My question is: how much concrete does it take to pour the foundation one of those things? Concrete is hauled in by diesel trucks. I wonder how long it takes for a wind turbine to break even on emissions?
It isn't like other forms of power plants don't use concrete or have carbon costs to their construction or extraction and transportation of fuel. Break-even compared to what?
cow burps are worse problem. methane is longer term and bigger problem that is not discussed nearly enough. custom food and even genetic engineering is working on it though. Dairies, etc need much tighter controls on methane production from settling ponds used to treat cow manure Numbers below are reflective of accepted data. 12 - 15% of total global warmign from livestock production' 40 - 50% of global methane emissions from livestock production it can't cost that much to add just a small amount of seaweed to feed attack methane as it is lowest hanging fruit, tighten up wellfield methane leaks and livestock production and cut total greenhouse emissions by 20% +/- Cow burps are a major contributor to climate change — can scientists change that? | PBS News Weekend Livestock production—primarily cows—produce 14.5 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions. The majority of that is in the form of methane, a potent greenhouse gas that is a natural byproduct of how some livestock process food. But as Christopher Booker reports, scientists are hoping that small tweaks in what cows eat can dramatically reduce a big source of climate emissions. .................. Globally, cows and other livestock animals are responsible for about 40 percent of methane emissions – a potent greenhouse gas. In digesting their high fiber diet, cows emit methane as a byproduct, making them one of the least climate friendly sources of food on the planet. ........................ Kebreab's research has shown that it doesn't take a lot to dramatically alter the amount of methane burped out. In a study that was published last year, his lab found that adding just 3 ounces of seaweed each day reduced methane emissions by 82 percent.
Break even on clean energy vs. the dirty energy it took to create it. It wasn’t a criticism of wind, or any other clean energy form, I was just wondering.
I think wind energy does fairly well as far as electricity generated vs. environmental problems created, as long as the windmill doesn't get struck by lightning. Wind is also one of the cheapest forms of electricity generation, for land-based wind turbines.
Here is an interesting article on how wind farms operate. Electricity companies buy electricity on the grid from the cheapest supplier, which is usually wind power (but not always). I was surprised to find out that sometimes, another power source is cheaper, so they "park" the wind turbines if the power company does not want to buy from them. Seems kinda strange to have a set of windmills perfectly capable of generating power using the wind, and not want to use that power. Scrub Hub: Passing a wind farm, I see some turbines spinning and others motionless. Why? (yahoo.com) We may be under-taxing fossil fuels if they can compete with wind farms on a cost basis, unless there are really unusual circumstances. I would think the goal would be to have wind "always on" if the wind speed is not too high or low. I think I read that wind power generates electricity at something around $0.03-0.04/kW-h.
Listening to Henry Grabar. Great metaphor on the inadequacy of our infrastructure built for a different time of rain and flooding, and wholly inadequate for what we have coming up now on a regular basis. He said that you don't put airbags in the car to protect the driver from getting hit by a train. Said that our existing flood water infrastructure is roughly equivalent to that inadequacy, with a train coming
Listening to this interview further, I am already imagining the next war on science, which may be bipartisan. Apparently the Biden administration has directed that the FEMA 100-year flood pain maps be updated. Everyone knows they're wrong. They are based upon historical patterns which no longer can be dependent upon, with rainfall added to coastal flooding and River flooding. But cities, starting with New York City, are already starting to resist. The updated maps will require mandatory flood insurance for federally insured mortgages in far more neighborhoods, and may also violate certain development standards. So it looks like there will be a battle to maintain the fiction that we're not going to flood in neighborhoods where we clearly are.
Offshore wind turbine construction may be responsible for a spate of large whale deaths off the east coast. One of the whales involved, the right whale, is nearly extinct. Dead whales and tough economics bedevil Biden's massive wind energy push (yahoo.com)
On the other hand. Want to save the whales? Build wind turbines | Editorial There is zero evidence that any pre-construction activity on offshore wind turbines has caused harm to the humpbacks that migrate to our coastline. Such suspicion began as earnest concern for these magnificent creatures, but it has since been hijacked by political demagogues who oppose wind energy and want to shut down construction. And here’s what we’ve known for decades: Climate change has had devastating impact on ocean waters, altering the ecosystem and ultimately causing changes in the behavior of whales – all because we have converted this planet into a cosmic hothouse. And since they feed, play, mate, nurse, and socialize near our coastline, whales are also at great risk from ship strikes.
Texas had some difficulty with the recent heat wave: spot electricity prices increased 6,000% to $4.75/kW-h from $0.075. Obviously, the entire electricity bill will not go up this much, but I would be curious to find out from Texas residents what price they pay for electricity in August. Texas Power Prices Surge 6,000% as Grid Calls for Conservation My friend in Germany told me that prices there are up to $0.61/kW-h (back in June).
It takes 800-2500 tons of concrete (about 35-110 truckloads), 900 tons of steel, and 45 tons of plastic, depending on the size of turbine and requirements of the land. The footings can be 9 feet thick and 60 feet in diameter. I think the two websites below are from opposite sides of the political aisle, so one is giving a best-case scenario, and the other a worst-case scenario. Cutting the Concrete | Wind Systems Magazine If You Want ‘Renewable Energy,’ Get Ready to Dig - Net Zero Watch
The carbon cost through the entire manufacturing and operational supply chain of each energy alternatives would blow people’s minds. “Good news: amortizing the carbon cost over the decades-long lifespan of the equipment, Bernstein determined that wind power has a carbon footprint 99% less than coal-fired power plants, 98% less than natural gas, and a surprise 75% less than solar. More specifically, they figure that wind turbines average just 11 grams of CO2 emission per kilowatthour of electricity generated. That compares with 44 g/kwh for solar, 450 g for natural gas, and a whopping 1,000 g for coal.” https://www.forbes.com/sites/christ...tallies-up-the-carbon-cost-of-renewables/amp/
Interesting fact about wind turbines: while they do occasionally kill birds, they are not a major threat to birds. The top five killers of birds are: 1) cats 2) collisions with cars 3) collisions with buildings 4) poisons 5) electrical wires Pollution, including that from burning oil, coal, and gas is also a threat to birds. There is research that suggests that painting one of the turbine blades black will discourage birds from flying too close to turbines. PhD student ruffles feathers after debunking common misconception about wind turbines: ‘There’s been promising research’
