From Bloomberg:
Wind Turbines Taller Than the Statue of Liberty Are Falling Over
If I post a few pictures of tractors that have stopped working recently, will we all conclude that tractors as a group are not viable technology, or will we open our eyes, notice that most tractors work fine, and understand that they are useful?
The question is not whether you can find a few failures, because of course you can, no matter what technology you're looking at.
The important question is whether there are so many failures that the technology is not viable.
There are currently 71,000 wind turbines in the US. This article names three that have failed. Let's suppose that the article understates the problem by a factor of 30, and in fact, 100 have failed. Now put that in the context of the 70,900 that are still working just fine. That's a failure rate of 0.00141.
We shouldn't ignore failures, but we should act rationally, and do the math on the *rate of failure*. The same holds true for the more general EV question that started this thread. Yes, some EVs fail. However, the truth is that the overwhelming majority are reliable. Some EVs catch fire. However, the truth is that per mile travelled, there are more fires reported for ICE vehicles. Some EV repairs are very expensive, but the truth is that most EVs cost less over their lifetime to operate than their ICE counterparts. The truth emerges when you look at the big picture instead of focusing on a few cherry-picked stories.
Nobody has to take advantage of the opportunity to save money by operating an EV and powering it with renewable energy sources. I understand that many don't have the resources to give it a try yet, or are simply more cautious. I respect those personal decisions and the situations that drive them. However, as a person who is happily using this reliable technology every day, I occasionally have to point out that articles like this are designed to mislead you.