Unsustainable cow manure
By Paul Driessen 21 Sep 2010

From http://townhall.com/columnists/PaulDriessen/2010/09/21/unsustainable_cow_manure/page/full/

Seek a sustainable future! Wind, solar and biofuels will ensure an eco-friendly, climate-protecting, planet-saving, sustainable inheritance for our children. Or so we are told by activists and politicians intent on enacting new renewable energy standards, mandates and subsidies during a lame duck session.

It may be useful to address some basic issues, before going further down the road to Renewable Utopia.
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If wind farms are so clean and green, why don’t they put them all in National Parks instead of devaluing private property?

They don’t generate reliable electricity anyway, but their noise may drive feral dogs and wild pigs out of their safe havens in the parks.

Viv Forbes, Rosevale, Qld, Australia

By Ray Evans and Tom Quirk

The story of how a combination of green missionaries and vested interests have distorted and crippled the Australian electricity industry.

Evans and Quirk conclude:

“By 2020 annual electricity consumption in eastern Australia is estimated from NEMMCO data to be 347 Twh. If renewables are to provide 20 per cent, and no new hydro is to be permitted, electricity production from wind farms (or other renewable sources) must provide 53 TWh. Ignoring for the moment the insuperable problem of unpredictability, and assuming a Load Factor of 25 per cent, this will require a total of 27,000 MW of windmill capacity. Every bit of coastline, every mountain ridge, and much else that can be secured for windmills will have to be pressed into service to meet this target.

“The capital cost of wind power is considered to be $2000 per kW, and so an extra 26,000 MW will cost $52 billion. And back-up will be required. So in addition to new coal plant required to provide an additional 60 TWh, back-up generation of at least 23,400 MW will be required. All of this will have to be paid for by the electricity consumer. These numbers could not appear in any Commonwealth budget; no government could justify that sort of expenditure.

“On top of all this we have system stability problems created by widely dispersed power sources, spread over tens of thousands of square kilometres; whose output can vary dramatically as the wind gusts and dies down; that are connected to the main grid by long, weak transmission lines—a system operator’s nightmare. Such a transmission network, weak and unreliable as it will be, will cost at least $30 billion.”

For the full article see:

http://www.quadrant.org.au/magazine/issue/2009/3/the-high-price-of-PC-power

The Carbon Sense Coalition has called for an end to all subsidies, mandated markets and sweetheart pricing for solar and wind energy.

The Chairman of “Carbon Sense”, Mr Viv Forbes, said that current energy policies were harming the existing power industry and robbing taxpayers and electricity consumers.

Forbes continued: “It’s time to end the mollycoddling of wind and solar energy toys before this stupidity does irreversible damage to Australia’s electricity supply and costs.

“The mindless green dream of producing serious base load power from whimsical breezes and intermittent sunbeams has caused a halt to new low-cost coal power, a boom in expensive gas power, a national debate about nuclear power and has had no effect at all on global climate.”

More:

• The Critical Problem for Wind & Solar – Low Energy Density
• U.K. Carbon reduction scheme explained
• What Happened at Cancun?
• Carbon Tax is Back
• Feedback from a Reader

Read here: http://carbon-sense.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/12/green-power-generates-red-ink.pdf [PDF, 86 KB]

To reduce the number of dead ducks found in oils sands tailings ponds, I propose Syncrude construct an array of wind turbines around the margins of the tailings ponds.

Ducks would be humanely shredded by green-friendly blades and fall to the Earth where they would form neat piles that could be retrieved using carbon neutral electric vehicles. The carcasses would have less contamination and could be served in the Syncrude cafeteria in building 41-B, thus reusing the carbon that would have been released into the atmosphere had the ducks been left to decay in the wild. Electricity from the wind turbines could be used to cook the birds.

Boats for duck recovery would become unnecessary, the ducks would not be coated in oil and Greenpeace could feel happy that the collection vehicles are recharged by power supplied by the bird shredders.

For the entertainment of “greens” all over the world, web cameras could watch in awe as the ducks fly into the collection area. This would reduce the need for smug, self-satisfied hypocrites to burn oil sand-derived fuel up to Fort McMurray to protest for the benefit of jet-set fuel-wasters such as David Suzuki, Al Gore and James Cameron.

I am all for alternative energy, but to rely on the wind, for cities, is just plain stupid. Not a single fossil fuel plant has been made obsolete by the present subsidized wind power. As long as hospitals expect 24-hour power, we will need proper power plants.

Richard Haley
Edmonton
Canada

First Published:

http://www.edmontonjournal.com/business/duck+death+proposal/3775063/story.html

The Carbon Sense Coalition said today that to introduce a carbon tax would be to wage war on consumers for the benefit of vested interests.

The Chairman of “Carbon Sense”, Mr Viv Forbes, also accused Australian PM Gillard of deceptive advertising in her support of a carbon tax.

“When our PM says “we need a price on carbon”, she is just sprouting another misleading Wongism like “we must reduce carbon pollution”.

“Most forms of carbon already have a price – coal, oil, gas, petrol, diesel, beef, bread, butter, diamonds and whiskey – all have a price (which usually includes a few taxes).

“What Ms Gillard wants, but dares not say, is another tax on our usage of many carbon products.

“Who wants a tax on carbon?”

Read the full article for more: http://carbon-sense.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/11/who-wants-carbon-tax.pdf [PDF, 105KB]

Also these topics are covered:

• Climate Fools Day
• Coal – Australia’s Industrial Heart
• A Few Facts about Wind Turbines

The Idle Wind

I have just been through the west of China on a Silk Road tour, and have seen thousands of wind turbines, with many not turning, and or lying on the ground.

Jock Allison
Dunedin
New Zealand

The Cost of the Idle Turbines

Some seem unable to grasp the fact that power stations have to be amortized whether they are running or not. The interest on the capital tied up must be included in the cost of power from the power stations that are running while the turbines are idle.

I wonder how many of them have driven east from San Francisco through the huge wind farms and noticed how many towers and turbines are lying on the ground, and thought about why they had not been repaired?

Anon.

Windmills and Electricity Supply

Allan Duffy (Press and Journal, August 26), makes a number of assertions and claims which invite challenge.

First, there are far more than a “small number of people” opposing “windfarm sites”.

Second, the cause of this opposition is about more than the potential impact on tourism.

And, finally, they will never generate “excess power” that can be sold to the national grid to enhance Scotland’s economy.

Much of the opposition to windmills relates to their inability to produce electricity when required, combined with their negligible impact on CO emissions because of the expensive associated need for “spinning” back-up from conventional CO-emitting generators.

In his time in Germany, Mr Duffy may have noted that, for all their thousands of windmills, the Germans have not shut down one conventional power station and, in fact, are having to build new coal-fired power stations to meet demand.

If he were to look at the NETA (New Electricity Trading Arrangements) website, he would see that, with all the windmills at present operating in the UK, wind contributes only about 0.1-2% of daily national demand.

Yes, renewable energy must be a component of our future energy mix, but unreliable and expensive windmills are not the answer.

G.M. Lindsay,
Whinfield Gardens,
Kinross, Scotland

Idle Windmills Enrich Some

Yet again, while travelling through the Glens of Foudland, I was struck by a distinct lack of movement by even one of the many wind turbines you drive past.

Another bad day in Scotland’s fight against global warming… sorry, I forgot for a moment that climate change seems to have been adopted as a more appropriate term now.

In the meantime, the landowners, renewable-energy companies – through massive subsidies – and overseas manufacturers of said turbines continue to get rich at the expense of the taxpayer. Strange times indeed.

Chris Davis,
Maryhill, Orton,
Fochabers, Scotland

Source: http://www.pressandjournal.co.uk/Article.aspx/1890438/

Mark Lawson

The Federal Government may have dumped (technically deferred) one nutty green scheme (emissions trading) but an equally nutty scheme remains in place – requiring electricity distributors to buy green electricity.

This scheme is nutty because no one has shown that green electricity supplied to an operating power network actually reduces emissions. The government, various green lobby groups and the mass of voters have simply assumed that it does. There are doubts about efficiency losses due to the whole network having to be retailored to accommodate renewables. And more doubts over just how much additional backup generator capacity will be required for intermittent power sources. These doubts are either ignored or dismissed as “myths”.

…

The Australian government has dived head-first into renewables with both eyes shut, and with the general approval of the voters, who mostly have no idea of what they have approved or how much it will cost. The government should drop the whole renewable energy scheme as too complicated and expensive and unlikely to save much carbon.

The full article: blowing-away-money.pdf [PDF: KB]

Mark Lawson is a senior journalist with The Australian Financial Review. He has written: “A Guide to Climate Change Lunacy – bad forecasting, terrible solutions”.
Connor Court – $29.95. http://www.connorcourt.com/ or book stores.

The Carbon Sense Coalition today claimed that government science bodies in Australia had become cowed and corrupted by politicians.

The Chairman of “Carbon Sense”, Mr Viv Forbes, said that following the lead of the climate alarmists infecting the government owned ABC, CSIRO, BOM and most state and federal science departments were now singing the government song on climate.

“It’s time to de-politicise the Australian government climate science industry.”

More items in this newsletter:

Skeptical books – the trickle becomes a flood

• Climate Change Lunacy
• Climate the Counter Consensus

The Good, the Bad, the Ugly and the Hilarious

• Wind Power Explodes
• The Great Wall of Queensland
• Environmental Extremism turns a Young Family’s Dream into a Nightmare
• CCNet – regular news on Climate Policy
• The Last Word

Read the full article: http://carbon-sense.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/07/science-corrupted.pdf [PDF, 50 KB]