Interesting Internet Article...Wind Turbines and Cold Weather

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Martin Saffer Feb 8, 2010 9:19 pm	Interesting Internet Article...Wind Turbines and Cold Weather GreenBeat Minnesota’s frozen turbines raise new doubts about wind power February 8, 2010 \| Tom Slater \| Comments \| In Minnesota, the wind is blowing but turbines aren’t turning. The machines, bought used from California and installed last fall, are completely frozen in place. Even on the windiest days, the blades sit at a standstill, producing no power. Why should anyone care? The problem highlights some of the less intuitive challenges associated with wind power — long considered to be the most feasible and cost effective source of renewable energy. The likely culprit in Minnesota: frozen hydraulic fluid, unfit for the state’s brutally cold winters. As the temperature continues to drop, these fluids have started to thicken, turning into jelly. This is a big problem, considering how much the Midwest has spent on trying to become the U.S.’s wind power corridor. Wind power is already intermittent — the wind isn’t blowing at gale speeds all the time. But being knocked out of commission for an entire season? That could be a deal breaker. That is, unless the problem can be fixed. The turbines, each more than 100 feet tall in 11 Minnesota cities, were purchased for $3.3 million — but now even more must be sent to retrofit them for the cold. The first stab at the problem will be to fix heating devices to the turbines to keep the fluid at the right temperature. But this will rob power from the turbines, maybe even negating their usefulness. There’s also a chance this solution won’t work at all. As new sources of renewable energy are developed — like thin film and solar thermal, for example — more and more doubts about wind are coming to the fore. One of the biggest: the true meaning of energy “capacity.” When you say a turbine has a certain capacity, you’re saying it can produce that amount of energy when it is working under optimum conditions. But no turbine works at maximum capacity around the clock — the figure is misleading. In fact, many turbines operate far below capacity most of the time. So when journalists write about the 735-megawatt wind installation at Horse Hollow — they should note that the 47,000 acre wind farm will probably generate less than a 300-megawatt coal, natural gas or nuclear plant. Coal and nuclear operate at above 85 percent of capacity on average. Wind installations operate at about 33 percent of its capacity on average. Horse Hollow only produces about 245 megawatts on a routine basis — a lot, but not as much as advertised. Minnesota’s frozen wind turbines, each more than 20 years old, may be highlighting brand new concerns about over-reliance on wind as a renewable energy source — but even if it were summer and the blades were turning, there’s still a lot of room for improvement in this sector.
Linda gibb Feb 10, 2010 4:12 am	Re: Interesting Internet Article...Wind Turbines and Cold Weather Maybe the fact that those turbines are over 20 yrs. old might have something to do with the problem they are experiencing. Martin, I just read an article in our newspaper about a co. in Utah that is saving wind generated power under the salt flats where they have dug caverns. The article went on to say that the caverns then become big batteries. With all the caves around the WV/WA area that could happen there. It also said that wind turbines do Not operate all the time at full capacity & other times full time. This way they can harness & save the extra energy & release as needed.
normanalderman Feb 10, 2010 9:08 am	Re: Interesting Internet Article...Wind Turbines and Cold Weather Isn't it ironic that Highland County has planning and yet they approved the windmills? Is this some underhanded way to get windmills in Pocahontas County?
RML Feb 10, 2010 10:03 am	Re: Interesting Internet Article...Wind Turbines and Cold Weather Linda points out a major problem with wind power -- the wind doesn't blow when and where you need the electricity. Around here, industrial wind turbines produce less than a quarter of their rated capacity. In order to store wind energy, two power plants (in Germany and Alabama) use it to compress air that is pumped into mined-out salt domes. The compressed air is then used to run turbines and generate electricity when needed. These empty salt domes are like huge underground propane tanks. They are the size of dozens of Superdomes and have millions of times the storage capacity of all of our local caves combined. Also, they are man-made and completely sealed tight. Our caves have cracks and leaks everywhere which makes them useless for energy storage. The inability to store electricity is one of the things that makes industrial wind power impractical. For example, the newest electric cars on the market use almost 1,000 pounds of batteries to store the same energy as can be produced by 20 pounds of gasoline. Getting our electricity from the wind sounds like a great idea until you look at all the difficulties. That's why the wind industry is getting such huge taxpayer and ratepayer subsidies. Rich Laska
Linda gibb Feb 13, 2010 3:02 am	Re: Interesting Internet Article...Wind Turbines and Cold Weather Thanks for the info Rich. I never gave that a thought about the energy leaking out through the cracks & crevices. Norman I don't think you have to worry abvout wind turbines coming to PC. I don't think they are wanted there. Perhaps the folks in Highland Co. didn't oppose the wind turbines. Myself, I think they're kind of neat. Drove out of my way one time to see those near Mt. Storm. They could be a tourist attraction.

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