ForTehNguyen
02-18-10, 12:55
http://www.washingtontimes.com/weblogs/watercooler/2010/feb/01/wind-turbines-fail-minnesotas-cold-weather/
Wind turbines fail in Minnesota's cold weather
By Kerry Picket on Feb. 1, 2010 into Water Cooler
Ed Morrissey over at Hot Air has posted some amusing green-energy news from his home state of Minnesota. Apparently, the cold weather is causing the wind turbines in the state to malfunction. Ed writes:
"Minnesota invested itself in alternative energy sources years ago, and so the revelation that the state spent $3.3 million on eleven wind turbines hardly qualifies as news. However, the fact that they don’t work in cold weather does. KSTP reports that none of the wind turbines work, prompting the Twin Cities ABC affiliate to dub them 'no-spin zones.'"
It appears intermittent green-energy sources have yet to have what it takes to handle winter's cold season. In December 2008, a New York Times article appeared covering the failure of solar panels, wind turbines and bio-diesel fuels in harsh winter environments (bolding is mine):
"This time of year, wind turbine blades ice up, biodiesel congeals in tanks and solar panels produce less power because there is not as much sun. And perhaps most irritating to the people who own them, the panels become covered with snow, rendering them useless even in bright winter sunshine.
"So in regions where homeowners have long rolled their eyes at shoveling driveways, add another cold-weather chore: cleaning off the solar panels. 'At least I can get to them with a long pole and a squeegee,' said Alan Stankevitz, a homeowner in southeast Minnesota."
President Obama is telling Americans to count on the creation of "green jobs" to help ease the rising unemployment in the country. These green-energy failures only further the concern that pinning the country's economic salvation on the hopes of an industry still facing performance issues hardly makes any sense.
Spain found out the hard way that green jobs hardly helped their economic issues, as explained by Dr. Gabriel Calzada, an economics professor at Juan Carlos University in Madrid. Unfortunately, if the Obama administration refuses to see the green-jobs disaster in Spain, it is not likely the White House will notice the major drawbacks of intermittent energy sources such as wind and solar in Minnesota.
not the exact situation but you get the idea:
http://hittingmetalwithahammer.files.wordpress.com/2008/09/fail-owned-clean-energy-fail.jpg
Wind turbines fail in Minnesota's cold weather
By Kerry Picket on Feb. 1, 2010 into Water Cooler
Ed Morrissey over at Hot Air has posted some amusing green-energy news from his home state of Minnesota. Apparently, the cold weather is causing the wind turbines in the state to malfunction. Ed writes:
"Minnesota invested itself in alternative energy sources years ago, and so the revelation that the state spent $3.3 million on eleven wind turbines hardly qualifies as news. However, the fact that they don’t work in cold weather does. KSTP reports that none of the wind turbines work, prompting the Twin Cities ABC affiliate to dub them 'no-spin zones.'"
It appears intermittent green-energy sources have yet to have what it takes to handle winter's cold season. In December 2008, a New York Times article appeared covering the failure of solar panels, wind turbines and bio-diesel fuels in harsh winter environments (bolding is mine):
"This time of year, wind turbine blades ice up, biodiesel congeals in tanks and solar panels produce less power because there is not as much sun. And perhaps most irritating to the people who own them, the panels become covered with snow, rendering them useless even in bright winter sunshine.
"So in regions where homeowners have long rolled their eyes at shoveling driveways, add another cold-weather chore: cleaning off the solar panels. 'At least I can get to them with a long pole and a squeegee,' said Alan Stankevitz, a homeowner in southeast Minnesota."
President Obama is telling Americans to count on the creation of "green jobs" to help ease the rising unemployment in the country. These green-energy failures only further the concern that pinning the country's economic salvation on the hopes of an industry still facing performance issues hardly makes any sense.
Spain found out the hard way that green jobs hardly helped their economic issues, as explained by Dr. Gabriel Calzada, an economics professor at Juan Carlos University in Madrid. Unfortunately, if the Obama administration refuses to see the green-jobs disaster in Spain, it is not likely the White House will notice the major drawbacks of intermittent energy sources such as wind and solar in Minnesota.
not the exact situation but you get the idea:
http://hittingmetalwithahammer.files.wordpress.com/2008/09/fail-owned-clean-energy-fail.jpg