You’d think the first requirement for a source of energy that’s going to replace coal, oil, or natural gas would be that the new source of energy could actually keep the lights on. However, when it comes to wind power, no one seems to worry about such petty concerns. Yet, the reality is that unless there’s a miraculous improvement in our technology, wind is NEVER going to shoulder a significant part of the energy burden in this country no matter how much money we waste on it.
You can see that simply by looking at the UK’s experience with it.
A new analysis of wind energy supplied to the UK National Grid in recent years has shown that wind farms produce significantly less electricity than had been thought, and that they cause more problems for the Grid than had been believe.
…In general, then, one should assume that a wind farm will generate no more than 25 per cent of maximum capacity over time (and indeed this seems set to get worse as new super-large turbines come into service). Even over a year this will be up or down by a few per cent, making planning more difficult.
It gets worse, too, as wind power frequently drops to almost nothing. It tends to do this quite often just when demand is at its early-evening peak.
