At the moment, I'm a little bit bummed. I'd been thinking of buying a dozen or so wind turbines to meet my future energy needs. But it gets cold in New Hampshire, and this article about Minnesota's misadventures suggests to me that my hopes will be dashed.
I've had another idea percolating around my mind for a little while, though. Does anyone sell a wood-powered steam-engine? Wood, I have in abundance. This might not be a GREEN solution, but it would certainly work in the winter, at night, during calm periods, in storms, and whenever else I absolutely gotta have alternative electricity. It could survive almost any crisis the world wants to throw at it . . . except maybe a plague of environmentalism.
the question is, outside of buying my own antique locomotive, where am I going to find one?
Wind turbines fail in Minnesota's cold weather
Kerry Picket
The Washington Times
Published on February 1, 2010
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."
Full article: http://www.washingtontimes.com/weblogs/watercooler/2010/feb/01/wind-turbines-fail-minnesotas-cold-weather/
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