No one doubts that burning
fossil fuels is responsible for increased carbon dioxide levels and that
this in turn, at least in part, is responsible for global warming. The
important questions which are seldom asked however are: can wind power make a
serious contribution to lowering CO2 emissions? What happens when the wind
does not blow? What happens when it blows so hard turbines are shut down?
What happens when the wind gusts a lot and wind turbines speed up and slow down
all the time. Does installing wind turbines allow ordinary power stations
to close? The answers are in a report by David White BSc, published for the
Renewable Energy Foundation. He concluded "it seems reasonable to ask
why wind-power is the beneficiary of such extensive support if it not only
fails to achieve the CO2 reductions required, but also causes cost
increases in back-up, maintenance and transmission, while at the same time
discouraging investment in clean, firm generation".
Further, because of its
intermittency the German transmission company EON (Powergen’s parent
company) concluded that wind power can’t adapt to meet demand and that
high levels of wind power cause the electricity grid to become unstable.
No one doubts that burning
fossil fuels is responsible for increased carbon dioxide levels and that
this in turn, at least in part, is responsible for global warming. The
important questions which are seldom asked however are: can wind power make a
serious contribution to lowering CO2 emissions? What happens when the wind
does not blow? What happens when it blows so hard turbines are shut down?
What happens when the wind gusts a lot and wind turbines speed up and slow down
all the time. Does installing wind turbines allow ordinary power stations
to close? The answers are in a report by David White BSc, published for the
Renewable Energy Foundation. He concluded "it seems reasonable to ask
why wind-power is the beneficiary of such extensive support if it not only
fails to achieve the CO2 reductions required, but also causes cost
increases in back-up, maintenance and transmission, while at the same time
discouraging investment in clean, firm generation".
Further, because of its
intermittency the German transmission company EON (Powergen’s parent
company) concluded that wind power can’t adapt to meet demand and that
high levels of wind power cause the electricity grid to become unstable.
