Thoughts on mega wind and solar projects

[jyoutz]

Here's a new and unanticipated benefit of wind & solar farms: When and if a tornado does thru, not only will you be out of power, but the flying glass chards, metal stands, tower parts, batteries, and the rest of the junk will be tearing apart any and all structures in the area of the path. Take a look at what happened to western Michigan a few weeks ago. Survivors are still spitting out solar parts. There might be enough parts to collect to jury-rig a temporary home 'generator' !

That argument is beyond ridiculous. Tornados tear up any source of power generation. In 2012 a tornado tore up a natural gas generating station in my state and caused a massive fireball.

 

[Hay Dude]

That argument is beyond ridiculous. Tornados tear up any source of power generation. In 2012 a tornado tore up a natural gas generating station in my state and caused a massive fireball.

Not ridiculous.
My guess is a Nuclear or gas power plant would fare better in a tornado than a field of flimsy solar panels or a bunch of giant yard spinners. If it were damaged, it would be more easily brought back on line.

 

[jyoutz]

Not ridiculous.
My guess is a Nuclear or gas power plant would fare better in a tornado than a field of flimsy solar panels or a bunch of giant yard spinners. If it were damaged, it would be more easily brought back on line.

We were out of power for 8 days after the gas plant was destroyed until they brought in and installed new turbines. I’ll let someone familiar with solar panel installation chime in on the replacement time frame. And nuclear really doesn’t play into the discussion because no power companies are funding new construction of those nowadays.

 

[Hay Dude]

We were out of power for 8 days after the gas plant was destroyed until they brought in and installed new turbines. I’ll let someone familiar with solar panel installation chime in on the replacement time frame. And nuclear really doesn’t play into the discussion because no power companies are funding new construction of those nowadays.

Wrong again:

Yes, new nuclear plants are currently being built in the USA, including the Natrium Advanced Reactor in Wyoming and Units 3 & 4 at Plant Vogtle in Georgia. These projects are part of a broader effort to expand nuclear energy capacity to meet future electricity demands and reduce carbon emissions.
clearpath.org bechtel.com

 

[zzvyb6]

What I never see is a discussion about how both of these devices capture energy from the sun that was headed to the ground, then transmit it to another location possibly quite far away. There it will be disbursed as heat, friction, and exchange from motion. The amount of energy transferred is quite large.
It should be apparent that this amounts to a transfer of entropy from one location to another, so the weather changes resulting from this can't be ignored or trivialized. Move your furnace to another building and tell me you're still comfortable. Buy overseas stuff and see if local industry stays in business. No input, no output, no accumulation...