Michael Johnson’s wespeak “Wind: A Flawed Solution” is a perfect example of poorly applied statistics. While the data is generally accurate, it represents several false, but widely held beliefs about wind power.
First off, a few of the facts presented are inaccurate. Nobody builds wind turbines that run at optimum efficiency at 30 mph. In fact, many industry standard wind turbines will cut out before wind speed reaches that high. Very few areas have average wind ratings higher than 20 mph.
Secondly I’d like to criticize the way Michael cited low winds in Connecticut as a reason to dismiss wind power. Yes, Connecticut has extremely low winds – building a wind farm there would be like building a coal mine in Florida. The U.S. has no shortage of wind. South Dakota and Texas alone have enough high wind areas to power the entire U.S. at cost lower than that of coal. However, you don’t need to go to the Rocky Mountains to get high winds.
There are areas in New York, Vermont, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Maine that have average wind speeds in excess of 20 mph. Such areas are on the same power grid as we are: there is little power loss in transit. Even in areas with an average wind speed of 16mph, a modern 600 kW turbine will produce 1.75 million kilowatt hours a year. Using the estimate in Cecilia Seiter’s Nov. 14 Wespeak, this university uses 26 million kWh of electricity a year. That means that to power the university, only 15 turbines would be needed.
I noticed that Michael Johnson stated that the price of the wind turbines was high, but never cited real numbers. It turns out, each of these 600 kW turbines lasts around 20 years, costs around $600,000 to build, and requires on average $7000 a year to operate and maintain. With these costs distributed over the turbine’s 20 year life, electricity from such turbines would only cost 2.1 cents per kWh, which is more than competitive with the cost of coal. Factor in the price of the land and you’ve still got a real good deal – only add a $0.01 to the cost per kWh, even if the land costs as much as $350,000 per turbine, which it won’t.
Coal power, contrary to popular belief, is expensive. Government subsidies and tax breaks keep the street price of electricity low, and to allow even the most ancient, obsolete plants to continue to make handy profits. Thousands of Americans die and millions of taxpayer dollars are spent in monetary and medical benefits every year as a result of the coal industry.
However, even though modern wind turbines would pay for themselves within their lifetime, they can’t get off the ground without proper funding and support. Wind power needs federal support. However, popular beliefs about wind power – that it’s a crazy pie-in-the sky notion that will be insanely costly and inefficient – prevent this from happening.
The U.S. has the resources and the need to reduce coal consumption. Wind power is the answer: it’s cheap, it’s plentiful, and it’s clean.
But don’t just take my word for it. Look it up for yourself. For accurate and comprehensive maps of the US and its wind resources, check out http://www.eere.energy.gov/windpoweringamerica/wind_resources.html. For data involving the cost, output, and general information about wind power, go to http://www.windpower.org/en/core.htm. Check out the Sci Li, search the CTW catalogue, there are tons and tons of articles on this, and almost all agree – wind power is no longer the massively inefficient dream that it once was. It’s real, it’s feasible, and it’s getting better all the time. All it needs is a kick start.
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