Gone With The Wind

                                    

In the past, when I’ve pointed out the problem of an overly optimistic reliance on intermittent power resources like wind, some of you have suggested that I’m bashing wind power.

I’m not.

I support wind and other renewables, and I’ve said many times that we’re going to need all of our available domestic energy resources to help meet our nation’s growing energy demands. But for those who think wind or solar can replace coal and other fuels used to meet base load power demand, I think it’s worth pointing out what happened this week in Texas.

If you haven’t heard, part of the electricity grid in Texas had to cut power to some offices and factories on Wednesday when there simply wasn’t enough of a breeze to for the wind turbines to generate energy.

As the Wall Street Journal writes: “the state is coming to grips with one of wind power’s biggest problems: the power flows only when the wind blows.”

As we have noted before, wind power is great, but it can perform only when conditions are just right. That's why it can help out at times but cannot be relied upon for 24/7 power. Coal is different – it can be used to generate electricity regardless of whether there is enough wind.

So the lesson to be learned is that this isn’t a choice between coal (and other traditional energy resources) or renewables (wind and solar) – it is a matter of using both.

                               

Comments

[Luke Hamilton]

I still think that with both wind, solar and hydroelectric we can easily meet Americas growing energy demands. Thinking big: A 24 square mile solar farm in new mexico, arizona or Nevada would provide enough energy to power the entire United States.

Hmmmm? Besides the initial environmental problems associated with 24 square miles of desert construction, solar sounds like a viable alternative to me. :)