Wind doesn’t work: court decision

Weather-dependent wind power doesn’t stack up against other power sources and results in higher costs, uncertain supply, Judge says

Wind power: not in the public interest, a judge says [Photo: D. Larsen for WCO]
September 13, 2021

A decision rendered by the Minnesota Court of Appeals recently determined that a natural gas power plant would better serve the public interest than a simultaneously proposed wind and solar power project.

In her decision, Judge Louise Dovre Borkman relied on information from the state’s public utilities analyst coordinator, who said that “wind and solar capacity does not always translate into available energy because those resources are unpredictable and uncontrollable—the wind is not always blowing and the sun is not always shining.”

A critical factor in the decision was a statement in Minnesota Statute §216B.2422, subsection 4(3)  saying that due to the “intermittent nature of renewable energy facilities” there could be an impact on the cost of energy.

“In fact,” the Judge wrote, “as Minnesota Power illustrated in its EnergyForward , the output from those resources can ebb significantly even over the course of a single day.

“When that happens, or customer demand increases, Minnesota Power must increase output from more reliable resources, like coal or natural gas generators, or purchase power on the regional market.”

The Judge noted testimony from a consulting expert on energy who said that adding more wind instead of natural gas would leave the power company “doubly vulnerable to market pricing, both to sell surplus energy into the market when prices are low and to buy energy when prices are high.”

The final conclusion was that a “wind or solar alternative is not in the public interest” because the costs are higher.

The reasoning didn’t mention Ontario’s disastrous experience with wind power but it might have: two Auditors General said Ontario’s electricity customers had lost billions. And unlike Minnesota which appears to have approached this with care and consideration, there was never any cost-benefit analysis.

The City of Ottawa is about to make the same mistake, with its Energy Evolution plan, putting forward wind, solar and battery storage as the sole solutions to producing energy for the future.

 

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10 Comments

  • Richard Mann
    Posted September 13, 2021 1:47 pm 0Likes

    Wind turbines need to stop due to documented, ongoing, and cumulative health harm from infra sound.

    Please see the following talk,
    September 12, 2019. University of Waterloo.
    Mariana Alves-Pereira (Lisbon, Portugal). “Infrasound and Low Frequency Noise: Physics & Cells, History & Health”.
    Livestream:
    https://livestream.com/itmsstudio/events/8781285

    Despite repeated attempts to contact government, no one has responded to my requests.

  • Sommer
    Posted September 13, 2021 2:24 pm 0Likes

    People being harmed by industrial wind turbines have developed ‘learned helplessness’, which is a serious psychological state. They’ve stopped trying to seek help.The harm continues.This happened because every effort they made to report the harm, failed to result in their protection. The people they trusted as advocates, after more than 10 years now, have not figured out how to effectively protect them.
    The system was rigged by ‘regulatory capture’ in advance.The governments have protected the wind industry instead of the residents who were forced, against their will to have their homes surrounded by this harm.
    The regulations for audible noise were not adequate to protect residents in their homes. Noise trespasses onto their properties and people reported the harm, insisting that the regulations were not adequate. Instead of derating turbines, once they were finally deemed non- compliant by government agents, the wind industry was allowed to change the regulations so that derating was not enforced. The government did nothing.
    Even ‘advocates’ have failed to investigate how this happened.

    Is it any wonder that the City of Ottawa is planning to proceed with their ‘Energy Evolution’ plan?

    • Wind Concerns Ontario
      Posted September 13, 2021 4:31 pm 0Likes

      If you get to see a copy of the Energy Evolution document (OttawaWindConcerns.com has a link to it) take a moment to read who the “partners” are. A significant number are companies who stand to make money from this strategy. On the other hand, there was only one community group. The former CanWEA, now CanREA is there—surprise!
      Make no mistake: Ottawa is the tip of this, as Distributed Electricity Resources takes hold.

  • Shirley Dolan
    Posted September 13, 2021 8:10 pm 0Likes

    Finally, a sensible outcome to a realistic comparison of wind and solar versus natural gas. I find it unconscionable that the City of Ottawa is proceeding with their plan of wind, solar, and batteries while all of the people I have spoken to have never heard of the Energy Evolution plan. Why all the secrecy? Residents of the City of Ottawa need a frank and honest explanation of why the City is heading in this direction.

    • Wind Concerns Ontario
      Posted September 14, 2021 3:50 pm 0Likes

      As we understand it, the Energy Evolution plan was introduced to Council as a committee report, not as a major initiative with public engagement. To date, there has been no discussion of it and only one media commentator wrote about it (Randall Denley, Ottawa Citizen). Readers are invited to visit http://www.ottawawindconcerns.com for more discussion and a link to the actual report. A look at the list of “partners” is most informative.

  • Donna Ruth
    Posted September 14, 2021 9:39 am 0Likes

    Alas, what is not mentioned is the direct impact on long established farm communities where neighbour supported neighbour. This issue has led to mistrust and sad division in these communities. It created war on the peaceful and tranquil coexistence. Trendy, big city, feel-good, faux environmental polticks came to Ontario’s farmland. They added this green energy part of their campaign platforms to get elected, and used our money to import these noisy, bird-killing monstrosities with a short shelf life. And now they put up their feet and live off fat political pensions. They never gave a rats a** about green; it was smoke ‘n mirrors to get elected. So sad that people took the bait and voted them in – and rural Ontario bears the brunt. We are so frickin shallow and so easily taken in big campaigns and msm.

  • Maks Zupan
    Posted September 14, 2021 9:54 am 0Likes

    Feels good to hear a realistic opinion on on the wind and solar power utopia. We have to keep reminding the wind dreamers about these simple facts for a typical wind turbine:
    -cut in wind for the turbine; 18km/h
    -nominal wind: 45km/h
    – cut out wind : 70km/h.
    The year has 8760 hours and the nominal wind blows only about 100 hours. During the next 300 hours only marginally useful energy is produced.

    Simply observe the wind velocity for any whole day. You will find out that wind very rarely blows above 18 km/h.

    Last night, I had to endure another Trudeau promotion of wind energy. Will this guy ever grow up?

    • Sommer
      Posted September 17, 2021 2:47 pm 0Likes

      Canada’s current Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau was a member of the Young Global Leaders.
      This information is in the public domain.
      He is following the agenda of the World Economic Forum, under the leadership of Klaus Schwab.
      Canadians need to know the agenda that he is promoting for all Canadians.
      And yes, industrial wind turbines near Ottawa are directly the result of that agenda.

  • Sommer
    Posted September 15, 2021 8:06 am 0Likes

    Take a look at this article just published today:

    https://wattsupwiththat.com/2021/09/15/nature-wind-turbine-noise-issues/

    Why was my comment in response to Maks Zupan not published?

  • Stan Thayer
    Posted September 16, 2021 10:57 pm 0Likes

    Gee, a judge in Minnesota has concluded the obvious, she must be new!
    For anyone interested, the Power Workers have made many postings on this WCO site going back years with that same sentiment. A decade ago the Power Workers Union asked the Liberal government to stop all wind turbine projects until a cost-benefit analysis could be done,they ignored us then and they are ignoring us now. And we all know why.
    That posting is still on the PWU website.
    When Bob C was installed as minister of energy and then transportation his first task was to cancel the LRT contracts which everyone knew would cost the Ontario taxpayers greatly and it did. Look it up, 880 million plus expenses and about 12 years wait for the desired contractors to be sentenced and released from previous charges. Then the new bidding rules were enacted and away we go again but this time with friendlier, more lovable and giving contractors.
    The wind industry in Ontario is no different and I heard on the news that Bob was coming back to help get things going around Ottawa.
    Local radio show host Lowell Greene wrote about their adventures.
    Now, this latest manoeuvre might get some people thinking!
    The, “evolution of energy plan”, requires the Independent Electricity Systems Operator to purchase power, with ratepayer dollars, from the wind and solar generators to charge batteries that will be kept charged at a cost then said original paid for power will be sold back to the grid during peak demands and that cost also passed to the ratepayer.
    Ontario might see the most expensive kilowatts on the planet.
    Kudos to all the businesses that left Ontario after the Green Energy Act rate increases and now enjoy the same power supplied through the Ontario grid interties at a much lower rate elsewhere.
    2022 Ontario rates are projected to be between 22 and 32 cents depending on designation and location regardless of how it is generated.
    I/we, all understand that fossil fuels need to be replaced by something but Industrial Wind Turbines are such a waste of energy and natural resources and time with no hope of any improvement after the last 3 decades of trials and failure and what do we do with the mess of leftovers? Sheesh enough already!
    The dreams connected with these new evolution plans for the city of Ottawa have nothing realistic to do with electrical power any more than the multi million dollar solar installations at city hall and community housing units.
    Seems like Jimmy the one watt son has forgotten about that fiasco!

    Stan Thayer
    Red seal journeyman Power Worker

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