When I was a kidd we still used one of these old windmills as our primary water source on he farm. I can rememeber having to wait for the wind to blow to take a bath, and dad hauling water from town for the hogs. Renewable?, yes. Reliable?, not so much.
Paul Bachmann | 04.25.08 - 7:58 am | #

Thanks for the memories, PB. Wind power is nice, but inconsistent.

Cousin DadGum and I had a place with NO water for years. Hauling water was a regular chore. One learns that a shower isn't required as often as folks take them today.
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I've been told that part of the inefficiency of wind generation has to do with the physical plant. In a coal or gas fired generation plant, all repairs and maintenance are conducted in a single facility. Wind farms require the workers to drive all over the county, hauling their tools, to do the same work.

Someone else pointed out to me that a reliable electrical generation source must run continuously alongside a wind generation farm to even out the load. So you can't just set up a wind farm and expect to be able to shut down a coal or gas plant.

These goofy energy schemes aren't new and mostly stink on ice. If they were good, efficient ideas, we'd be using them already. Without laws and giver-mint subsidies to force or entice us to do so.
ptg | Homepage | 04.25.08 - 8:34 am | #