Like the antiquated wind mills, the big wind generators are rather aesthetic even though the folks on snooty Cape Cod don't seem to fancy them. As we pressed west, huge flocks, or is it pods, have sprouted up from Iowa to Colorado. The power lines that emanate from the fields are by far more intrusive, but one would think there is probably no other way to move the juice around. Didn't the Star Trek dudes have some transposition mechanism? We are so like, out of it.
The way they are throwing the brutes up, it would seem they must be important, but the figures, the numbers, don't really imply an impressive contribution. It seems they are rated at 1.5 megawatts but only average 30% capacity. So while they are real clean, except for all the petroleum that is used to build them, along with various metals, including a batch of dragon metals from China, they are not a real big deal. They don't appear to scale up in the big scheme of things.
This one in Montana shattered in a gust. Fixing might be problematic, me thinks. California has some 20,000 wind generators and they do not equal one coal plant. Opps! Oh well, a nice try. My wind energy stocks are all down over 90%. What is the message there. Let's see, US total alternative electric source is some whopping 2% of total.
Then, I guess if we Americans would cut back our electric use by 50%, that is to the level of Europeans, then the contribution would mean a little more. Can't cut as it might alter our "life styles". We have a ways to go.
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