Wind Energy comes at a cost

[ATCclears]

Wind turbines extract some of the energy from the wind to create electricity, but like all our "engines," it is not perfectly efficient. The energy lost in the conversion causes the downstream wind, the wake, to be both jumbled (turbulent), and slightly warmer by about 0.5°C. Warmer air is lighter, providing less force to turn the turbines, and turbulence "reduces the energy output and increases the load on wind farm structures and equipment" – a downside (dare I say downwind twofer?) Other studies have demonstrated that the wake from a wind farm can extend for 30 to 46 miles.

Bottom line – how you cluster your turbines, especially as we seek the efficiencies of wind-farm friendly sites like the North Sea, is one of the unanticipated costs of unbridled wind power.

Blowin' in the Wind: Wind Energy Comes at a Cost

Deriving electricity from windmills is one way to diversify our energy sources, while reducing the use of fossil fuels and making us more energy resilient. But as the Second Law of Thermodynamics points out, there's no free lunch energetically, and that includes harnessing the power of the wind.

www.acsh.org

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[Ura-Ki]

The costs are way over the benefits, and there are many other issues that make it less desirable! Solar can do better, but it's all a sham with the big tech controlled by big oil and the Chinese, there has been little innovations to push it forward! Outside of Hydro Power, none are very efficient, and Hydro comes with its own downsides!

 

[albin25]

aannndddd...... the search for a magical energy source that is without massive cost and environmental consequences as bad as the one it replaces continues un-abated.
I'm confident that experts will find one shortly after the people running the environmental lobby/movement can manage to figure out which bathroom to use

 

[TTSX]

I heard you can stick a lightbulb in a potato and it'll light up. Clearly the solution is an indoor potato farm for every house

 

[L84Cabo]

Does anyone know the status of personal/household type wind turbines? Are they at the point where they're a viable alternative...or supplement...to solar?

 

[SrMachoSolo]

Does anyone know the status of personal/household type wind turbines? Are they at the point where they're a viable alternative...or supplement...to solar?

They're still only a supplement to solar. The size of the turbines limits the amount of power they can produce, when it is actually windy enough to turn them; however, they're pretty damn cheap right now so if you've got the extra cash, might as well, redundancy is good thing here.

-Robert

 

[Flopsweat]

It takes 270 tons of steal to make one of those and guess where the steel comes from. They'll wear out before you save enough "carbon" to make up for just the production of the damn thing. They don't even break even, just like ethanol and electric cars. It's a sham and our tax dollars are being flushed down a giant, stinking greenie toilet.

 

[gryghin]

Maybe someone will find a source of energy, like from a rock that produces heat and it can be controlled by other types of rocks. Combine that with one of the oldest stable technologies, steam power.

Maybe... just maybe that would work...

 

[Flopsweat]

Maybe someone will find a source of energy, like from a rock that produces heat and it can be controlled by other types of rocks. Combine that with one of the oldest stable technologies, steam power.

Maybe... just maybe that would work...

I'm not sure how to react to that.