Wind Watch

Solar and wind aren’t real power sources, they’re intermittent fuel-savers #USA

As a recent week of winter weather illustrated, solar and wind don’t replace reliable power sources—they just save them fuel, usually at great expense. We’re bombarded with supposed examples of solar/wind rapidly and cheaply replacing fossil fuel power: rapid rises in solar/wind “capacity” or “generation”; solar/wind credited for supplying most of a day’s electricity; stats claiming solar/wind is now cheaper than fossil fuels. Advocates of solar and wind replacing fossil fuel power downplay the obvious, glaring problem that the grid . . .

https://www.wind-watch.org/documents/solar-and-wind-arent-real-power-sources-theyre-intermittent-fuel-savers/

Industrial Wind Energy Quote

“Three characteristics of wind energy — variability, uncertainty and asynchronism — can cause problems for maintaining a reliable and secure power system.” —Windtech International, April/May 2014

https://www.wind-watch.org/quotes.php?t=54

Aerodynamic Wind Turbine Emissions and Vestibulo-Cochlear Coupling: Impulsive Pressure Signatures and Their Health Relevance

Abstract: Wind turbine emissions are commonly interpreted within a classical acoustic framework, extending sound-based concepts into the infrasonic range. This study reframes wind turbine emissions as the result of discrete aerodynamic events rather than harmonic sound generation. Rotor-induced flow modulation produces temporally structured, non-harmonic pressure impulses whose periodic repetition yields spectral components without implying oscillatory behavior. These impulse-dominated signals form characteristic wind turbine emission signatures (WTES). Due to their temporal structure and low-frequency pressure gradients, WTES preferentially interact with the . . .

https://www.wind-watch.org/documents/aerodynamic-wind-turbine-emissions-and-vestibulo-cochlear-coupling-impulsive-pressure-signatures-and-their-health-relevance/

‘Death of Baseload’ and Similar Grid Tropes

Anyone who has spent any amount of time in or near people who are really interested in energy policies will have heard proclamations such as that ‘baseload is dead’ and the sorting of energy sources by parameters like their levelized cost of energy (LCoE) and merit order. Another thing that one may have noticed here is that this is also an area where debates and arguments can get pretty heated. The confusing thing is that depending on where you look, . . .

https://www.wind-watch.org/documents/death-of-baseload-and-similar-grid-tropes/

Cumulative hydrodynamic impacts of offshore wind farms on North Sea currents and surface temperatures #ENG #DEU #NLD

Abstract. Offshore wind farms are increasingly shaping coastal ocean dynamics, yet their cumulative physical impacts remain poorly quantified. Using decade-long, high-resolution simulations of the North Sea, we show that large-scale offshore wind development can reduce current velocities by up to 20% and reshape local tidal energy distributions. Wind and tidal wakes exert distinct but interacting influences on ocean physics: wind speed anomalies drive far-field hydrodynamic impacts, while structure-induced drag intensifies local turbulence and mixing. Turbine spacing emerges as a key . . .

https://www.wind-watch.org/documents/cumulative-hydrodynamic-impacts-of-offshore-wind-farms-on-north-sea-currents-and-surface-temperatures/

Industrial Wind Energy Quote

“Why pursue policies that will immiserate millions and have virtually no impact on the climate? Because, loaded as they are with subsidies for green energy, they offer virtually unlimited opportunities for self-enrichment to those who peddle them.” —Jonathan Lesser, “Hysteria and greed make for expensive energy policies that won’t save the planet”, N.Y. Post, July 27, 2022

https://www.wind-watch.org/quotes.php?t=9