid for.

  25. So wait... by argStyopa · · Score: 1

    ....the fact that the wind varies is news to someone? Seriously?

    --
    -Styopa
    1. Re:So wait... by Mike+Van+Pelt · · Score: 1

      The observation that "The wind blows where it wishes" is at least 2000 years old, and I'm sure the knowledge of that fact is far, far older. It continues to baffle me that some people, for ideological reasons, pretend not to know it.

  26. Slowing Down The Planet by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Wind mills will slow down the spin of the planet and cause longer days and nights, which means more need for Ac and more need for heaters.

    Eventually earth will stop spinning and one half will bake and the other half will freeze.

    1. Re:Slowing Down The Planet by Barsteward · · Score: 1

      no they won't. once they all get going we'll be able to travel the universe and go where no man has gone before

      --
      "The hands that help are better far than lips that pray." - Robert Ingersoll (1833-1899)
  27. Washington DC by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Put a farm in washington, pretty sure all the "wind" coming out of that place is constant, high velocity hot air.

  28. Gee... by 0123456 · · Score: 2, Insightful

    It's almost like our ancestors gave up on wind power and build power stations for a reason....

  29. And the wind farm finances collapse like clockwork by Karmashock · · Score: 4, Insightful

    It was said when these things went in that their claims of being able to be self supporting would not pan out. That they would need extensive subsidies forever and that they would need COAL or NATURAL GAS back ups to cover their load whenever they didn't provide the power.

    All comments of this nature were treated like a naughty boy throwing spiders at the girls.

    A sign of immaturity, anti social behavior, and really a good reason to have their fathers give them a stern talking to...

    Because... when someone points out logical flaws in a power grid design, the best response is to address them like you're a kindergarten teacher and their attempts at rational dialogue are merely an expression of immaturity. Because after all... real adults... real mature and well adjusted people... they just immediately buy into whatever whomever the politician is that tells them what to believe. And anyone that doesn't some flavor of village idiot or deviant... probably a pedophile. Nothing screams pedophilia like questioning dodgy power and financial estimates of a wind farm.

    So where is this going? Same place it went last time:
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?...

    Am I against wind? Not at all. I think its great. I am against large amounts of public money going to build big wind farms in clusters. I'd prefer that the projects either be privately funded so it isn't just a scam to get grant money and then run when they project dries up. Or I'd like the money to instead be pushed to encourage home owners and building owners to install renewable power on their roofs and in their property thus negating the possibility that given companies are colluding or bribing the government to get contracts because the home owners will be under no obligation to buy from a given company.

    --
    I've decided to stop wasting my time responding to AC trolls/sockpuppets... so if you want a response from me... login.
  30. No wind? Not surprising by CCarrot · · Score: 1

    I can tell you where the wind went, it's all here in Canada due to the upcoming federal election. Just wait until Oct 20th, you'll be good to go, as everyone sighs in relief that it's finally over.

    Buncha blowhards...gawd I hate how these things get more and more like a circus every cycle...

    --
    "I love animals! Some are cute, others are tasty, what's not to like?" - Betsy Schroeder, Jeopardy contestant
  31. God? by galabar · · Score: 1

    Ok, God wants us to continue using petroleum. You can't argue with God.

    1. Re:God? by rubycodez · · Score: 1

      God made the fusion reactor in the sky; oil is for lubrication.

    2. Re:God? by Bob+the+Super+Hamste · · Score: 1

      I prefer non petroleum based lubes.

      --
      Time to offend someone
    3. Re:God? by rubycodez · · Score: 1

      nah, those water soluble ones dissolve away and lead to chaffing in extended sessions.

      good ol' fashioned vaseline(tm) is like slick-50 for extended piston cycling without seizing

  32. Numbers by anchovy_chekov · · Score: 1

    Comparing a specific percentage (38%) with the slightly informal "a third" smacks of indirection. And then mixing in a statistic (difference in percentage of US electricity generated by wind over a decade) that has more to do with the installation of actual turbines just confuses the issue.

    Lots of number. Little facts. It reads like there has been a small change in wind turbine output, not the dramatic decline the article suggests. El Niño effects aside, is this just something to actually worry about? Or just noise?

    Or maybe I'm just grumpy for lack of coffee. Caffeine levels 0% (that's about nothing in layman's terms).

  33. Portable turbine by Fnkmaster · · Score: 1

    Just need a big portable turbine to stick in front of Donald Trump's mouth - there's enough wind there to power an entire city.

    1. Re:Portable turbine by WindBourne · · Score: 1

      Nah.
      You need it in front of all the GOP. They are all loud mouth idiots that moves faster than a piece of paper in a tornado.

      --
      I prefer the "u" in honour as it seems to be missing these days.
  34. Change everthing by volmtech · · Score: 1

    No matter what your stand is on climate change we are running out of affordable oil and coal. We have to set up a renewable infrastructure while we still have the fossil fuel energy and wealth to do it. We can't power our current civilization with renewables so we have to change our civilization. A pastoral agricultural based civilization can get by with intermittent power. Facilities that need uninterrupted power can invest in battery storage and bio fueled peaking plants.

    After over forty years of farm work I am in a position to grow my own food and my front yard happens to be a fifty acre field. I look forward to working alongside some anti GMO people and watch as they cheerfully pull weeds.

    1. Re:Change everthing by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Once peak oil happens and civilization collapses, the masses will take back farm fields to grow edible crops to survive on. Not GMO stuff that you will need to re-buy the seeds every year.

      And the petroleum based pesticides and fertilizers will also be hard to come across. Let alone fuel to farm 50 acres.

  35. Re:And the wind farm finances collapse like clockw by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    yes.
    congratulations.
    you're the first one to ever figure out that wind is variable.
    you are smarter than all the engineers and scientists that came before you, even with your lack of credentials.

    fucking moron

  36. Law of unintended consequences by Beeftopia · · Score: 1

    The fuel of the future
    Environmental lunacy in Europe
    The Economist
    Apr 6th 2013

    WHICH source of renewable energy is most important to the European Union? Solar power, perhaps? (Europe has three-quarters of the world’s total installed capacity of solar photovoltaic energy.) Or wind? (Germany trebled its wind-power capacity in the past decade.) The answer is neither. By far the largest so-called renewable fuel used in Europe is wood.

    In its various forms, from sticks to pellets to sawdust, wood (or to use its fashionable name, biomass) accounts for about half of Europe’s renewable-energy consumption. In some countries, such as Poland and Finland, wood meets more than 80% of renewable-energy demand. Even in Germany, home of the Energiewende (energy transformation) which has poured huge subsidies into wind and solar power, 38% of non-fossil fuel consumption comes from the stuff. After years in which European governments have boasted about their high-tech, low-carbon energy revolution, the main beneficiary seems to be the favoured fuel of pre-industrial societies.

    The Economist

    See also:

    Should American Wood Fuel European Power?
    Growth of wood-fueled power generation in Europe spurs protests from Southern environmentalists in the U.S.
    Scientific American
    By Elizabeth Harball and ClimateWire | November 14, 2014

    Europe's renewable energy targets drive demand for wood pellets. Other voices in the forestry sector, including Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack, said that wood-based energy is renewable because the wood burned is replaced by other trees that take in carbon dioxide, making the process carbon-neutral.

    Today, however, it is not U.S. policy that is driving the growth of the wood-fuel sector. Europe depends heavily on wood-based fuels to meet its goal of sourcing 20 percent of its power from renewable sources by 2020.

    -- Scientific American

    1. Re:Law of unintended consequences by Karmashock · · Score: 1

      on the issue of wood, I've been intrigued by this thing for awhile:
      http://www.allpowerlabs.com/pr...

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  37. Re:And the wind farm finances collapse like clockw by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    It was said when these things went in that their claims of being able to be self supporting would not pan out. That they would need extensive subsidies forever and that they would need COAL or NATURAL GAS back ups to cover their load whenever they didn't provide the power.

    Yes, this was recognized and acknowledged. Though actually, it's not going to be coal, no. Those plants are getting shut down. It's Natural Gas that gets used. They work much better for the purpose.

    All comments of this nature were treated like a naughty boy throwing spiders at the girls.

    Um, no, they weren't? Maybe you should develop a little less defensiveness and sensitivity, and stick with something closer to the reality.

    Or haven't you noticed the actual result? Which is no massive blackouts, no power outages. It's almost like people planned and thought ahead.

    Somehow.

    I get it though, you're a person who has to be persecuted, you need to be a martyr. After all, you must be the victim, right?

    I am against large amounts of public money going to build big wind farms in clusters.

    Well, where were you when it was going into coal power plants, hydroelectric power plants, and even nuclear power plants? Why were you silent?

    I'd prefer that the projects either be privately funded so it isn't just a scam to get grant money and then run when they project dries up.

    The number of scams involving oil wells, gold mines, and whatnot that exist under the premise of private investment shows that you won't get a free lunch that way either.

    Look, if you can't trust your elected government to behave responsibly, you have a problem, but how do you expect the rest of us to deal with it? Pat you on the back and jump into anarchy?

    Or I'd like the money to instead be pushed to encourage home owners and building owners to install renewable power on their roofs and in their property thus negating the possibility that given companies are colluding or bribing the government to get contracts because the home owners will be under no obligation to buy from a given company.

    We have those programs, but for wind, they are severely lacking due to the set-up required, and even for solar, the effect of scaling up a large plant is much more effective.

    Sorry, but bigger in this sense is better, there just isn't sufficient effectiveness in your low-level plan to warrant it being the primary, let alone the sole method.

    Besides, I'd like the money wasted dealing with fossil fuels back, but I'm not getting that any time soon.

  38. Re:And the wind farm finances collapse like clockw by Karmashock · · Score: 1

    Bigger is better by what ratio?

    And are you taking into consideration the increased efficiency of local consumption, lower transmission costs, better utilization of realestate as roofs are used for generation versus some random place in the wilderness? Etc?

    What does better mean here?

    I have no doubt you can get more megawatts per dollar invested. I just question how many of those megawatts actually get to the home, what additional costs are involved in the transmission network, the often not disclosed cost of the backup natural gas/coal plant which backstops the wind/solar... etc.

    As to me being a martyr... Morally judge me for my opinion on energy policy and I'm going to wax dramatic. The issue is charged by demagogues that like to label anyone that goes against them enemies of humanity if not the planet itself. I merely was making it clear that such idiocy washes over me like water off a duck. You get that or you don't. I was quite clear.

    As to personal generation being a fake oil well... Nonsense. I'm not even going to touch that it was so silly.

    so yeah... I'd say "your move" here but apparently that's childish... so I'm a bit nonplused.

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  39. Re:And the wind farm finances collapse like clockw by Karmashock · · Score: 1

    That's not what I said... and even if I did... and I didn't... there are quite a few wind advocates that have said that it doesn't matter that the wind is variable. Which is really their way of saying that they simply don't care if it is... and if the concept creates problems that are not being appropriately calculated on the cost sheets.

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  40. What? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    You have been duped/propagandized

    We have an amazing glut of very cheap coal, and even now oil prices have plummeted because of oversupply. The ONLY reason prices for this stuff are as high as they are is government regulation and taxes (i.e. artificial scarcity and artificial price pressure). Additionally, the reason we need to build power plants to replace closing coal plants is NOT lack of cheap coal, but rather the artificial restrictions on coal imposed by governments that are chasing the global warming alarm.

    Happily, the coal in the ground is not going anywhere, so when future generations need cheap and plentiful energy (perhaps as we plunge into the next ice age) and have outgrown the current climate change fad, it will be there waiting for them.

    1. Re:What? by WindBourne · · Score: 2

      I can see why you are AC. You do not have a fucking clue of what you are saying. You think that America's taxes on oil and coal is creating artificially low prices? Oil prices are low because of fracking combined with every nation now dumping on the market so that they keep their % of the market regardless of prices.

      And coal prices dropped because nat gas prices, along with WInd prices, are much lower than electricity from coal . In fact, the ONLY thing keeping it up to this price is that fact that we continue to increase coal to CHina.

      --
      I prefer the "u" in honour as it seems to be missing these days.
  41. Re:And the wind farm finances collapse like clockw by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Bigger is better by what ratio?

    Up to Infinity because you simply can't do it effectively.

    And are you taking into consideration the increased efficiency of local consumption, lower transmission costs,

    Yes. Turns out it's just not efficient to go the route you want, unless you want to completely tear up all the infrastructure we already do have.

    Which would let you do great things true, but I doubt you'll get that to happen. And even if you did, it'd cost untold trillions.

    better utilization of realestate as roofs are used for generation versus some random place in the wilderness?

    Almost all roofs are not suitable for installation of large scale wind turbines at all, so infinity for them. You might, in some places, find your house can handle a small one, enough to maybe run a few lights. Even then, you might run afoul of local codes that would not support your desires, for a variety of reasons. I would severely hesitate to mount anything like wind turbine in Miami-Dade County, for example. I'm not even sure Solar would be a good idea there.

    So it's just not feasible.

    Unless you're building new houses from scratch, with entirely new designs. But even then, the smarter bet is to still put them in the yard. Much easier to build a foundation on the ground, but unfortunately this takes up space people like for their yards. And people like to have trees. And fly kites. And well, it just doesn't work so well for wind.

    Fortunately, and you'll probably see this if you drive through Texas or Iowa, there's a lot of empty space nobody actually does care about.

    I just question how many of those megawatts actually get to the home, what additional costs are involved in the transmission network, the often not disclosed cost of the backup natural gas/coal plant which backstops the wind/solar... etc.

    If you want to see your utility's cost assessments, they're available through most state Public Utilities Commissions. You can read the contracts yourself and crunch the numbers. I can't answer in general, it's too diverse a field.

    As long as you're not dealing with a company like ENRON, you hopefully have honest ones. If they're not honest, they'd lie to you no matter what the power source.

    As to me being a martyr... Morally judge me for my opinion on energy policy and I'm going to wax dramatic.

    You should at least wait until it happens. Or better yet, avoid it. Otherwise you can fall into the trap of defining yourself in a certain way, and dealing with people in that fashion, which may cause problems.

    The issue is charged by demagogues that like to label anyone that goes against them enemies of humanity if not the planet itself. I merely was making it clear that such idiocy washes over me like water off a duck. You get that or you don't. I was quite clear.

    As to personal generation being a fake oil well... Nonsense. I'm not even going to touch that it was so silly.

    so yeah... I'd say "your move" here but apparently that's childish... so I'm a bit nonplused.

    And to the converse, you may want to note, that charges such as yours are made so often and so frequently, that they've also lost their punch. But no, I'd say that the "your move" is more antagonistic than childish. Admittedly, being needlessly antagonistic could be said to be childish, I'd hate to insult children with that, since so many adults choose that behavior of their own accord.

  42. This is why we need nukes and storage by WindBourne · · Score: 1, Insightful

    Seriously, so many far left wingers run around screaming that we should depend on 100% wind and solar. Yet, both require the sun to work. Now, what happens if say Yellowstone blows? Well, there goes 75% of our energy RIGHT WHEN WE NEEDED IT. Likewise, just by starting massive forest fires in the west, a nation can drop our electricity by 10% if we depend on nothing by solar and wind.

    We absolutely need to have Solar and WInd. BUT, it should not be more than 33% of our capacity. We NEED Nukes to replace first coal, and then nat gas. In addiiton, with gem IV MST reactors, we can burn up the majority of nuke waste, while replacing old reactors.

    --
    I prefer the "u" in honour as it seems to be missing these days.
    1. Re:This is why we need nukes and storage by dbIII · · Score: 1

      We NEED Nukes to replace first coal

      Convince the banks and it may happen. Convince the government to fund research into small, less capital intensive reactors and it may happen. Otherwise it's only China, India and Russia that are interested because they are not afraid to spend a lot of money on single project if it has a good enough result.

      we can burn up the majority of nuke waste

      Only the really active stuff but that is the stuff that currently needs careful storage of the sort that added to the fuckup at Fukishima when it failed after a chain of other things. If that was reprocessed, reused (in a less fussy reactor), dumped in a liquid metal reactor or properly stored offsite (instead of just dumping it in a drying pool of water) there would have been one less thing to go wrong.
      The majority of waste by weight and volume is not very radioactive and can't be turned into fuel, but it's easy to store, not much harder than normal landfill. Stray neutrons make pretty well everything radioactive so that's machinery, reactor components, structural components etc. It still has to be dealt with but it doesn't need to be kept cool or encased in anything.

  43. Re:And the wind farm finances collapse like clockw by WindBourne · · Score: 1

    Actually, it really does NOT matter. The fact is, that the NEW wind Generators will be built higher and will be in a wind stream that should give them over 50-60% of the time with wind. IOW, right now, these generators are around 30%. The new ones that are going in RIGHT NOW, will be running about double the time.

    --
    I prefer the "u" in honour as it seems to be missing these days.
  44. Re:And the wind farm finances collapse like clockw by Karmashock · · Score: 1

    and thar she blows!

    Off yarn port bow is the spout of the very beastie I was telling tales o'.

    *harpoons creature*

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?...

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  45. Weather is not the same every day or year by dbIII · · Score: 1

    but it was especially bad in California, Oregon, and Washington, where those levels dropped to 50 percent below normal during the month of January.

    It's international news FFS that California is having a drier year than normal so has a serious fire problem this year. So if the weather is different this year to other years, what does that tell everyone apart from total idiots (or people pretending to be total idiots for political reasons) about it being likely that the amount of wind energy is going to be different as well?

    The summary is an insult to the intelligence of the readers and is only there to start a political fight between those that think some forms of energy are evil (so only the Chinese should make money out of US developed technology of those types) and those who don't.

  46. they were right! by just+another+AC · · Score: 1

    The wind is a finite resource and all these wind farms are slowing the wind down! /sarcasm (just in case someone's filter is broken)

  47. Giant fans... by marciot · · Score: 1

    We need giant solar-powered fans right next to the wind farms to give them a good power boost.

  48. Every night a weather map by dbIII · · Score: 1

    When wind does not produce power

    Grids are the size of continents. Take a look at the weather map tonight and see if there is no wind at all on your continent.

    1. Re:Every night a weather map by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      The key is not "no wind" but "usable wind".

      There are not that many places that have high enough wind, for long enough, without too much wind.

  49. What, not climate change??? by Tony+Isaac · · Score: 1

    I'm disappointed the article didn't blame it on climate change. At least they did link to an article on climate change from the middle of the text!

  50. Re:And the wind farm finances collapse like clockw by AmiMoJo · · Score: 1

    Am I against wind? Not at all. I think its great. I am against large amounts of public money going to build big wind farms in clusters.

    Hate to break it to you, but all energy is heavily subsidised one way or another. At least with wind subsidies we aren't just paying people to pollute the environment we live in.

    All comments of this nature were treated like a naughty boy throwing spiders at the girls.

    The argument was never that we wouldn't need other sources of energy, that was always a straw man. Now who is being childish?

    The simple fact is that when you have a lot of wind energy you need less from dirty sources. It also creates financial incentives to build coal, gas and nuclear plants are can more efficiently scale their output, as is happening in Germany. They are closing the old plants and replacing them with fewer, cleaner and more scalable new ones. No-one expects this to happen overnight.

    --
    const int one = 65536; (Silvermoon, Texture.cs)
    SJW, n: "Someone I don't like, and by the way I'm a fuckwit" - AC
  51. Re:And the wind farm finances collapse like clockw by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    please please stop, you are too fucking hilarious

    they would need to be "Kilometers" in height to come anywhere near your idea of what " NEW wind Generators" are being built..

    present ones are lucky if they get to 25% never mind 30% (nominal is about 12%) and thats even taking into consideration farms that are deliberately putting lower nameplate capacities on large windmills so to get a better feed in tarrif (in the uk nameplate rating gets you less per Kwh the bigger the value)

    it's farming alright, subsidy farming!!!

  52. Congress by btroy · · Score: 1

    I wonder if there is a proportional reduction in Congressional Discussion?

  53. Congress was right .. by EnempE · · Score: 1

    Wind is a non renewable resource ! We have been use it all up on these new fangled windmills !
    This evidence supports my (funded) belief so it must be correct.

  54. The sky is falling!? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    A loss of about 4.5%, the world is coming to an end!

    Seriously fossil fuel energy prices can vary by 50% or more and no one bats an eye but wind energy capacity is off by less than 5% and they're freaking out?

  55. Re:And the wind farm finances collapse like clockw by Karmashock · · Score: 1

    As to subsidies,

    1 dollar of subsidies =/= 1000 dollars of subsidies.

    The proof in the pudding is china and india.

    If the subsidies for coal were not irrelevant to the point that coal is cheaper it would not be the default energy source in the third world.

    You'd have indians and chinese people shifting to wind because THAT's cheaper? But they don't because it isn't. You're wrong.

    As to statements about how we wouldn't need coal and natural gas back ups... it is actually denied often by renewable advocates. I was just talking to a bunch of germans that were saying they didn't need coal to back up their wind program. Never mind that the coal is all in eastern europe and the eastern europeans are building coal plants like crazy to service the energy needs of western europe.

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  56. Re:And the wind farm finances collapse like clockw by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I was just talking to a bunch of germans that were saying they didn't need coal to back up their wind program.

    Germany may not, they are able to take advantage of Norwegian PSH.

    Look up NORD.LINK, as well as NSN Link and NorthConnect.

  57. Re:And the wind farm finances collapse like clockw by Karmashock · · Score: 1

    Except Poland is building coal plants like crazy to sell power to the Germans and are currently working on a big nuclear reactor to do more of the same.

    So no.

    I'll let you have the last word here. You have no information I'm not already aware of and I've formed my opinion based on this information. Unless you can provide new relevant information that I am not already aware of... I am not going to change my opinion on this matter. I have seen how this works and I understand the technology well enough to understand there is no getting around certain problems without other technologies being in place.

    So you can either solve the power storage problem or whenever I hear "wind/solar" in reference to the grid, I will know that you're going to need to add a coal/natural gas back up and that that has to be added to the cost equations.

    I am perfectly happy with wind and solar. I just think they should be installed on roofs and not in the desert or in the ocean or whatever. The point of renewables should be to lower the amount of power that any user takes from the grid. Not to provide power to the grid itself.

    I do not include geothermal, hydro, or another other power source that can reliably work day in and day out with a consistent load. If your power source can do that, then fine. If it can't then you either need to bake storage into the system or it shouldn't be on the grid at all.

    That is my position.

    You will have the last word.

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  58. Re:And the wind farm finances collapse like clockw by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Nothing you said addressed what I said, none of your response demonstrates even an attempt to discuss it, and not being able to read your mind, it is not possible to discern what you may be aware of, or actually thinking about the plans to utilize Scandinavian PSH with Baltic and NorthSea DC links.

    But Poland has several times the electrical interruptions as Germany, if I was a German electric distributor, I'm not sure I'd be buying from them myself.

    Still, don't worry about pronouncing that you'll let somebody else have the last word, you'll expound your ignorance on this subject many more times in the future, so you don't need to pretend you're letting somebody else be graced with your silence.

  59. Now that is just insulting by dbIII · · Score: 1

    Oh yes, those magic Moorlocks will fix everything for the useless Eloi will they?
    Yes - your above comment IS stupid enough to warrant that - reality is a bitch and often gets in the way when you want magic instead.
    Please let me know when you've found the magic fix for thermal expansion.

    1. Re:Now that is just insulting by Mr+D+from+63 · · Score: 1

      You manage it, just like managing windmill reliability, which even you admit is not good.

    2. Re:Now that is just insulting by dbIII · · Score: 1

      I worked in thermal power stations and pumped hydro not windmills, or, as you seem to think Moorlock Magic.
      I'm sorry, but your comment above about just changing the laws of physics, surely nothing hard about that, really is filed under the "this person appears to only be of value to society as protein" level of stupidity. I suggest working on that. Associating with reality denying politics has got you making as little sense as a Senator's pet catamite.

    3. Re:Now that is just insulting by Mr+D+from+63 · · Score: 1

      Your self proclImed experience doesn't align with the real world where coal plants have been used as load follow in many places. Rant on,....everyone has begun ignoring you anyhow.

    4. Re:Now that is just insulting by dbIII · · Score: 1

      Your self proclImed experience doesn't align with the real world where coal plants have been used as load follow in many places. Rant on,....everyone has begun ignoring you anyhow.

      You mean the post where I gave an example of load following and why it is avoided?
      You really seem intent on proving that you are a complete waste of space.

    5. Re:Now that is just insulting by Mr+D+from+63 · · Score: 1

      In your world, your anecdotes are examples? I stand by my statements.

    6. Re:Now that is just insulting by dbIII · · Score: 1

      Your statement of it just being a design issue?
      The real world is not software.

    7. Re:Now that is just insulting by dbIII · · Score: 1

      Note the text from you I quoted? Funny how you invoke "the real world" while in denial of physics and an example to illustrate a simple aspect of it to the slow.
      This thread truly does illustrate the difference between someone in software who calls himself an engineer and the real thing that has to consider "the real world". In this place you repeatedly deny reality for the sake of sticking to a political line.

    8. Re:Now that is just insulting by Mr+D+from+63 · · Score: 1
      DBIII, it is still certainly not clear which part of this you do not understand, as you refuse to address anything specific, certainly not the behavior of a knowledgeable engineer.

      The backfit required 53 instead of 48 rods, but could be done during any refueling outage; it allowed the 900-MWe plants to load follow from 100-percent power to 30-percent power

      and

      Completion of these programs gave the French a vast, versatile, and responsive fleet of nuclear plants that could operate realistically on the daily load cycle while still providing almost three quarters of the total electric generating capacity...... the French national choice to prioritize nuclear after the oil crisis in the early 1970s made the inclusion of load following on their nuclear plants an absolute necessity.

      You also fail to understand what it means to address issues with engineering and design. You don't make natural phenomena just disappear, you design and engineer systems that minimize the negative impacts or make them manageable. In the case of thermal cycle fatigue, there is much that can be done to minimize the problems and operate large plants with load follow. I'd be happy to explain some to you if you don't understand, but I think you'd prefer to remain ignorant. I've provided the sources that show it is done, and even explains part of how it was done. The problems you have understanding what engineering can do, and also your problems with accepting things you don't understand or deny, is one that we certainly can't solve here.

      So with that I'll leave you to post another generalized denial, with no specifics or sources, which will only serve to make you look even more stupid, if that is possible.

    9. Re:Now that is just insulting by Mr+D+from+63 · · Score: 1

      As all you readers can see, DBIII is quite the fraud. I'm about to drop this and let him have his last word. Its not the first time he has denied facts when credible sources are placed in front of him. He never specifically addresses any information provided, and throws out generalizations and insults in a attempt to get some credibility.

      One day he'll learn that I don't say stuff I can't back up. Till then I'll be happy to make him look like an idiot.

  60. Know your topic by dbIII · · Score: 1

    Your statements are very poorly informed. If you are going to spend the billions to scalle nukes to give you the best value of $/GW then you provide the base load as long as possible and make everything else pick up the scraps.

    I suggest you learn at least the first two minute of nukes 101 if you are are going to advocate them for those situations where they do make sense. If you have a nuke plant you want the grid to buy as much power as you can provide instead of having to ramp production down and have all that fuel running down in hours without electricity production to show for it. It's not like coal which will burn just as well if it sits on a heap for a decade.

    1. Re:Know your topic by Mr+D+from+63 · · Score: 1

      My statements stand up quite well to reality, where coal plants are often used for load follow. You can't deny that fact and so resort to your utter bullshit.

      Do you deny that many coal plants are used for load follow?

    2. Re:Know your topic by dbIII · · Score: 1

      I gave the reasons why it is very rarely done since you know far too little about the topic to know yourself and apparently no motivation to spend a few minutes curing that fault. Most people would find out a little more detail before shouting from the rooftops but it appears that you are not ashamed of your ignorance and are happy to put on a show.

    3. Re:Know your topic by Mr+D+from+63 · · Score: 1

      It is done a lot more than rarely. It is common practice in Germany. And, if you knew what you were talking about, you'd have know that even nuclear is used for load follow in France, and has been for quite some time. Again, real world and your world are two different things.

    4. Re:Know your topic by dbIII · · Score: 1

      It is common practice in Germany.

      No.

      if you knew what you were talking about

      Unlike you. Mr change the laws of physics just like code in software, I do.

      you'd have know that even nuclear is used for load follow in France

      It's starting to look as if you need to look up the definition of load following. Clue #1 it is not about running units at full capacity. It's about running a unit at less than full capacity and it dramatically reduces life of anything where you have to frequently vary temperature to do it. Bringing full units on or off line is not load following.

    5. Re:Know your topic by Mr+D+from+63 · · Score: 1

      It is common practice in Germany.

      No.

      if you knew what you were talking about

      Unlike you. Mr change the laws of physics just like code in software, I do.

      you'd have know that even nuclear is used for load follow in France

      It's starting to look as if you need to look up the definition of load following. Clue #1 it is not about running units at full capacity. It's about running a unit at less than full capacity and it dramatically reduces life of anything where you have to frequently vary temperature to do it. Bringing full units on or off line is not load following.

      You say things, but don't check them;

      Here is just one of many sources that discuss Germany's load follow use of coal: http://cornerstonemag.net/the-...

      Here is just one of many sources that discus Frances use of nuclear for load follow: http://ansnuclearcafe.org/2014...

      Of course, you will find some reason to dismiss this real world information because it does not fit your imagined world scenarios. You will find your personal excuse to deny it, as you have in the past when I have presented sources, and you will in turn present no sources that back up your contentions. Why you will do this I don't know.

    6. Re:Know your topic by dbIII · · Score: 1

      Still here "just fix reality in software" guy?
      Try to understand what the text means in articles before linking to them!
      It's not actually very difficult in this case.

    7. Re:Know your topic by Mr+D+from+63 · · Score: 1

      Try to understand what the text means in articles before linking to them! It's not actually very difficult in this case.

      You seem to have the problem. Worse, you won't even refer to the contents of those sources, take any quotes or address any specifics of it, you will just generalize because thats what trolls do.

      At this point, you are just putting on an embarrassing display of generalizations. No sources, no specifics, nothing of any substance. You are making a fool of yourself, and the only reason I continue to respond is that I am happy to oblige.

  61. You still don't know your topic by dbIII · · Score: 1

    I suggest looking up what load following actually means before posting stuff about taking full units offline at a time and having spinning reserve.

    1. Re:You still don't know your topic by Mr+D+from+63 · · Score: 1

      I KNEW you would simply dismiss what clearly backs up my point. I knew it, you did just as I said because your are a predictable troll that can't back up his claims. You are willfully ignorant at best.

      Your attempt at dismissal is your latest fail. Anyone who reads it will easily tell. You are fooling no one. How pathetic you are.

  62. It doesn't back up your point at all by dbIII · · Score: 1

    It doesn't back up your point at all because you've decided to use a technical term you do not understand, just to try to look cool, and you are using something completely different to "back it up".
    In terms you may understand - you are calling the monitor "a computer" and calling the beige box plugged into it "the hard drive" and getting annoyed when being told it is not so.

    That is why you are being laughed at.

    1. Re:It doesn't back up your point at all by Mr+D+from+63 · · Score: 1

      It doesn't back up your point at all because you've decided to use a technical term you do not understand, just to try to look cool, and you are using something completely different to "back it up". In terms you may understand - you are calling the monitor "a computer" and calling the beige box plugged into it "the hard drive" and getting annoyed when being told it is not so. That is why you are being laughed at.

      No, you just threw in the term "spinning reserve' as a trollish deflection. A very transparent and pathetic attempt to deflect from the fact that you are clearly wrong. The source I posted clearly talks about French nuclear plants being used for load follow, it is quite clear and explicit "load follow" right there in front of you, multiple times. It it used properly and in the context that validates my point perfectly. That article does not talk about spinning reserve of French nuclear plants at all. If you think it does, then you don't know what that term means.

    2. Re:It doesn't back up your point at all by dbIII · · Score: 1

      No, you just threw in the term "spinning reserve' as a trollish deflection

      So I was cruel to the poor little boy that got old without growing up by using difficult words? That's the price you have to pay Peter Pan when for the sake of some luddite political bullshit you deliberately mislead the children who are trying to grow up.

      then you don't know what that term means

      So the coder boy is bleating to the engineer about the engineer not knowing anything about engineering? What a joke!
      Just fix thermal expansion like editing software - how funny.

    3. Re:It doesn't back up your point at all by dbIII · · Score: 1

      A very transparent and pathetic attempt to deflect from the fact that you are clearly wrong

      Your attempted sidetrack into windmills is an example of this and not your misunderstanding of switching units held as spinning reserve on and off line as being "load following". If you would look it up and think back to some dusty memories of science from high school to get enough to understand it that would prevent you from making such a comical mistake in the future.

    4. Re:It doesn't back up your point at all by Mr+D+from+63 · · Score: 1

      I see you are afraid to actually look at the source I presented. Let me help you. I'll try to keep it simple. Spinning reserve refers to capacity kept available to come on line quickly in case of unexpected loss of a generation source. Load following is variable operation of power output to meet variable demand. The latter is what is being described in the article I presented. It is quite clear, and your denial of it is very telling about who you are as a person...pathetic.

      So, I expect you will continue your approach of generalizing and not specifically addressing the content of the article. I have presented sources that back up my point, you on the other hand just generalize and deflect. No sources of your own on top of that. You clearly don't know how to back up your argument with sources. And to that you won't get much credibility around here.

    5. Re:It doesn't back up your point at all by Mr+D+from+63 · · Score: 1

      I am an electrical engineer with many years in the power industry. You, on the other hand, are one who resorts to troll tactics and cannot back up anything you say. Engineers use sources. Where the hell are yours?

  63. The "fix it like software" guy lectures? by dbIII · · Score: 1

    Why are you trying to tell me things that I have known for decades but you do not understand yourself?
    You nearly got load following right - try harder and you'll see it applies to running a unit below capacity - almost never done these days now that we have sources of power of only a few megawatts that can be brought on and off line easily.

    1. Re:The "fix it like software" guy lectures? by Mr+D+from+63 · · Score: 1

      You cant have variable output without runng below capacity, so your attempted correction is quite meaningless. Quite stupid in fact.

      Actually the article it sourced specifically talks about tjose french nukes. Below capacity to meet variable load demand. The other article discusses the quite well know fact that German coal plant a run under capaicty for load follow. Your willful ignorance persists.

  64. Stupid bluff - pull the other one by dbIII · · Score: 1

    Your blatant mistakes make it obvious that you are neither an engineer with any sort of experience or that you have spent any time in the electricity generation or transmission industries - so try a different lie that insults the intelligence of the readers less.
    I left the electricity industry in 1996 for coal and oil and a bit of part time academic work, but remember enough to spot a deliberate liar who is basing their lies on a less than high school understanding of the subject matter.

    You've really hit rock bottom here. What will you claim to be next?



    Lairs use sources that do not back up their words as a shell game. People with slightly better than a high school understanding of the topic in this simple case don't need a source, because they can spot the fucking obvious. Hot steel expands - is that grade 7 stuff or grade 9? Just design it so it doesn't? The world isn't fucking Star Trek!
    We both know you are not correct so why should I go running around looking for links when nobody else is going to read down this far?

    1. Re:Stupid bluff - pull the other one by Mr+D+from+63 · · Score: 1

      I think any solid engineer will understand my points, that you have to have a basis for things and simply saying them isnt' good enough. No meat on your bones, to this point you were not capable of pulling one source to back up any of your points. I suppose if you were in the industry you were forced out due to incompetence. Regardless of where you worked, you have proven that you really don't have a fundamental understanding. All my predictions keep coming true, you keep generalizing and provide no backup to your statements. It will continue.

    2. Re:Stupid bluff - pull the other one by Mr+D+from+63 · · Score: 1

      As you all can see, DBIII cannot back up his claims, and ignores sources that counter them.