Update on wind power, 7/22

A few more articles on the damage from wind power. Seems that wind power isn’t good for birds, nearby little mammals, humans, or for reducing net emissions.

Official permission to slice-and-dice golden eagles – 6/26 – ReWire –Feds Set To Issue First Eagle Kill Permit to California Wind FacilityFish and Wildlife and is ready to issue a permit to Shiloh IV Wind Project.  That’s a 100MW slice-and-dicer near Rio Vista. The permit wall allow them to off five Golden Eagles during the five-year license. They’re getting a waiver from the Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act.  To mitigate killing five Golden Eagles, they will pay Pacific Gas & Electric funds sufficient to retrofit 133 power poles to reduce the chances of electrocuting Eagles. FWS concludes this will have zero net effect. You can kill five Eagles if you take actions that have a reasonable chance of maybe saving an equal number.

More damage to animals from wind power – 7/1 – Why Not Wind –Wind turbine syndrome and animals? With link to The ECO Report – 1600 miscarriages at for farm near wind turbines. A year ago things were fine at the mink farm. This month there were 1600 born prematurely, many with deformities, and most stillborn. Veterinarians established that food and viruses are not the cause. What has happened in the last year? Four 3MW wind turbines went into operation last fall. Very shortly thereafter the minx got aggressive in attacking each other. There are many deaths from the attacks. The only variable? Four slice-and-dicers.

Also covered at World Council for Nature – Windfarms: 1,600 miscarriages.

Damage to humans from wind power – 7/2 – World Council for Nature – Wind turbines contaminate – Article provides quotes from articles and links. Issues I’ve not read of before are oil leaks contaminating ground water and the need to regularly clean the blades, which puts detergents on the ground and into ground water. The concern here is collateral damage to human health from construction and maintenance of wind farms. Will mention other articles at the site later.

Yet more drawbacks in solar and wind – 6/9 – Professor Mark Perry (of Carpe Diem) writing at Investors Business Daily –Alternative Energy No Substitute For Clean Nuclear – Just a few of the problems with solar and wind discussed in the article:

Wind and solar power is available when nature provides it, not necessarily when people need it.

Capacity factor for wind turbines is 20% to 30%. Capacity factor for solar power is 20%.

Another professor has calculated a wind farm with the same output and capacity of a 1000 MW nuclear plant would take up 298 mi.² A solar photovoltaic facility providing the same output and capacity would take up 58 mi.²

Because wind and solar power work only 20% or 30% of the time, you must have standby capacity, which will be natural gas.

The Prof. suggests that emissions from on-demand natural gas power to fill the gap in random unavailability of solar and electric would offset any emissions savings from the alternative sources. That means there is not actually any emissions reduction from solar or electric power.

There are three sources of zero carbon emission energy: Solar. Wind. Nuclear.  Only two count for the renewable goals.

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