JHC.. "Every single wind generator in existence is energy negative. " Insert extremely laughing emoji. Yeah. Sure and every single steam turbine in existence is energy negative, for a bit.
https://homerdixon.com/no-not-say-wind-energy-idiot-power/ https://fullfact.org/online/wind-turbines-energy/ No . . . I did not say wind energy is ‘Idiot Power’ A poster widely circulated on the Web highlights text that was purportedly written by me saying that wind power inevitably suffers an energetic deficit. The poster is fraudulent. I didn’t write the text, the text itself is selectively quoted, and the argument it makes, taken in isolation, is meaningless. The poster includes the following text over my name: “A two-megawatt windmill contains 260 tonnes of steel requiring 170 tonnes of coking coal and 300 tonnes of iron ore, all mined, transported and produced by hydrocarbons” “a windmill could spin until it falls apart and never generate as much energy as was invested in building it” This text is selectively excerpted from a chapter written by David Hughes in Carbon Shift (2009), a book I co-edited. Here’s the full text (the words omitted on the circulated poster are enclosed in square brackets): “[The concept of net energy must also be applied to renewable sources of energy, such as windmills and photovoltaics.] A two-megawatt windmill contains 260 tonnes of steel requiring 170 tonnes of coking coal and 300 tonnes of iron ore, all mined, transported and produced by hydrocarbons. [The question is: how long must a windmill generate energy before it creates more energy than it took to build it? At a good wind site, the energy payback day could be in three years or less; in a poor location, energy payback may be never. That is,] a windmill could spin until it falls apart and never generate as much energy as was invested in building it.” It’s worth noting that it would be pointless to put wind turbines in poor locations, and it’s trivial, or meaningless, to say that a turbine would never pay back its embedded energy in a poor location. So, 1) I didn’t write the text, 2) the text itself is selectively quoted, and 3) the argument it makes, taken in isolation, is meaningless. Three strikes.
As I said I don't care if certain areas cover themselves with wind turbines. Its easy to escape that. My trouble is trying to sit quietly while folks say things that are incorrect. Invariably someone will question my education. At that point I'm going to set them straight. If that leaves folks butthurt then so be it. Hopefully fusion will develop enough for wide use and save us from the folly of the masses.
I remember there was an "electrophysics" department at a polytechnic my cousin went to. It was connected to the "optronics" department but with a bit more magnetics, a two year certificate course. One of the electrophysics lads hospitalised himself in the lab. Not in a cool way with high voltage stuff though.. he held a screwdriver below the insulation and started to unscrew a live socket terminal. (I think he hit his head falling) It wasn't you was it?
@Snarkhund being a Trump humper can't just say like a man, actually totally wrong and uninformed on wind turbines, suckered by some viral propaganda. When wrong, leave and tomorrow they will let you be wrong again, the way of Trump.
Joel Engel@joelengel 22h22 hours ago Joel Engel Retweeted Jonathan Swan Oh, they'll be sorry when Greta Thunberg shows up. Wait, she's *not* going to China?https://twitter.com/jonathanvswan/status/1208755307305934854… Joel Engel added, Jonathan SwanVerified account@jonathanvswan Remember the stories about how China was serious about climate change? "China is set to add new coal-fired power plants equivalent to the EU’s entire capacity, as the world’s biggest energy consumer ignores global pressure to rein in carbon emissions..." https://www.ft.com/content/c1feee40-0add-11ea-b2d6-9bf4d1957a67… 43 replies 263 retweets 951 likes
Trump is funny as always, but it's hard to deny the facts he mentioned. Windmills kill too many birds and they are noisy. Nuclear energy is much more efficient and cleaner.