tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8472211903033725545.post1090505907766561667..comments2024-01-12T12:52:08.097-07:00Comments on Billlls Idle Mind: Wind PowerBillllhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13913354887560267235noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8472211903033725545.post-22908867268229973262008-07-04T05:41:00.000-07:002008-07-04T05:41:00.000-07:00Actually, there are quite a few engineers (and mor...Actually, there are quite a few engineers (and more every day) working in the "alternative energy" field--so much so that portions of it, like wind, are becoming mainstream.<BR/><BR/>Engineers who would really like to know more about the details should consult the <A HREF="http://www.uwig.org" REL="nofollow">Utility Wind Integration Group (UWIG)</A> site. Click on "Operating Impacts Study" to learn more about how wind power is being successfully integrated with utility systems across the U.S. today.<BR/><BR/>Utilities are not buying wind, or crediting it, as a firm capacity resource (one that can be counted on to meet peak power demand). That being the case, there is no need to back it up--it is backed up by the overall system reserves that back up all generating plants. (The size of the reserves, by the way, is determined not by wind, but by the size of the single largest conventional plant--usually coal or nuclear--so that when that plant suffers an unexpected outage, other resources can take up the slack.)<BR/><BR/>Regards,<BR/>Thomas O. Gray<BR/>American Wind Energy Association<BR/><A HREF="http://www.powerofwind.org" REL="nofollow">www.powerofwind.org</A><BR/><A HREF="http://www.awea.org" REL="nofollow">www.awea.org</A><BR/><A HREF="http://www.20percentwind.org" REL="nofollow">www.20percentwind.org</A>Tom Grayhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14728522824855808421noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8472211903033725545.post-1732656986804520322008-07-03T23:20:00.000-07:002008-07-03T23:20:00.000-07:00You've also got to consider usage; it's not really...You've also got to consider usage; it's not really all that hard for someone who goes to bed early, doesn't watch much TV, etc. to keep overall usage down to what a turbine and a few solar panels can provide.KD5NRHhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04169457396389789270noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8472211903033725545.post-21335803399992239182008-07-03T16:30:00.000-07:002008-07-03T16:30:00.000-07:00I drove by that place while I worked in Colorado, ...I drove by that place while I worked in Colorado, about 1992. That windmill seemed to me to be more the Mother Earth News type of thing. What Sharon Astyk writes about on Casubon's Book - Peak Oil. The demise of utility electricity as the price to users escalates and denies service to the lowest income 2/3rds of the population. This guy in Colo. wants to have a potential source of occasional power, if (and when) the grid fails him.<BR/><BR/>There are people planning to live post-grid-failure. Some expect to revert to non-electric existence, others to partial service. Denver can certainly train a lot of Coloradans about living with brownouts and other partial-service training events.<BR/><BR/>In the 16 years the guy south of Castle Rock has been using his windmill, I imagine he has likely already paid for it - it went up at a time that there was no boutique market artificially boosting prices. Also no slick makers making windmills for government-subsidized big money projects. <BR/><BR/>And the wind blows fairly consistently, along the Front Range mountains there.Brad K.https://www.blogger.com/profile/18378344866487206569noreply@blogger.com