Wind Farm Power Grid Accountability - A suggestion and a question.

There is one aspect of wind-turbines that has always dismayed me. When Turbo-mavens post raves about the latest number of mega-watts now on stream - I always wince. (I'm delighted, but still I flinch.). That's because I long ago doped out the reason George Bush as Governor of Texas created the wind farm initiative, back when. T. Boone Pickens the oil tycoon turned windfarmer got the idea and is poised to take advantage, too. Looks like our current president grasped the concept and is spreading the wealth via entitlements to those who build wind farms under the blanket of subsization and guarantee's that all the power will be paid for at parity, used or not; in the Presidents' bail out plan, too. Very slick.

~

I have to admit that my favorite "Invention" is the wind-turbine. However their style and construction are so variable that it's hard to pin down which is my personal fave, albeit the tethered, pressurized helium blimps http://www.magenn.com/index.php floating 5 miles high or so, making the scene of late, are my turbines of choice just now... There is a practical reason that I admire that particular model and favor their deployment - they are too high to create the slow motion light shutter effect that adversely impacts not a few humans and animals and the lack of discernible noise "down wind" of their location that could effect most living entities on or near the ground. Being so high, tehered wind blimps are exposed to sustained, much stronger than surface winds and will miss most storm problems. However, admittedly, on occasion, thunder storms in the vicinity would necessitate their being winched down, most likely. 

~

More on point: The winds in our neck of the woods, on the surface layer, often are too light during sometimes extended times of the day to make them turn at all. That factoid happens to be why EXXON and Valero and other oil producers out in west Texas are making a pile of money - Whole farms of wind-turbines out there are often motionless during the day. But at night the Catabatic winds are predictably robust and because the local electric load is so light during late night and there is no adequate grid to carry their power away to far off cities - they have gobs of surplus electricity that wind farm operators auction off at penny's on the dollar to the oil pump jack owners that happen to be a stones throw away from wind turbine masts. The subsidy from the State of Texas covers wind farmers for their chronic revenue short fall, paid by urban electricity users and taxes under the guise of green energy initiatives.

~

I would like to see a standard made that adjusts for the actual (not announced, designed maximum) mean power output of mega-watt wind turbine farms. While we in the States are demanding truth in bail out and truth in banking, etc. I'd also like the truth about how much energy wind-farms actually produce between 11 am to 6 pm during summer when electrical demand is peaked and at its highest need in our air conditioned, power hungry state. We are being asked to fund state bonds and national bail out funds to build a national and west to east state electric grid.. So? Just how viable will the need for distribution from far off wind farms be, when the demand for electricity is stretched to the limit during peak loads and existing wind farms in west Texas can't actually, currently generate and supply the demands of local towns and cities on an average day during daylight?

 

I'd also like to know why wind farms don't power water pumps to lift water from holding lakes up to higher holding lakes during the night when wind energy is abundant, and then re-use the stored water for hydro power during the day when demand for that energy is highest instead of discounted so oil companies can make mega million record profits subsidized by rate payers and state taxes? It seems to me that stored energy in the form of two and three level lakes using relativlely reliable night time air flow to power the  pumps for recharging them, are a relatively simple no brainer solution.

~

These are questions outside my expertise, but I hope some one or more of your bright minds can take up the challenge. Anyone?

A video of an all electric, around-town jitney for everyone.

Do you still think the all-green vehicle is just a pipe dream of greenies like me?
Click the link below and once the page loads, click: Video Eclectic
http://www.venturi.fr/Video-Eclectic.html
There is music but no voice over in this short demo of a French built four wheel electric jitney. Consider the

possibilities if these were available for purchase and use in major U.S. cities. Grand Prairie's new turnpike is going to make it one of the most smog ridden cities in the US and having a city services fleet of these could go a long way toward reducing it polution index. Having a manufacturing plant of electirc vehicles could bring a lot of jobs, tax revenue and carbon credits to it, too. They could also jump start the all but dead vehicle manufacturing arena if licensed and built here or somewhere in the U.S.
E-mail : info@venturi.fr
http://www.venturi.fr/-Contact-us-.html (English version)
Don't speak or write French?
Conversion link: http://babelfish.yahoo.com
 

From the desktop of Warren Richardson   pro-active advocate
for conversion to energy alternatives and carbon footprint reduction.
Moderator of http://dfw-alt-e-caucus.blogspot.com/ and the

Webmaster of http://www.green-metroplex.com/ ... You are invited
to come see how cost effective, and even profitable, it can be to

                                                   go green!
                                                 

Addison's New Water Tower is in discussion on CR4

Dear Mr. Barnett,

.

Congratulations on initiating your city's new water tower to be shaped somewhat like a wine glass according to the news about that.

.

I have a number of improvements to that design that I'd like you to consider. They will reduce the operational overhead and be more environmentally friendly to birds and healthier for humans in the towers' vicinity, alike.

.

The impact on health is now in extensive discussion on many CR4 threads. The immediate engineering improvements that could be incorporated during this the design stage, however, are the main purpose for my contacting you at this point. Here are public links to those discussions, whether you have an account with CR4 or not.

.

Thank you for you time and attention:

.

I believe that Addison's great Water Tower idea could stand some improvements such as installing water turbine generators at its base, to scavenge electric energy when the water is flowing back into the city water system (An impeller located inside the gravity fed discharge caisson, with an offset gear and shaft out the side of the caisson coupled to an infinite speed transmission and a gen-set coupled to that, is what I mean); and a horizontal generator powered by low speed, high torque (quiet) vanes rotating around the entire outside of the wine-glass goblet shaped water storage tank. It could be greenest and the most Avaunt Gard water tower on earth! Here is the link: http://cr4.globalspec.com/thread/35864

.

One could arguably label me a wind turbine maven. Below are posts that address pro's and con's for this burgeoning electric generation industry. Not all of what are posted are pro-wind turbine in nature. Like all alternative energy industries, the engineering and the economic consequences of wind turbines and wind farms are still just coming into the light.

.

Their environment impacts, once focused on bird hazard potential, are now expanded to human health issues, as well. As a result, I have dropped tower mounted turbines from my quiver as an urbane area alternative electric generation solution and now favor low speed, high torque vertical or horizontal, high aspect ratio slat blade types (similar to blower wheels in air conditioning systems) because they are quiet and can handle structurally induced turbulence; unless they are miles and miles from everyday view and hearing.

.

R.E., Wind Turbine Experiences http://cr4.globalspec.com/thread/30077
Comment #11 Wind turbine visual shuttering problems and down wind sounds Reference video link: http://www.youtube.com/philbloomstein

.
The YouTuber's recommendation is minimum 3,000 feet (3/5ths of a mile) minimum set back. No recommendation for visual shuttering problems set back. One would assume that one should have some sort of structure or vegetation block their view of turbine shadows especially at sun up and sun down when their shadows can reach quite far.

According to the thread named "Are Wind Turbines Hazardous to Your Health?" Industrial wind machines may cause ringing in the ears (tinnitus).

r.e., http://cr4.globalspec.com/blogentry/8351

.

In the thread: Windmill on a Kite http://cr4.globalspec.com/thread/33795#21 I made the point that there are no standards that rate the viability of electric power from wind farms. Distance to consumer markets is also a factor that has been successfully exploited by the oil industry in Texas taking advantage of surplus electric energy during night time operations when demand is down but the wind is consistently stronger in their wind zones 3 and 4 neck of the woods; all made possible by the subsidization process (Taxes which guarantee the wind farms make money for their investors, the oil business makes millions in windfall profits and the tax payers remain clueless that we've have been ripped off with the blessings of the public utility commission by their tacit silence on this thorny issue.).

.

Last but not least, "Windmills on a Kite" solves the problem of tinnitus and shuttering, it would appear: http://cr4.globalspec.com/thread/33795

.

Addison's wind powered water tower is just a beginning.

Dear constituents, friends and green advocates,

If you missed the Addison, Texas announcement that it is letting bids for an esthetically designed, wind powered water tower.... This is your chance to catch up and also follow a thread created for nothing but the improvement on a good ideas' start point (Read: Councilman, Congressman, Senator, Editors, Advocates, ET AL... this is a call to you. The truth is, it is time to step up and start learning about what is possible ; what is actually being done and what you might also do to reduce costs and improve the environment while doing it.).

http://cr4.globalspec.com/thread/35864 <-- that is a link to a proactive web thread that you might bookmark to find out what is going on in the worlds grass roots of able persons. Yes... that is a challenge aimed at YOU. Please come an play..
 

From the desktop of Warren Richardson   pro-active advocate
for conversion to energy alternatives and carbon footprint reduction.
Moderator of http://dfw-alt-e-caucus.blogspot.com/ and the

Webmaster of http://www.green-metroplex.com/ ... You are invited
to come see how cost effective, and even profitable, it can be to

                                                   go green!
                                                 

Fw: Plug In America Action Alert – Urge the EPA to Match Tough California Standards!

I support most of what is stated below - please read it and consider proactive participation.
Sincerely, J. Warren Richardson, webmaster of www.green-metroplex.com

----- Forwarded Message ----
From: Jay Friedland <jay@pluginamerica.org>
To: jwarrenr@rocketmail.com
Sent: Thursday, April 2, 2009 2:01:38 AM
Subject: Plug In America Action Alert – Urge the EPA to Match Tough California Standards!

Dear Fellow Clean Car Supporter, Today is the second anniversary of the historic Massachusetts vs EPA Supreme Court decision, which allowed states to regulate greenhouse gases as pollutants. Once again you can make a difference in helping get cleaner vehicles on the road, especially with plug-in hybrids and electric vehicles. Early next week the EPA will finally reconsider its decision denying California permission to set standards controlling greenhouse gases from motor vehicles. We want you to tell Lisa Jackson, the new EPA administrator, to not only grant California's request for waiver, but to urge her to have the EPA adopt all of California's Clean Air Standards, including the Zero Emissions Vehicle mandate, for the entire nation: http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=qxIV%2FftJsyxOMJSURGH%2FhY2hvCxvvaY%2B Clicking the link below could help reduce the 20% or more of our nation's carbon emissions that come from personal transportation, and set manufacturers on the path to cleaner vehicles. Thirteen other states have already adopted the strong California standards, why shouldn't the entire United States? http://www..pluginamerica.org/epatakeaction The opposition has their sights set on slowing this progress -- arguing that statewide actions won't work and claiming that automakers don't need any encouragement to make cleaner cars. We all know what has happened in the past. We can't let the special interests block this much-needed action. Your voice will make a difference. There's not much time left in the public comment period -- send your comment to the EPA right now: http://www.pluginamerica.org/epatakeaction Help leverage the success of California to solve the climate crisis and make the switch to clean, affordable, domestic electricity for transportation. California will pave the way for reductions in vehicle emissions all over this country and guide the industry to a cleaner and reinvigorated future. Please tell the EPA today that we need to "plug-in" America with clean, affordable, domestic electricity Thank you for your support! Jay Friedland Legislative Director Plug In America

Unsubscribe | Manage your Profile