Another snag with wind power is that it is too easy to switch off. Surplus
power is switched off in the UK, so that will give a false picture of the
proportion of power produced by wind (or other renewables).
It also means that the power companies are paying for energy that they can't
use.
Chris
On 23 Mar 14, at 16:46, Ken Norton <ken@xxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
> Chuck wrote:
>> According to the DOE, Iowa wind farms produced 27.4% of the state's
>> electrical capacity in 2013... a far cry from being able to supply half
>> the country. Unlike the UK which fails to meet the claimed 33%
>> production from installed capacity, Iowa very slightly exceeds it. When
>> you figure out how to get rid of all the backup conventional generating
>> capacity you'll have something. Meantime you've just managed to
>> increase the cost and (some would say) blight the land.
>
> The DOE estimate is slightly misleading for several reasons. First of
> all, several major wind farms came online in 2013. We're building them
> as fast as we can. Secondly, Iowa is an energy exporter. A substantial
> amount of our wind energy is exported to other states. Thirdly, we've
> been able to replace mainline coal-fired plants with gas-fired boost
> plants.
--
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