Wind Power Facts
Toolkit of Information


This page has some articles about industrial wind power. What makes them different, is that they aren’t written by lobbyists.

My name is John Droz, jr, and I’m a physicist who has also been an environmental activist for some 25 years. I’m a member of the Sierra Club, the Adirondack Council, the Association for the Protection of the Adirondacks, and the Resident’s Committee to Protect the Adirondacks, among others.
[Note 1: Wind energy is the more technically correct term, but since most citizens are more familiar with the phrase wind power, I will use the latter here.]
[Note 2: This is not a NIMBY issue for me, as no wind power projects are proposed for my community.]
[Note 3: “Industrial wind power” refers to large scale ventures designed to provide electrical power on a commercial basis. This is an entirely different product (for several technical reasons) from home or boat based wind power generators, which can sometimes make economic sense.]



The ONLY legitimate reason industrial wind power should exist today is for it to live up to its promoter’s assurances that it will meaningfully (and affordably) help reduce greenhouse gas emissions (e.g. CO2). However (since neither one of these conditions are being met), in almost all cases, wind power development is instead sold to a community based on the financial incentives offered by the developers.

This, of course, is a completely different and unrelated consideration. As the picture on the right shows, the only thing green in this whole matter is the substantial profit being made by the developers and their paid supporters. So begins a series of serious incongruities.

It is an unfortunate indictment of our society today that so many important decisions are primarily based on “what’s in it financially for me.” One obvious consequence of this shortsighted and selfish perspective is that we get what we deserve.

To those people who say wind power is good because it brings money to their community, then we would expect them to be leading the charge promoting other local economic developments that would also bring money to their community, like: a regional landfill, a chemical plant, a prison for terrorists, etc.


  
Green Energy

Courtesy of WindToons.
See their site for many other insightful representations.

I am STRONGLY in favor of reducing the pollutants of fossil fuel power facilities (like coal), and of aggressively investigating other good options for producing electricity. My main concern is that we should not be wasting time and money on illusionary solutions — like some of the alternatives being promoted by those with vested financial interests in them.
Whether an alternative/renewable is acceptable is a highly technical matter that should be decided on the basis of a comprehensive, independent, objective and transparent evaluation of three key conditions:
a) its technical performance, b) the economics of the power produced, and c) its FULL environmental impact.

All independent evidence to date indicates that industrial wind power fails on all three of these critical counts.

Now, does stating that fact make me “anti-green?” How absurd a conclusion that would be! No, it makes me “anti-illusion” or “pro-science.” And I fully support legitimate “renewables” like industrial geothermal.
As a bonus, a few selected documents written by other experts in the energy field are also referenced.



Articles of General Interest

1 - Wind Power - How We Got Here. This article explains some history of electrical power generation, and how wind power compares to our conventional electrical energy sources. This argument has nothing to do with visual impact, or any of the other common (and legitimately) cited faults of wind power. [Rev 11/8/08]

This (surprisingly) unique perspective is the basis for a PRESENTATION available to any open-minded organization (or community) that wants to see how wind power stacks up against our traditional power sources. There is a wealth of information on the 100+ slides, and it is now available online (Electrical Energy - Sound Scientific Solutions). Studying this puts a lot about wind energy into the proper perspective. [Hint: this is at an easy-to-remember link “EnergyPresentation . Info”, so pass it on to other open-minded people.]

The live version is still the best option as it includes full commentary, more interesting slides, a built in video, and an extensive Q&A afterwords. The live Presentation lasts about an hour, and goes quite a bit beyond what appears in the first essay, including (for instance) some of the key points from The Power of Energy (see next article). If you are interested in having this Presentation done in your area, please email me.

2 - The Power of Energy. This is an essay about how we got into this mess, and how to get out. It focuses on the deterioration of the ability of our society to do Critical Thinking. [Rev 10/2/08]

3 - The two driving causes behind wind power are Renewable Portfolio Standards (RPS) enacted in some 25 states (including NY), and Federal subsidies. Although the declared intent of these is to help with electrical energy issues, they both cause more problems than they solve. The War of the Worlds discusses the RPS and why it is so counterproductive. Unfortunately, a national RPS is now being considered. If it is structured anything like the states’ currently are, it will also be a very bad idea. [Rev 12/18/08]

4 - Some people believe that the situation is hopeless. Their opinion is that our federal and state representatives have gone so far away from the science that it will take years for them to get back to it. Although I can certainly see some basis for this skepticism, I’m an optimistic person by nature. As such I am proposing a solution that (if done properly) will fix the entire wind power matter: EEA. Please speak to your federal representatives abut this. [Rev 1/15/09]

5 - Safety In Numbers Can Be An Illusion answers the question “How can so many people can be wrong about wind power?” Alternatively phrased: how many environmentalists does it take to screw up our energy policies? [Rev 11/8/08]

6 - Getting Up To Speed on Wind Power (NY), and Getting Up To Speed on Wind Power (US).
There are two versions of this collection of articles: New York and US. [Note: the US version is for non-NYers and Canadians.] Both are a more detailed summary of the wind power issue, and are made up of five (or six for NY) sections:
  a) an overview of the wind power situation,
  b) the Executive Summary [covers two main points; this has been published in many newspapers],
  c) An Environmental Choice [this is addressed to conscientious, environmentally concerned citizens, and again focuses on just two points],
  d) Alicia [a powerful analogy of the Renewable Portfolio Standard (RPS) situation],
  e) a several page collection of references to some of the best wind power documents written, and
  f) in the NY version there is a discussion of the proposed Article X and its implications. [Rev 6/14/08]

7 - DOE + AWEA = DOA: a partial critique of the embarrassingly bad 2008 DOE (read AWEA) report about wind power in 2030. [Rev 11/8/08]

8 - Picking On Pickens: a commentary on the disingenuous and extraordinarily greedy pro-wind campaign of T. Boone Pickens. [A slightly earlier version of this was also published on the informative Science and Public Policy Institute (SPPI) site.] [Rev 10/2/08]

9 - Against The Wind is a wind power summary article that appeared in the Tenth Anniversary issue of Adirondack Explorer (July 2008).

10-Carteret (NC) Testimony was a written submission to the Carteret County Commissioners pertaining to a public hearing about a proposed wind power project in Bettie, NC (March 3rd, 2008). [Note: we own a beachhouse in Emerald Isle, NC, about 40 miles away.]

11-My NYSERDA remarks were the comments I made at a very important meeting held on December 12, 2007. The NYS Energy Research and Development Authority is the key state agency that is supposed to be providing objective energy information to citizens of New York. Instead it has become a shill for the wind power industry. [See #14 below for a later report.]

12-Jack: the analogy about my brother-in-law and wind power. [Rev 5/1/08]

13-Since wind power is the offspring of Global Warming, I have been asked to give my take as a scientist about Global Warming. This is it. [Rev 7/30/09]

14-Models of Illusion shows just how much our conclusions about Global Warming (and thus wind power) are influenced by a few computer programmers, and how inherently speculative computer models really are. [Rev 7/22/09]

Articles for Local Groups

See attached Hall of Fame list for NYS Towns that have enacted citizen oriented wind power legislation!

15-On 6/16/09 NYSERDA (the NYS energy agency that oversees wind energy) had a meeting where citizens were supposed to be able to ask any energy question they wanted, and there was going to be an impartial panel of experts to answer them. In anticipation of this, we surveyed a few thousand energy interested NYS citizens and created this 25 page document (PDF) of Questions. These are applicable to almost any group anywhere, so use it as a template of whatever is helpful. Of course the reality was that NYSERDA has so far answered very few of these pertinent questions. Here is a report of what went on in this important meeting. [Rev 6/21/09]

16-Anti-Wind Strategies: an analysis of what is probably the most effective anti-wind strategy for local groups opposing wind power. [Rev 11/5/08]

17-Some Legal Options: an explanation of six different legal solutions individuals and groups have for dealing with conflicted representatives. The emphasis here is on choices in New York, but similar alternatives exist elsewhere. [Rev 7/23/08]

18-Winning The War: is about using good psychology in dealing with confrontational associates. [Rev 11/1/07]

19-Avoiding Burnout: keep the troops in good health and spirits. [Rev 3/14/08]


Commentary: One refrain I periodically hear from some people (mostly pseudo-environmentalists) is that they believe that industrial wind power “should be part of our energy mix.”

Of course, when I ask them exactly WHY it should be, they don’t have any real answers. They just have some instinctive feeling that variety is good, or that doing something is better than doing nothing. Not necessarily!

Here’s an analogy. Let’s say that a college student comes into the doctor’s office complaining of miscellaneous health problems. The doctor asks about his diet. The student says it’s primarily McDonald’s hamburgers, Kentucky Fried Chicken dinners, and Dominos’ pizzas. The doctor says that the student needs more variety in his diet.

The student goes back to campus, and adds Twinkies to his fast-food dinners, saying it’s what the doctor ordered. That’s about how much sense adding industrial wind power to our grid system makes.

Indeed our energy source diet could be better! But making an improvement means: 1) really replacing some of the bad stuff, and 2) substituting something that is genuinely better.

Adding a source that has trivial value, and numerous liabilities, is not any type of legitimate solution. We’d categorize such proposals as Twinkie thinking.


A Few Selected Other Notable Articles

— Industrial Wind - A Bill Of Goods and WindBall by Jon Boone, and Problem With Wind by Eric Rosenbloom are superior overview explanations about why industrial wind power doesn’t make good sense.

— By FAR the number one reason for industrial wind power’s existence, is its promoters’ promise that it will meaningfully reduce CO2, a key global warming emission. So the important question is: just how helpful is it? The best independent scientific analysis to date is a 2007 National Academy of Sciences report (PDF). It concluded that under an optimistic scenario that wind power might be able to reduce CO2 level in the US by 1.8%. By 2020. This measly result shows just how inefficient and ineffective wind power is.

Two other superior analyses are: 1) "Cost and Quantity of Greenhouse Gas Emissions Avoided by Wind Generation" by Peter Lang, and 2) "Evaluation of Wind Power Avoided Emissions Benefits" by Tom Hewson. These papers expand on the fine work of James Oswald that demonstrates the high cost and low CO2 savings of industrial wind power. The bottom line is that there is no independent scientific evidence that says wind power does anything consequential — yet the US is literally on a path to spend TRILLIONS of dollars on it! This is sound public policy?

— Model Wind Ordinance 1 from Cherry Valley, NY (PDF), and Model Wind Ordinance 2 from Trempealeau County, Wisconsin (PDF) are excellent examples of thoughtful and sound local legislations dealing with wind power development. The people in Bethany, NY also did a superb analysis (PDF) of various considerations that should be written into a local ordinance. The town of Union (Wisc) also put together a superior wind ordinance as well as an excellent Setback Recommendations Report. Make SURE that you read this excellent report on how to properly handle Decommissioning costs.

— Model Sound Ordinance from two acoustical experts. For the full report see this. The larger file includes an excellent discussion about the impacts of noise from wind turbines.

— It’s almost humorous that wind promoters assert that having an industrial behemoth next door won’t affect the value of that person’s home. Check out this good presentation (PDF file) about the effects of wind energy developments on real estate values, written by an experienced Canadian real estate broker, and based on an analysis of 600 sales over a three year period. He gives wind energy too much credit, but his valuation conclusions (his true area of expertise) are worthwhile. Here is a Texas study (PDF) that comes to the same obvious conclusion, and likewise one from Illinois, and also one (PDF) from Wisconsin. This noise report has an excellent appendix that reports on several real estate studies. Here is a good critique of some of the “reports” put forth that contend that there is no property devaluation.

— Glenn Schleede is an energy expert who has weighed in on the financial nonsense of industrial wind power development. Two great examples are A Critical Evaluation of NYSERDA’s Plans (2007) and Wind Energy Economics in the State of NY.

— Master Resource is a good site for energy information. An example of the articles appearing there is one by Dr. Michael Trebilcock (a Law Professor at the University of Toronto, etc.) and his excellent testimony about a proposed Ontario RPS type legislation. He does a fine job of stating a case against industrial wind energy.

— There are several reports that have been published about the Dutch experience with wind power, and why it is not what it seems. This September 2009 study is a good summary. Another informative one is authored by Dr. Vic Mason, an energy expert: Wind Power in Denmark (version 12/08). Still another worthwhile one was written by J. A. Halkema (M.S.E.E.), also a Dutch energy expert, and is titled Wind Energy Facts and Fiction: A Half Truth is a Whole Lie.

— Jesse Ausubel is Director of the Program for the Human Environment, and is a Senior Research Associate at The Rockefeller University in NYC. He has written several comprehensive energy analyses. An example is Future Environment of the Energy Business.

— There are many good articles that have been published about Nuclear energy. Since there is a lot of misinformation around, it would be advisable to read at least two of these: The Case For Terrestrial Energy (Tucker) and Nuclear Risk in Perspective (PDF). The latter is by Dr. Bernard Cohen (professor emeritus of physics and of environmental and occupational health at the University of Pittsburgh). If you then want to go into a LOT more detail, then check out the site written by Jeremy Whitlock (a reactor physicist at the Chalk River Laboratories of Atomic Energy of Canada Ltd) Nuclear FAQ. A wealth of safety and other nuclear power information can be found here.

— Mini-nuclear solutions are now being aggressively developed by several companies. These hold great promise as they are safe, inexpensive, reliable, dispatchable, can be located almost anywhere (so transmission line cost and environmental destruction can be minimized), etc. Read these two good articles Energy Tribune and World Nuclear. Note that the primary limitations to implementation are not technical, but regulatory. Note also that if mini-nuclear gains approval, that industrial wind power would almost immediately be antiquated. As such, expect strong resistence to this legitimate solution by wind power lobbyists.

— The energy solutions proposed by Thomas Casten (and others) are very promising. His presentation about delivered efficiency is most enlightening. It is significant in that it is telling us that there are indeed legitimate ways that we can reduce CO2 emissions — MUCH more than with wind power: like TEN TIMES as much!

— On October 30, 2008, the NYS Attorney General announced new Code of Ethics rules for minimizing conflicts of interests with wind power developers and local officials making decisions of approving such developments. The main problem with these, is that they are voluntary. Although we would always like more, these new regulations are welcomed extra protections for citizens. Other states would be well advised to enact similar measures.

— Most reports of turbine related accidents and incidents don’t usually make it into the news. The fact is that there are a lot more of these than you might expect — which is another unaccounted cost of this energy “alternative.” Read this report for examples.

— I have not had the time to write about another abomination: the Cap and Trade idea, but numerous other qualified people have. Please refer to these two samples: an overview and a discussion as to why C&T is not the same as acid rain. They do an adequate job of describing the foolishness and some of the consequences.

This is just a tiny sample, and there are dozens of other outstanding articles in my Reference section of the Getting Up To Speed On Wind Power package (above).

There are also several excellent sites that have large collections of objective and scientifically supported material about industrial wind power. Two of the best are: National Wind Watch and Wind Action.


Commentary: To see how wind turbines might look in the Thousand Islands (an example of the extraordinarily scenic areas in upstate NY that developers are heavily targeting) see these simulations. Although no wind turbines are currently proposed for Boldt Castle, the point of these simulations is to not only give perspective as to the size of wind turbines compared to well-known structures, but to also demonstrate the visual impact they would have on world-class venues — many of which we often take for granted. Can this really be acceptable because of some financial incentives?

Chris Craft on the Saint Lawrence River     Boldt Castle Boathouse     Boldt Castle


Note: a special thanks to Dave Beaudoin who put these animations together from my photos.

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If there are any questions about these articles, or suggestions for improvements, please contact John (see below).

Note 1: If you would like to be on my email mailing list for occasional information on industrial wind power, send me an email saying so.
            If so, please tell me where you are located, as my email list is segregated by location.
Note 2: All documents are in the universal PDF format. To download the free Adobe Reader application go here.
Note 3: In all of my PDF documents, all links should be clickable.
Note 4: All of my documents are version dated. I will have the latest versions above, so periodically check to see if what you have is current.
Note 5: Permission is granted to post any of my articles on any constructive website. Proper credits should be given.


John Droz, jr.

8013 Winthrop Road
 Greig, NY 13345
 (315) 348-8428

Send an email to John



Rev 10/20/09