14,000 Abandoned Wind Turbines In The USA. “It’s a bubble which bursts as soon as the government subsidies end.” Everybody wants to put them up, nobody wants to take them down. So there they sit, fitting reminders of the propeller-heads that wasted your money on them. Wind is a myth; it’s politicians that blow.
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Andrew Walden, a Hawaiian anti-wind activist plucked the number 14,000 out of the air to represent the total world-wide wind turbines inactive. It has since been uncritically quoted, and even uncritically quoted to apply specifically to the USA and sometimes even just to California.
The truth is that there are perhaps 1,650 or 1% of total wind turbines inactive world-wide at present, representing perhaps 0.5% of total generating capacity. There are 165,000 wind turbines generating clean, safe, carbon-free energy worldwide.
http://www.quora.com/How-many-permanently-inactive-wind-turbines-are-there-world-wide/answer/Mike-Barnard
According to your source, there are a number of reasons why a windmill might not be spinning when there's wind, but I think the point here is that if it's not spinning it's not working, no matter how the windmill proponents try to "spin" the information. If it's temporarily not working, it's not working. If its power isn't currently needed because the grid can't handle it, it's not working. If the rotation is off-kilter so the damn thing can't spin, it's not working. If it needs maintenance but the weather makes it impossible, it's not working. Gas power plants, on the other hand, are always working, and we have enough natural gas to last us about a thousand years.
One caveat here is if the grid can't handle it, no power source is "working" (unless it can be banked pre-grid)
This kind of thing sparks some interest: http://news.cnet.com/8301-11386_3-57417675-76/wind-power-blimp-takes-to-the-air-video/
Better winds up there
"Not working" does not necessarily equal "abandoned."
On the other hand, "14,000 abandoned wind generators" DOES equal bullshit. We shouldn't stoop to the level of the liberals, (lying, making up nonsense), to make our points.
just going off JP's comment: "If its power isn’t currently needed because the grid can’t handle it, it’s not working." It doesn't seem exclusive to wind power
How much does GE and Siemens pay you?
I'm a fan of having a diverse energy market. It doesn't make sense to put all of your eggs in one basket and only depend on oil for your energy needs. Wind is not solely the answer, solar is not solely the answer, oil is not solely the answer, natural gas is not solely the answer, bio fuel is not solely the answer, nuclear power is not solely the answer, or whatever else you can think of. The need for energy tomorrow will be greater than the need today. This will always be the case as long as human kind continues to advance. The most logical thing to do would be to try and diversify and expand your energy production as much as possible.
Horse hockey! That's diverse enough.
:D
you assume mankind will continue to advance, well the libtardistians will advance us all right back to the goat- and horse-drawn cart.
If the government wasn't subsidizing the non-thinkers in the industry, and standing in the way of actual advancement, maybe alternatives COULD be made viable. Obama's way isn't working, obviously.
A diverse market: sure. A government subsidized loser pretending to be a viable option: GTFO.
"The most logical thing to do would be to try and diversify and expand your energy production as much as possible."
Are you saying research in that direction is NOT happening? The other forms of energy are not ready yet despite the best efforts of the crony capitalists in Washington to profit from the stupidity of bureaucrats.
When the market demands it, the alternatives will be developed.
Do markets always have perfect knowledge of what they might demand in the future?
I've just been posting more thoughts on emergence of Internet so have been reflecting up Market blind spots
Thank GOD that they never were able to spoil the view for the Kennedy Family with those horrible things!
And the earth-worshipers complain about a church with a cross on top...these idols dwarf the Jesus statue in Brazil and there a multitude of them for the Gaia people to bow to.
Does anyone really expect Progressives to clean up after themselves?
I'm not saying "everything's been invented; close the patent office," but it's a propeller attached to a generator. Is someone going to make an incredible breakthrough on either one of those items, or have we seen all we're ever likely to see from wind power?
Wind turbines: the crucifix of the green gospel. Wonder why so many eco-disciples are abandoning their faith?
False idol?
i wonder what kind of material these turbines are made of. If there's copper in them then they'd make a windfall for someone looking to make a buck or two.
Are there any liberal ideas that work in the real world ?
None so far that I have noticed. Although sometimes it takes a while for the full effect of the obvious mistake to make it self known. "What is socialism?"
Victory of ideology over clear mind!!!
wow, funny how jello-pool isn't here to defend socialism's "victories."
She picks and chooses, today she went back in the bowels of IHTM to blog after everyone else had long given up on a thread..she apparently thinks we won't notice...I did and my thumbs down button is smokin'....
It gets tougher now that Europe's third leftist government has been replaced by a more conservative one in just the past couple of weeks.
No... socialism has never worked anywhere its been tried. But hey some people are too dumb to figure that out and they think they can pull it off. So we spend money on solar companies that assume room temperature, useless wind turbines, green cars no one wants to buy and that may burst into flames at any given time. These idiots keep trying and keep failing, you would think at some point one of them would figure it out, but alas like lemmings they all just keep going over the cliff.
I don't think even the average liberal actually believes that green works. But as long as they can figure out smoke and mirror parlor tricks that will convince Joe Six Pack to sit quietly while they take his money and give it to their buddies, then everything is fine in their world.