Reply #135: Efficiency only matters when you are paying for the fuel [View All]

[txlibdem]

Dr. Greg/Kristopher, please kiss and make up. Together you could be an effective motivator to GET US OFF OF FOSSIL FUELS. But your continued bickering and personal animosity is getting in the way of moving forward. This serves the rich, the corporations, the forces of status quo, and the coal and oil industries. I don't understand why you two cannot come together against the TRUE enemies of our collective future, fossil fuels and corporate domination of politics and policy. Together we stand, divided we fall.

Now to my comment. I've heard so many people incorrectly lambasting the efficiency of solar and wind power. Why do I care about the efficiency when the "fuel" is free and is continuously replenished moment by moment. Efficiency comes into play when the fuel costs you money, or when you have to expend energy/do something to keep the fuel coming (such as a gas grill - it's cheap to run but you have to take the tank to have it filled or traded for another one at regular intervals). But when the fuel costs you nothing and there is nothing that you have to do in order to keep the sun shining or the wind blowing the argument of efficiency is moot and IMO misleading.

What IS important in wind turbines is how many kilowatt hours it will generate over the day (or week/month/year) as compared to the cost of purchasing and installing it. Add in the maintenance costs if the turbine has gears, fluids, and an active system to point the blades into the wind as well. These parts will wear out, require monitoring, or use energy/waste energy.

What IS important in solar panels is how many kilowatt hours it will generate each day, averaged over a day/month/year/season versus the cost of purchasing and having it installed.

There are serious problems with currently available small wind turbines for residential applications. They cost too much, do not start turning till the wind hits 8 to 10 mph (which means you will generate ZERO energy for 70% of the year). The manufacturers quote the rated power output in winds of 28 mph!!! In most parts of the country that means that 90% to 95% of the time you WILL NOT get anywhere near the rated output. This is wrong IMO. They should have a more realistic output rating and you shouldn't have to spend an hour to learn that the product will be nothing but a yard decoration unless a storm is coming through.

There are serious problems with utility scale wind turbines. New technology, however, is coming online now that will solve some of the problems. GE and Siemens are both coming out with wind turbines that have no gears and will therefore require far less maintenance, will be far more reliable. This is great news for the wind industry.

So, let's be realistic about the limitations and true output of our alternative energy projects but let's not get bogged down in technical aspects that, in the end, do not make a lot of difference when we're talking about wind or solar power.

And the comment about wind turbines heating up the atmosphere? Wow. I'm not even going to dignify that with a response.