The first blades for the offshore wind project Vineyard Wind were shipped out to the construction site south of the Island on Wednesday, Sept. 7.
According to a release from the developers, a barge was loaded with three 321-foot-long blades, as well as three tower sections.
The load in total was 1,700 tons, a press release from Vineyard Wind stated.
“It may look easy, but the safe transportation of these components miles over the open water is no small feat,” Vineyard Wind CEO Klaus S. Moeller was quoted in the release. “While we’ve had many firsts, once this turbine is installed, it will stand as a proud symbol of America’s energy transition.”
Vineyard Wind is using two barges: The Marmac in New Bedford and the Foss Prevailing Wind in Boston, both 400 feet long, to ship the turbine pieces. The release says that these are the only two barges in “existence capable of transporting in an upright position” the large turbine components.
Once onsite, officials with the project say, a vessel called the Sea Installer, which measures more than 430 feet in length and 150 feet wide, will install the turbine tower sections and blades.
“Sea Installer … is a heavy-lift, jack-up crane vessel that lifts itself out of the water on legs that are over 300 feet in length,” the Vineyard Wind press release states. “Once elevated, the vessel becomes a platform where the recently upgraded crane, now capable of lifting more than 1,600 tons, can install the tower sections, nacelle, and blades for each [wind turbine generator].”
The $4 billion project is expected to generate electricity for more than 400,000 homes and businesses in the state, starting in mid-October. Sixty-two wind turbines are planned.
Construction began earlier this summer on the turbine bases. A substation has been built as well.
Will the Times also cover the barge transporting the used blades twenty years from now and how there’s no place to recycle them and the huge junkyards that will need to be created to store them? Here’s just one example of the environmental damage they do. https://www.texasmonthly.com/news-politics/sweetwater-wind-turbine-blades-dump/
The Times—indeed most Vineyard greens—have their heads firmly in the sand when it comes to renewable realities.
They don’t think West Texas.
They don’t think cobalt from the Congo.
They don’t think lithium from Bolivia and Ecuador.
They don’t think EROEI—if they have even heard of it.
They also accept like children the buzzword oversimplification that CO2 determines “climate.”
They are unaware of the many hundreds of of highly qualified scientists who do not support the supposed scientific “consensus” on this theory.
We are going to have to watch the wind farm madness on the Continental Shelf play out in real time.
Would you rather have wind mills or oil production platforms?
Would rather you see oil production on the Continental Shelf?
Would you like to see no energy produced?
Hi Kate,
Of course scientists all agree when you censor and cancel those who don’t.
John– thank for beating this dead horse again.
But I will point out some of the options.
I personally like the idea of shipping them to Texas.
They could build a beautiful impenetrable
border wall with them, and have Mexico pay for it
if their government had more of an I.Q
than a gopher. I would think you would like that idea.
But– not to insult the personal intelligence of anyone
from Texas— that gove’ment so stupid thems puts
big floating balls in the river to keeps thems illegals
out, and now thems goota take ’em out. What are they
gonna do with all those used balls? Perhaps they can pile
them 2 at a time near the bottom of the
old blades and show the world how manly they are.
So much for Albert having an “exclusive” on sarcasm..
But I digress…
When we ship all of our tired old limp blades to Texas in
20 years , we can also give them our worn out plastic football
field to cover them all up. They will really appreciate
our contribution to solving the problem, and making
Texas green again.
But as I have pointed out before, the Goodales could
make a fortune just burying them in their pit and filling
it in. Or is their open pit going to forever remain a barren
blight on the landscape and a violation of the sanctity of GAIA ?
But really– and i am serious– could someone tell me what
the problem would be if we just dropped them right in
the ocean right there and created an artificial reef ?
The navy ,after all ,sinks their old ships to create reefs,
And the old Tappan Zee bridge was dumped in the
ocean off the coast of Long Island as part of the expansion
of the Shinnecock Artificial Reef.
https://newjersey.news12.com/tappan-zee-bridges-legacy-lives-on-off-the-coast-of-long-island
We could certainly add to that artificial reef.
John ? Martha? Katherine ?
Can you tell me why not ???
Or are you all convinced that the only thing we can
do with them is dig a giant new hole and bury them ?
If we are going to have a discussion about the issues
we should have a rational one. Save the hysteria for
something real.
Hi Don, as to my comment, “Of course scientists all agree when you censor and cancel those who don’t.” I stand by that, and anyone with eyes open would, too. But the idea of the reef isn’t bad, I suppose. As long as what’s degrading of the blades isn’t toxic.
John– from what I can tell, these things
are pretty inert. Having served on a naval
ship, I can tell you with certainty that the
ships are much more toxic than these composite
blades. I for one personally put about a
gazzilion gallons of “red lead” paint on the
ship I was on. There is no way they can
get all the bilge oil and lubricants out of the
equipment, nor the hazardous electrical
components.
But for some reason, there is very little
opposition to the practice of sinking ships
full of toxic chemicals and violating the
sanctity of GAIA.
Kind of funny–
You grind them up for road building materials, the long fibers.
Are you posting actual factual information once again? How dare you. The Koch Brothers paid staff have earned millions posting misinformation on Social media sites.
Are the Koch brothers paying the whales to drop dead as well?
Penny– if any whales actually dropped dead from
anything to do with offshore windmills, I am sure
George Soros would be footing that bill.
But let’s look at reality. George could just Zap
the whales with his lasers in space, and then he
and the deep state would be able to control all of
us. There is no reason at all for the windmills
to kill whales. Space based lasers have been
proven to be accurate and efficiently lethal .
In fact, according to sources I will not bother
to site here, it has been proven that 1,642 marine
mammals have been killed by these communist
inspired deep state actors in the last year alone.
Why isn’t the media reporting this?
That is not presently feasible. Just consider how much effort has been put into trying to recycle fiberglass boats. https://dukespace.lib.duke.edu/dspace/bitstream/handle/10161/24824/Offshore%20Wind%20Vessel%20Emissions%20-%20Final.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y
John, turbine blades last about as long steam turbines, much longer than jet engines.
Ten times longer than the diesel engines that produce some of the power on the Island.
The reality is that wind will continue to expand at an exponential rate.
The Nattering Nabobs Of Negativism can not stop it.
We the people want wind.
The people of Island voted 78% for wind by voting for Sleepy Old Joe.
Also this type of power is costly to build, maintain and ultimately expensive for customers. Profit margins can be razor thin too so look for bankruptcy and abandoned units in a few years.
Peter– Nice one out of the andy prediction playbook.
Don, I encourage you to read up on the subject. The WSJ has been following this industry for awhile and is not encouraging. Just yesterday (9/8) they featured an article, “US Windfarm Revolution is Broken: Even with generous green subsidies, offshore wind projects are being called off as developers struggle to make a profit.” Biden’s Green New Deal is a boondogle that will cripple the country for decades.
I don’t see where the green new deal is crippling the country.
Please tell me where the damage is .
Is it because the unemployment rate is historically low ?
Inflation at 3.2 %
Worker’s wage’s outpacing that inflation?
But what I do see crippling the country is the increased frequency of major hurricanes, droughts, floods, tornadoes, heat waves wildfires and all sorts of extreme weather events in general .
let’s compare numbers. How much is being spent on the green new deal creating good paying jobs, compared to the destruction of extreme weather events ?
If we want green energy to be more competitive we need to stop subsidizing the oil industry and put a carbon tax on it to reflect the true cost of the damage it is causing. ow much do taxpayers spend cleaning up oil spills? I mean, really– we have expensive catalytic converters on our vehicles for a reason. You windphobes seem to think there is no downside to the constant spilling and burning of oil.
You make a good argument. I am not a “windphobe” just wary of more green boondoggles. Green New Deal is a boondoggle promoted by kooks like AOC. Cherry pick it at best.
People complain about subsides to the so-called “fossil fuel” industry.
I don’t know why.
Why do they think the light goes on when they flip the switch?
“Though in 2007 some suggested that a subsidy shift would help to level the playing field and support growing energy sectors, namely solar power, wind power, and bio-fuels.,[13] by 2017 those sources combined had yet to provide 10% of U.S. electricity, *** and intermittency forced utilities to remain reliant on oil, natural gas, and coal to meet baseload demand.***”
The fact is that all types of energy technologies have been and continue to be subsidized in myriad ways to make possible the features of modern society—many of them hugely wasteful. Have readers noticed the increasing size and ridiculousness of vehicles on this island?
Renewables have done very well on the subsidies playing field:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Energy_subsidies_in_the_United_States#/media/File:Cost_of_Energy-Related_Tax_Preferences,_by_Type_of_Fuel_or_Technology,_1985_to_2016.png
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Energy_subsidies_in_the_United_States#/media/File:2016_Energy-Related_Tax_Preferences.png
Other estimates of subsidies to renewables are way higher, but for smaller relative gains against “fossil fuels.”
Katherine– I find it interesting that you refer to
the largest industry in the world as “so called”.
Don: Wrong. Read more carefully.
Katherine– you are correct yet again about my
reading comprehension. You put a hyphen
in there and said “so-called” .
“People complain about subsides to the
so-called “fossil fuel” industry.
I don’t know why.” Katherine Scott , sept 9
2023 at 6:28 pm on the MV Times website.
In case you want to check on that, go to
the first sentence of the comment that I was
referring to. You can find it directly above here .
My apologizes for not putting the
hyphen in there. I guess that changes the whole
meaning of your sentence.
Or perhaps since you put quotes around “fossil fuel”
you might think that that there is no such thing as
fossil fuel ? So therefore the words “so-called” were
referring to something else ? Peanut farming maybe?
Pleas inform me as to what you were actually referring
to there. I don’t know it all , you know,
especially when someone is talking down to me
during one of their comments that they post too
often.
Just look at what is happening in Texas with the wind mills.
Peter is that what is happening in Europe?
Albert, last year Europe experienced a long period of windless, cloudy days, which created an energy crisis? Guess whst happened? Rationing. Power outages. And governments desperately signing up for more gas/coal energy. This will happen again
Peter– There is something wrong with your comment.
The energy crisis in Europe last year was not caused
by windless cloudy days. It was caused by the decision
of a ruthless communist dictator’s decision to invade
a sovereign democratic country.
When European nations objected to that, Putin cut
off their supply of natural gas in an effort to force them
to allow him to commit genocide.
It didn’t have anything to do with cloudless windless
days. That is complete and utter BS — you know it.
You know it— It’s a right wing lie– you know it.
Come on– if we are going to have a reasonable
discussion about the pro’s and con’s of this project,
I ask that you keep the blatant lies out of it.
is that too much for me to ask ?
Peter are you forgetting the energy crisis in Texas due to gas distribution equipment, freeze ups?
Wind kept a lot Texans warm.
The ten year old Somerset coal plant was torn down, under the Trump administration, lots of asbestos.
What data set did you use to come to your determination?
Wishful thinking?
Albert: I read the WSJ, NY Post, Google News, Boston Globe, MV Times and MV Gazette. Check out 9/8 WSJ article “US Windfarm Revolution is Broken: Even with generous green subsidies, offshore wind projects are being called off as developers struggle to make a profit.” All that glitters is not gold, my friend.
Peter, I read the same. Most of them push an agenda driven by their agenda, people like to read what they want to be true.
The oil generated power is always profitable, as costs go up the rates go up.
When the cost of fuel goes up the cost of electricity goes up (look at the fuel cost surcharge on your electric bill).
Wind uses no fuel to produce power.
Power companies always make a profit.
How much profit has nuclear made?
I spent 10 years on Gulf drill rigs, brown goo does not glitter.
What do think of the exponential growth of wind, what do you think could stop it?
The stop the wind farms crowd is two decades late to the party.
If they discover oil at the Vineyard Wind site would you like to them drill and place production platforms, pipe the goo to storage tanks, take it off Island in tanker trucks?
It seems like you want power but don’t want to see the infrastructure, keep it where poor people live.
In the end wind may cost more, it will be worth it, for our children’s children.
We will run out oil, we consume it faster than God makes it.
We’ll said and documented John. This is just scratching the surface on the unintended consequences of “green energy.”
Are you enjoying the unintended consequences of brown and black energy.
Biden’s Green New Deal is an expensive disaster that must not continue.
80 percent of Island disagrees with you.
Clearly a failure of democracy.
Vineyard Wind is going to continue, Trump can not stop it. It will produce power before Trump is back in office.
What then, drop the wind turbines to the bottom?
Smart.
The green new deal is a boondoggle, another huge government giveaway. Most Americans against it. Like most of Bidens policies, it’s wrong. And now he’s facing impeachment process. We are finally waking up to the nightmare that is the biden administration.
Most of Americans are for it.
As indicated by 2020, Americans prefer Biden over Trump.
Americans would prefer that Biden not be our President.
It is clear to us that there are worse choices.
Peter Robb:
Yes. Biden and the Democrats corrupt through and through.
This includes the faked=up Zero Net narrative.
Of course, the latter is also ruining Britain.
You are clairvoyant indeed to be able to know what the world will be like twenty years from now. Perhaps you don’t actually know? It is true that blade recycling currently deals with first generation wind generator materials, many of which are hard to recycle. However, technology and recycling improve and continue to improve. More and more components can and are going to be recycled. Fiberglass blades can be creatively used as structural elements in buildings and structures. They can now be ground up and added to concrete.
Your link should perhaps come with a bias warning. Texas Monthly is owned by oil billionaires, who as a group tend to like the profits they make from oil, and who will not be advocates for making the efforts that need to be made if we are going to survive on this planet.
“More and more components can and are going to be recycled.”
All recycling requires energy. Sometimes a LOT.
‘Recycling” is waved around like a magic wand.
Recycled materials cost less than mining new.
Should the Island stop recycling?
Bury all of our discards on Island.
Let them leach into the water table?
Stick to the topic, which is wind turbine blades.
Katherine– Since you seem to like the basics
of a topic, here is a simple example of
the value of recycling;
https://www.eia.gov/energyexplained/energy-and-the-environment/recycling-and-energy.php#:~:text=Recycling%20saves%20energy%20and%20other%20resources&text=For%20example%2C%20using%20recycled%20aluminum,material%20aluminum%20is%20made%20from.
In case you don’t bother to open it, recycling
aluminum uses about 5% of the energy required
to mine and refine bauxite.
Interestingly enough, aluminum is smelted
with electric anodes. All that excess power the
windfarms are generating off peak could be used
for that. It’s so efficient, the Coca Cola company
could drop the price of diet coke– and you know
who would like that. Or the exec’s at Coca Cola could
simply pocket the money and but a new jet.
I know some people on this site would like that .
Way to many numbers, this is about feelings.
Horrible depressing, a
blight on the landscape and a violation
of the sanctity of GAIA.
A pox on the misguided people who thought this was a good idea.
Worse than oil drilling rigs, and production platforms, pipe lines coming ashore, storage tanks, refineries, the beautiful dancing flare stacks?
Island power must be produced where we can’t see or smell it?
Not a pretty picture, for sure, but far less climate-damaging a choice than fossil fuels….what/which energy source(s) do you support ? Only solar and nuclear are considered “cleaner” options, and neither are consequence free….
Perhaps some day these turbines could be manufactured with reusable materials….
The matrials are as reusable as the materials from oil based power generators.
Some dont last twenty years.
The world’s largest offshore wind farm developer is preparing to walk away from US projects unless the Biden administration guarantees more support
Offshore wind farm are ‘uninvestable’
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2023-09-05/orsted-ready-to-abandon-wind-projects-as-it-calls-on-us-for-help?utm_source=website&utm_medium=share&utm_campaign=twitter&sref=6uww027M#xj4y7vzkg
So, I guess that means that “Sleepy Joe” will fork over more public money in subsidies in order to make Danish and other investors whole.
https://rhodeislandcurrent.com/2023/09/08/what-do-orsteds-financial-problems-mean-for-rhode-islands-stake-in-offshore-wind/
“The Danish wind giant said in an Aug. 29 announcement that it may write off $2.3 billion in its upcoming, third-quarter earnings. The warning, on the heels of the company’s $87.8 million second-quarter loss, comes as supply chain slowdowns and interest rate hikes hamper a trio of East Coast projects, including the Revolution Wind project that will power Rhode Island. At best, costs are going up and schedules are behind, with the Ocean Wind project planned for New Jersey, now delayed from 2025 to 2026, executives said.
“At worst, the company may abandon the project altogether.
“As we mature towards the final investment decision, if the walk-away scenario is the economical, rational decision for us, then this remains a real scenario for us as an alternative to actually taking the final investment decision,” Chief Executive Mads Nipper said on an Aug. 30 call with investors.”
I see . . .
Uh-oh . . .
“Orsted is hardly the first offshore wind developer to run into economic headwinds. In neighboring Massachusetts, two companies – SouthCoast Wind Energy LLC and Avangrid Renewables – have canceled their power supply agreements with utility companies, saying the existing payments are too low given increases in their expenses. . . .”
Energy Markets 101 (highly recommended video):
“Dr Anas, Oil Expert, Exposes Misinformation in Energy Markets With Data Driven Facts”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xD31cxbQcRQ
Katherine thank you for listing sources. I can’t be bothered and in some peoples mind the sources are corrupt. You are correct on this subject.
Well, I do wish that those with a serious interest in understanding the realities of the Green Energy industry WOULD read the sources and watch the relevant videos.
Most commenters here take up vertical space with what they think are clever retorts.
We understand your sources, we understand that Texas Monthly is a mouth piece for the Brown Energy Industry.
Most commenters here want a Green Energy Industry.
How clever is that.
What data set did you use to come to your determination?
Wishful thinking?
Experience in running companies and capital investment Hess. We know all about ROI and bankruptcy and subsidy. We haven’t sat on an island driving nails into wood. They won’t work without subsidy and the costs will be greater.
Engleman, yet again no data.
Just a giant gas flare.
I am willing to pay more for electricity that that doesn’t puke crap in the air, just like the clear majority of natural born Americans.
The windmills are coming.
A result of Democracy.
The Cons lost 2020.
Actually Hess the polls show that Americans naturally born or not won’t pay 20 dollars a month more in order to save the planet. As for data, one can find anything they want to forward their agenda.
Polls is data?
Americans are willing to pay $5 for gas.
Hess. This is an opinion site. My opinions are based upon empirical evidence and reading. I have visited 100 countries and lived in 11. If I told you there are two sexes you would ask for data. Puerile comments are not helpful.
“Rhode Island Energy, the state’s largest utility company, has decided not to move forward with a massive offshore wind project in Rhode Island, arguing that rising costs have made the deal too expensive for ratepayers and out of line with state law.”
https://www.wpri.com/target-12/ri-energy-rejects-plan-for-100mw-offshore-wind-project/
Wind will continue to expand at an exponential rate, all over the world.
It’s what our lungs want.
Government Offshore Wind Farm Auction Attracts Zero Bids
Wind farms don’t produce enough power to cover the cost of running/maintaining them. It has to be subsidized, with tax dollars.
Definition of a boondoggle.
https://www.bbc.com/news/business-66749344
The growth of wind is exponential, what will stop it?
Have you seen the growth of wind in China?
Have you seen the growth of wind technology in China?
40 year blades.
Coal plants don’t last that long.
See WSJ article 9/8 US Windfarm Revolution is Broken. You should stop watching CNN and reading NYT.
I watch them all, they all lie, it’s called American Exceptionalism.
If you want to be close to the truth read the professional journals. No advertisers to satisfy.
Don’t shoot the messenger.
The messenger is Rupert Murdoch, the foreigner who made Trump President.
Without Murdoch there would be no Ex President Trump.
Peter, you suggest that the “real” news source on this topic is the Wall Street Journal and suggest that CNN and NYT are not telling the story. The once venerated WSJ is now a Rupert Murdoch-owned rag that just like his other faux news outlets has been trolling renewable energy and lambasting efforts in green energy and electric vehicles since roughly forever.
Murdoch’s heavy-handed agenda is reflected in everything he touches. Hardly a secret!
Always follow the money and it is tax payer money. The smart people look at what the governments are willing to spend tax payer money on and then go into that business. Because the tax payer has a bottomless pit of money. The world has been coming to an end for thousands of years by people like the current climate evangelists. They will be gone at some point and a new crop with a different world is coming to an end agenda after your money. A thousand years from now there will be another fight similar to this one.
Bob– you make it sound like oil companies aren’t
subsidized with taxpayer money, even though they
make billions of dollars in profit every year.
You should follow your advice and start growing peanuts
https://www.taxpayer.net/agriculture/federal-peanut-subsidies/#:~:text=on%20a%20farm.,the%20most%20subsidized%20agricultural%20commodity.
Keller, oil companies can make good profits without subsidy. Wind and solar cannot. Our dumb government gives out money even when not needed.
Our dumb government gives out subsidies to oil companies money.
Do really need more brown goo?
Do you have a winter place near to a refinery?
Any significant energy facility?
Was it dumb for Trump to give subsidies to oil companies?
How much tax money is being spent on Vineyard Wind?
You tell me.
Thanks.
Is it too much?
That is not an answer.
You clog these comments threads with repeated vacuous unsupported assertions.
I provided a link to a graphs showing the levels of subsidies to energy sectors, and renewables have gotten the lion’s share in recent decades.
As well they should.
I’m not sure about the federal Tax credit but under Mass law they are entitled to $35 million.
Should all tax credits be eliminated, oil coal and nuclear included?
What about tax credits for putting up a manufacturing facility?
People will become extenct, nothing lasts for ever, ask the dinosaurs.
Just a comment about the carbon footprint associated
with the manufacturing of these things.
These pylons were made in Portugal, which has completely
phased out the use of coal since 2021.
So worry not, hand wringers, no coal was used to
manufacture the pylons. OK ? Can we move on about
that “issue” ?
So what was actually used to smelt and
form all that steel ?
Well, it turns out that at least some of the energy needed
to do that came from burning hydrogen. So where did the
hydrogen come from you may ask ? Thank you for asking.
Well, it turns out that there are so many windfarms off the
coast of Europe, that they have a significant amount of
surplus electricity during off peak hours. Since they don’t
seem to be ignorant about the problems associated with
climate change, they electrolyze sea water and produce
hydrogen with that surplus electricity. They also generate
oxygen as a by product.
Then they burn that hydrogen to make the pylons for
future wind mills. How about that ?
Here’s an article about the carbon footprint of wind power
as compared to any other method of producing electricity.
https://www.forbes.com/sites/christopherhelman/2021/04/28/how-green-is-wind-power-really-a-new-report-tallies-up-the-carbon-cost-of-renewables/?sh=41aec40673cd
note that it was written a few years ago, and includes
the burning of coal and the use of cement in their calculations.
Neither of which are present in this project.
GAIA will be pleased to find this out.
Of course GAIA would be much happier if ignorant boneheads
made sort of effort to reduce their energy usage.
Meanwhile in the real world, president Biden responded to Saudi Arabia and Russia extended oil production cuts by canceling 7 oil and gas leases in Alaska from 2017. Gas prices are up 60 cents a gallon this year.
“In any case, Vladimir Putin couldn’t care less about the caribou. Russia is drilling and using in the Arctic and using it as a shipping route to deliver oil to China. The Administration’s restrictions on US Arctic oil and gas development amount to unilateral energy disarmament…Yet his Administration’s relentless war in fossil fuels has left Americans more vulnerable to Mr. Putins tender mercies and dependent on China for green energy.” WSJ 9/8/23
Oh, speaking of Texas.
And of the need for MORE “fossil fuels” as more intermittent renewables are fed into the grid, the WSJ reports “The Lone Star State barely avoids blackouts, thanks to natural gas.”
https://www.wsj.com/articles/texas-energy-blackouts-ercot-solar-power-f3476ad9
“…Ercot says Texas set a new September record for peak demand on Wednesday, which follows 10 records this summer. Don’t blame a warming climate. The problem is that Texas’s booming population and economy have caused electricity demand to grow faster than the reliable supply—emphasis on the reliable. . . .
“Renewables at times can generate 40% of the state’s power.
“But neither solar nor wind provides reliable power around the clock. Solar predictably wanes during the late afternoon, and the state doesn’t have anywhere close to enough large-scale batteries to make up the shortfall. So as usual Texas on Wednesday leaned on natural-gas plants to ramp up, though this still wasn’t enough.
“The Legislature is asking voters in November to approve a special fund to issue low-interest loans and grants for building more backup power sources—namely, gas plants. So now ***Texas taxpayers are being asked to subsidize gas power to back up solar and wind that are heavily subsidized by U.S. taxpayers.***”
If one source of electricity is subsidized, the other ones must be as well. This doesn’t work for long.
Katherine–
It seems you are an intelligent articulative person
who can look things up. You even take the
time to be bothered to post something, unlike the
person who responded to you earlier on this thread.
But sometimes you comments rely too heavily
on opinion and not enough on facts.
Texas for instance.
I trust you remember When Texas had an unusual
winter weather event a few years ago–
the one that earned the Texas senator with a fetish
about people “kissing his ass” the nickname lyin, flyn’ Ted.
As Texas froze up, and people died, the conservatives
were very quick to blame frozen windmills for all the hardship.
Ezen going so far as to post fake and misleading pictures
of “frozen” windmills in Denmark and attributing them to Texas.
Bit, as we soon learned ( at least those who wanted to learn)
that Texas has in fact elected leaders who are so stupid
and so egotistical that they have their own electrical grid.
They literally couldn’t get any power from neighboring
states. Them’s so stupid and cheap they didn’t build the
infrastructure to protect their people.
But never mind about that… The real problem was that
them’s was so stoopid yet again, to not bother to
insulate their natural gas plants, and they froze up also.
Interestingly enough, the renewable energy sources were
back up and running long before the gas plants were.
And people who were fortunate enough to have fully
charged electric cars in their garages simply used the
car battery to run vital systems in their houses while
they were stuck at home– if they had thought to
install that capability or had solar panels on their roofs.
Don’t underestimate the power of all those batteries
in all those cars.
Not everyone in Texas is stupid, you know.
I won’t be bothered to verify any of this, of course.
But to the point…. You say “the state doesn’t have anywhere
close to enough large-scale batteries to make up the
shortfall. So as usual Texas on Wednesday leaned on
natural-gas plants to ramp up, though this still wasn’t enough”.
You’re right– you’re absolutely right– we need to have a
reasonable and reliable mix of sources to provide reliable
and affordable power. It includes gas, it includes, solar
wind and nuclear. We saw what happened to the price and
supply of natural gas to Europe when Russia invaded
Ukraine. Luckily for Europe, they had some alternatives
and they CONSERVED — something the conservatives should
think about.
But when the conservatives in their gas guzzling SUV’s and
oversized trucks where whining because the sleepy and
demented president of the U.S had single
handedly managed to nearly double the price of gas world
wide, my friend with his solar panels and electric car just
shook his head and laughed.
Plenty of liberals drive “gas guzzling SUV’s” Don. Look up the cost of gas on day one of Biden’s disastrous administration…Fact is most Americans cannot afford electric vehicles much less hybrid ones. (From what I’ve seen, only rich white liberals drive electric cars while pointing their bony fingers at the rest of us.)
Don, dear:
I don’t need you to inform me of my intelligence.
And, your reading skills are also deficient.
Don: You say “the state doesn’t have. . . ”
No, that was not me saying.
You write way too much and most of what you write is just your opinion.
It is a well established data point that the more intermittent energy is fed into the grid, the greater the requirement for conventional energy sources to maintain the baseload.
I suggest that you educate yourself on this topic instead of immediately grabbing your keyboard to type reams of column inches in which you generally talk down to others and act like a know-it-all:
https://www.e-education.psu.edu/eme807/node/667
Katherine– If just pointing out some of the actual
facts about an issue and informing someone that their
opinion does not match the reality of the situation,
then I am guilty as charged. And if some people
can’t handle the truth and call me a “know it all”
I can handle that. Seems that the dumber kids in my
schools had a problem with someone being smarter
than they were.
As for talking down to others, some people do that
and don’t even know it. like someone saying that
someone else should educate themselves before
commenting and giving their opinion.
Apparently a lot of people think if you are expressing
your opinion, facts and education don’t matter.
Like if a bunch of people are in this country legally,
that doesn’t stop some people from calling them
“Illegals” —that’s their ignorant opinion, and they are
entitled to it. Peter Robb thinks only rich white people
drive electric cars, and have “bony fingers” it’s his
opinion. He apparently doesn’t have a clue that
the Chevy Bolt retails for $27,495 BEFORE
any tax breaks or” incentives”
Most gas powered VW’s start at about $40 K
Even the Honda accord cost more than the Bolt.
As for my reading comprehension :
Yes, you are correct about the comment about Texas
and their battery capacities.
You were quoting someone– But if you post it…
So let me ask — do you think that Texas has enough
battery capacity ?
Wind saved Texas’s butt when their gas system froze up.
After the next hurricane we might find these for all free on our beaches. Could be next weekend.
There are lots of hurricanes in the Gulf of Mexico.
Are their oil drill rigs and production platforms on the beaches?
This is an incredibly complex issue. Science of offshore wind estimates it will be very effective and cut Co2 emissions on a grand scale. It is not without costs and one of them is fuel to power the very large vessels that will send technicians to repair and replace parts and this is estimated to be a massive generator of Co2 and the fuel is said to be dirty. See link below. Equivalent overall to approximately 250,000 to 350,000 motor vehicle exhausts overall. That is one problem. As some point out, recycling of blades is an issue. Millions of tons and all stacked up in waste heaps. Recycling is not possible. See link below. Also, electric rates already wicked bad in Massachusetts will skyrocket. Check out how much we pay now relative to all other states. We are at the top and Vineyard Wind has renegotiated their contract to increase it every year as needed. A blank check of sorts. Vineyard Wind is petitioning the US government to alter the Jones Act so they can bring in foreign, cheap labor. They promised us jobs. But in the end, offshore wind is predicted to cut Co2 down to near zero for the energy it produces. Of course, as others have mentioned, micro and small nuclear reactors beat it by a mile and it is coming. Blaces last 10 years. See link below. https://dukespace.lib.duke.edu/dspace/bitstream/handle/10161/24824/Offshore%20Wind%20Vessel%20Emissions%20-%20Final.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y
People who don’t want wind make predictions.
Old blades lasted 10 years, new blades will last 20+.
Cars used to last 60,000 miles, new cars last 250,000.
It’s been about a week since this headed out there.
They should be up by now. Could someone post a
picture of just how ugly it is ?
Katama is the closest point by the way.
Thanks..
Don, Don, Don, please, you just don’t understand, the windmills themselves are not ugly. It’s the concept, energy without brown goo.
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