The answer happens to be blowing in the wind

In this economic crisis, the simplest solution is [probably] the best. I’m referring to a study done in Iowa about wind-powered energy. This study indicates that if we employ wind-generated power, our entire power grid will have to be updated.

That also happens to be our answer! Updating the nation’s power grid would require additional labor (jobs), both skilled and unskilled. It would cut our CO2 emissions and our dependence on outside oil sources. We could actually bail ourselves out! We could save our own homes, provide economic drive in the right direction, and power companies would still make a profit!

What is right in front of us is always the hardest to see.

— Michael Welch
Asheville

SHARE

Thanks for reading through to the end…

We share your inclination to get the whole story. For the past 25 years, Xpress has been committed to in-depth, balanced reporting about the greater Asheville area. We want everyone to have access to our stories. That’s a big part of why we've never charged for the paper or put up a paywall.

We’re pretty sure that you know journalism faces big challenges these days. Advertising no longer pays the whole cost. Media outlets around the country are asking their readers to chip in. Xpress needs help, too. We hope you’ll consider signing up to be a member of Xpress. For as little as $5 a month — the cost of a craft beer or kombucha — you can help keep local journalism strong. It only takes a moment.

About Webmaster
Mountain Xpress Webmaster Follow me @MXWebTeam

Before you comment

The comments section is here to provide a platform for civil dialogue on the issues we face together as a local community. Xpress is committed to offering this platform for all voices, but when the tone of the discussion gets nasty or strays off topic, we believe many people choose not to participate. Xpress editors are determined to moderate comments to ensure a constructive interchange is maintained. All comments judged not to be in keeping with the spirit of civil discourse will be removed and repeat violators will be banned. See here for our terms of service. Thank you for being part of this effort to promote respectful discussion.

4 thoughts on “The answer happens to be blowing in the wind

  1. nuvue

    I know wind Farms are very different, but I’m puttin in a Skystream in my yard very soon. It is a smaller grid connected generator.
    Would you want nuke waste or coal waste in your yard? Actually WNC already has lots of coal waste in the air, and people don’t seem to mind to much. We do like our power.

  2. dave

    from http://www.aweo.org/:

    “While the wind power industry tends to downplay its negative effects, many conservation groups
    call for careful siting and ongoing study to minimize them. There is debate, therefore, about the impacts but not about the benefits. Even the most cautious of advocates do not doubt, for example, that “every kilowatt-hour generated by wind is a kilowatt-hour not generated by a dirty fuel.”
    “That may be true for a small home turbine with substantial battery storage, but such a formula is, at best, overly simplistic for large turbines meant to supply the grid. The evidence from countries that already have a large proportion of wind power suggests that it has very little, if any, effect on the use of other sources. This is not surprising when one learns how the grid works: A rise in wind power most likely just causes a thermal plant to switch from generation to standby, in which mode it continues to burn fuel.”

  3. Roger Smith

    Michael Welch is right about updating the nation’s power grid at the same time he presents one option that relates to that aim–wind-generated power. The big consideration is updating the grid so that all the nation’s regions are connected. In this updated grid, any kind of electricity that is generated anywhere–whether it be wind-generated, clean-coal generated, nuclear power generated, etc.–would flow into the one and only national grid where it would not be wasted. Consider what Buckminster Fuller had to say about such a grid: “Boy! this would mean something because of all that standby power–that is, at off-peak times when 50 percent of the generating capacity is not being used. I found then that by integrating these networks…we could integrate night and day and ‘double’ the genrating capacity…immediately.” Fuller went on to explain that the utility companies have standby power which is always being generated at a loss–“a complete loss.” “But,” he stated, “the company discovered that if it hooked up its wires with the next town’s, where the peak loads occur at just a little different time of day or night, what had been a complete loss could go over there and become a profit. With interlinked networks, the loss could be turned to a profit.”

    I find it interesting and upsetting that the current President of the United States was governor of the one state that still refuses to integrate its grid with the rest of the nation.

    Roger Smith
    Asheville

Leave a Reply

To leave a reply you may Login with your Mountain Xpress account, connect socially or enter your name and e-mail. Your e-mail address will not be published. All fields are required.