Renewable Energy Done Well

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Building a Wind Farm in the Right Place

The Horse Heaven Hills is not a good place to build wind farms; Tornado Alley is the optimal place for wind turbines in the United States (see figure below where average wind speeds exceed 6.5 m/s), pushing capacity-factor-a-measure-of-reliability to > 50%. It has made wind the second largest generator of electricity in Kansas, South Dakota and Iowa, where they actually displace coal power.

Spacing and Size

The Distance between wind turbines and their height make a big difference on how they impact the landscape. Placing them in close clusters on ridges may make economic sense and might provide greater efficiency but it destroys the natural environment. Any engineering project of this scale needs to carefully balance the different requirements.

This wind farm is located in the tulip fields of Holland. Notice how the spacing of the turbines is much farther apart than what we see in our area and they tend to blend in. Also, they are much smaller than the giants planned for the Horse Heaven Hills. They are located in a plain and not on ridges and hills where they are visible from afar.

Other Renewable Energies

Solar energy has become very competitive in price and might soon be cheaper than wind energy when the subsidies stop. Solar panels can be mounted on rooftops and are turning every roof into a miniature power plant. They blend in with residential housing- no need to destroy large stretches of ridges and hills with giant wind turbines.

This house in Pasco has rooftop solar panels and is connected to the grid. During the day it delivers excess energy into the grid. The owner says he expects his investment in the solar panels to be paid off in a few years and then make a profit.

The Desert Sunlight Solar Farm is a 550 megawatt photovoltaic power station approximately six miles north of Desert Center, California, in the Mojave Desert. It is a lot less visible and destructive of the environment than wind farms placed on hills and ridges.

According to EcoWatch, roughly 50% of California’s electricity demand was met by renewable energy. The federal Energy Information Administration (EIA) estimated that on March 11, between 11am and 2pm, forty percent of the electricity on the state’s grid came from solar. When other clean energy sources were factored in, clean accounted for 55% of the state’s total energy production. The abundant source of solar energy in California this last winter and spring drove wholesale energy prices to zero or negative at certain hours.