Wind power not coming through for California

[Cabbagesandking]

I already mostly ignore bull**** artists like you. What more can I do to make the world better other than eliminate ecoloonies?

You still have nothing? Those responses get you nowhere.

 

[CDNBear]

You still have nothing?

Yes he does. He has actually done something physical to help the environment.

You've just pumped a lot more hot air into it.

 

[beaker]

There was one comment following the op story that points out the ridiculousness of the situation. The local planning authorities turned down a generation addition, but turned around and approved additional thousands of housing in a new development. The poster added the comment that there is no planning. That is a bit over the top, but the planning doesn't seem to consider the cause and effect relationship within a community like California.

What amazes me is that people seem to think that they can demand all the power they can use, at any time, under any circumstances. that is the utilities job isn't it? Enough people in California recognize enough of the problem that those demands make on the system/ecosystem, that they have managed to get the state to turn away from polluting energy sources, but not to cut back to reasonable use of power to start off with. Whether wind is able eventually to take up its fair share of the load is irrelevant if the load is way more than it needs to be.

 

[tay]

American Wind Power Hits Historic Milestone: 50 Gigawatts of Generating Capacity



The online generating capacity of wind power in the U.S. just hit a high mark of 50 GW, enough to power 13 million homes.



http://www.treehugge...ity-online.html





5 Gigawatts of Renewable Energy Projects Fast-Tracked by Obama



Seven solar power and wind power projects, with a combined capacity of 5 GW, have been fast-tracked by the Obama administration as part of the We Can't Wait initiative. The projects, located in Arizona, California, Nevada, and Wyoming are expected to produce electricity sufficient to power 1.5 million homes.

In Arizona, the Mohave Wind Energy project, will be located on nearly 40,000 acres of federal land in Mohave County, Arizona. The 425 MW project is targeted to complete federal permitting in January 2013. The Quartzite Solar Energy project will have a capacity of 100 MW on 1675 acres of Bureau of Land Management land. Federal review of the project is expected to be completed in December of this year.


http://www.whitehous...renewable-energ



Military Land Opened Up For Renewable Energy Development

Separate from these fast-tracked projects, the Departments of Interior and Defense have opened up 16 million acres of federal land, previously set aside for military testing and training, for wind and solar power development, Renewable Energy World reports.


Colorado Utility Got a Record 57% of Its Electricity From Wind Power


Colorado Utility Got a Record 57% of Its Electricity From Wind Power : TreeHugger



Smart Grid Technologies Could Cut Peak Power Demand by 20%

In today's feature How Technology Can Help Us Beat the Heat Without Crippling the Grid, we discussed how different clean technologies can let us keep cool without increasing our demands on the grid. Along with renewable sources of energy, smart grid technologies are the most important part of making our grid more efficient and reliable.

To give you a better idea of just how much smart grid technologies can alleviate strain on the grid, Greentech Media reports that estimates from the World Energy Council, IBM and others conclude that smart grid technologies could cut peak power demand by up to 20 percent.

That significantly cuts the amount of power plants that utilities or regions have to build over the coming decades and, ideally, gives renewable energy generation time to grow and cover increasing demand instead of fossil fuels. A study by Black & Veatch predicts that 61,000 MW-worth of coal-fired power plants are set to retire between now and 2020 and if smart grid technologies like smart meters, smart thermostats and demand response systems are deployed efficiently in that time frame, renewable energy sources will have a better chance of taking their place.

Smart Grid Technologies Could Cut Peak Power Demand by 20% : TreeHugger

 

[Kakato]

People are power *****s,they want more and more all the time.The people supplying it are haveing a hard time keeping up to demand.
It is a commodity that can be sent either way in most provinces,and with deregulation it is a very big business.

The only wind power that has a chance of being successful is from the
politicians who promote it If they can keep flapping their gums there is
still a chance. In practical terms the only ones to benefit from wind power
will be those who build the machines. People will turn against it due to
the noise, and companies will abandoned it because it won't produce
enough power.

I have parked right under them and they are not very loud,just the swish swish of the blades,they really are quite awesome.

In Alberta the oil companies are buying up the wind farms so what does that say to you?

 

[eh1eh]

In Alberta the oil companies are buying up the wind farms so what does that say to you?

They're trying to eliminate the competition and or getting carbon credits.

 

[Kakato]

They're trying to eliminate the competition and or getting carbon credits.

No,lots of people buy the more expensive "green" power,you get that option in Alberta but it costs a bit more.
So the oil companies will milk not only us relying on diesel or gas but also those thinking they are green by buying green power.
They got all the bases covered,they call themselves energy companies now,not oil.

 

[BaalsTears]

Wind mills kill birds. I have zero tolerance for that. Wind mills use up too much habitat. That's not a good thing.

 

[Kakato]

Wind mills kill birds. I have zero tolerance for that. Wind mills use up too much habitat. That's not a good thing.

Cars and cats kill birds,maybe look up a few studys on where windmills fit in.The don't use any more habitat then an oil or gas well and in fact they use way less,just a small road along their right of way.

Go look up the stats if you think windmills are bird killers,you may be surprised.

I probably kill about 12 a day driving down the norwegian trail in Alberta,way more then a windmill will kill in months.

What kills birds?
http://www.currykerlinger.com/birds.htm

Windmills are not even on the list.

What Kills Birds?


Human Causes of Bird Fatalities

Curry & Kerlinger has compiled the following information from environmental organizations and goverment agencies.

This list is meant to inform the public and to put wind turbine fatalities in perspecitve.

Glass Windows
Bird Deaths a year: 100 to 900+ million

Dr. Daniel Klem of Muhlenberg College has done studies over a period of 20 years, looking at bird collisions with windows. His conclusion: glass kills more birds than any other human related factor.
House Cats
Bird Deaths a year: 100 Million
The National Audubuon Society says 100 million birds a year fall prey to cats. Dr. Stan Temple of the University of Wisconsin estimates that in Wisconsin alone, about 7 million birds a year are killed by cats

Automobiles / Trucks
Bird Deaths a year: 50 to 100 Million

Scientists estimate the number of birds killed by cars and trucks on the nation's highways to be 50 to 100 million a year. Those statistics were cited in reports published by the National Institute for Urban Wildlife and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
Electric Transmission Line Collisions
Bird Deaths a year: up to 174 million
Estimates made by the U.S. Fish and Wildife Service demonstrate millions of birds die each year as a result of colliding with transmission lines.

Agriculture
Bird Deaths a year: 67 million
Pesticides likely poison an estimated 67 million birds per year according to the Smithsonian Institution. Cutting hay may kill up to a million more birds a year.

 

[beaker]

Cars and cats kill birds,maybe look up a few studys on where windmills fit in.The don't use any more habitat then an oil or gas well and in fact they use way less,just a small road along their right of way.

Go look up the stats if you think windmills are bird killers,you may be surprised.

I probably kill about 12 a day driving down the norwegian trail in Alberta,way more then a windmill will kill in months.

What kills birds?
What Kills Birds?

Windmills are not even on the list.

That is what I have heard, the big windmills particularly turn very slowly and a bird would have to be pretty slow to hit one. I heard too that the big mills are hard on bats, not from hitting them, but because the air pressure difference is so great so quickly that a bat flying through the differential virtually implodes. How the structure of a bat is so different from that of a bird I don't know but I don't think it is a factor for birds.

 

[Cabbagesandking]

Offshore wp is said to do the opposite. Encourages sea birds and marine life.