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...

 

[orezok]

I see the wind turbines in the mountains in Western Maryland.
Uglier than a pimple faced geek in a beauty contest….
I wondered what happens if it’s real dry and one of those big doghouses catches fire? Could the wind blow sparks into

The solar panels certainly have their share of weather challenges, especially in cold climates, they make sense in the south & open southwest, but the windmills are awful. Ugly, a lot of moving parts and a lot of dead birds.

I see the wind turbines in the mountains in Western Maryland.
Uglier than a pimple faced geek in a beauty contest….
I wondered what happens if it’s real dry and one of those big doghouses catches fire? Could the wind blow sparks into a potentially dry forest and then we have a forest fire?

The solar panels certainly have their share of weather challenges, especially in cold climates, they make sense in the south & open southwest, but the windmills are

You should research before you post ridiculous statements about birds.

To put these numbers in perspective, wind turbines account for a very small fraction (less than 0.01%) of human-related bird deaths in the U.S.. Other major causes include:

• Outdoor Cats: 1.4 billion to 3.7 billion deaths.
• Building/Window Collisions: 365 million to 1 billion deaths.
• Vehicles: Approximately 214 million deaths.
• Fossil Fuel Power Plants: Estimated at 14.5 million deaths per year due to acid rain, habitat loss, and climate change

And as far as fire potential. Wind turbans OFF SHORE are the best solution for visibility and danger, but some idiot prefers dirty coal instead.