Wind power is costly, ineffective source of electricity

Wind contributes more every year to our energy mix, but still provides only 1% of our electricity — compared with 49% for coal, 22% for natural gas, 19% for nuclear and 7% for hydroelectric.

We can and should harness the wind, but 22% of our electricity by 2020 is far-fetched.

Wind power is expensive (even with subsidies), intermittent and unreliable. Many modern turbines are 400 feet tall and carry 130-foot, 7-ton, bird-slicing blades. They operate at only 20%-30% of rated efficiency — compared with 85% for coal, gas and nuclear plants — and provide little power during summer daytime hours, when air-conditioning demand is highest, but winds are at low ebb.

Using wind to replace all gas-fired power plants would require more than 300,000 1.5-MW turbines, covering Midwestern “wind belt” agricultural and wildlife acreage equivalent to the size of South Carolina.

Detroit Free Press