Items of interest:

1-And the US is building windmills? What is the computer going to be used for?  Solar panels? Windmills?  Butterfly Power?  Hardly.  As the China Daily reports, their new computer “has begun trial use among target clients including….the National Offshore Oil Corporation data center.” They’re going to use it to look for offshore oil.  Something the Obama Administration won’t let us do.

Obama Administration’s Energy Policies Do Not Compute, But China’s New Supercomputer Does. – Institute for Energy Research

2-In this race for your tax dollars, the tortoise loses to the harebrained.

Desert tortoise gets fast-tracked to the curb – Watts Up With That

3-“Often science seems narrow-minded because it is narrow-fielded and can appear stupid when it ignores things which are obvious from a broader perspective. The Society for Wind Vigilance gathers professionals from many disciplines and so stands to benefit from their collective strength.”

Report from the International Symposium on Health and Wind Turbines – Wind Concerns Ontario

4-Did I mention the US is building windmills? “The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) is interested in developing energy cooperation with Russia, including in the nuclear sector, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Saturday.”

ASEAN interested in energy cooperation with Russia – minister – Ria Novosti

… darn … almost forgot … (ASEAN) sees Russia as a “factor of stability and steady development” in the Asia Pacific region.

5-Last spring all the skids were greased for a publicly funded $91 million “specialized vessel for installing offshore wind farms,“

EDITORIAL ; Patrick’s ship of fools – IStockAnalyst

Items of interest:

1-Opponents of nuclear powered suffered a setback in Berlin on Thursday as the federal parliament approved legislation that would effectively repeal Germany’s planned withdrawal from atomic power.

A Green Light for Atomic Power – German Parliament Extends Nuclear Plant Lifespans – Der Spiegel

2-Hussssshhhhh Money – “For a small district council who, especially now, does not have large sums to spend without strings attached, this could make a significant difference to the way in which they approach these applications,” said one source familiar with the discussions.  “This is money councillors will be able to spend on their own projects. The idea is that it gives them an incentive to say yes.”

Cash incentives for councils that sign up for new wind farms – The Independent

3-“But when you talk about destruction, don’t you know that you can count me out.” J. Lennon

Mineral County Commissioners have more questions for U.S. Wind Force – News Tribune

4-Number 4 in a series by Kent Hawkins:

Peeling Away the Onion of Denmark Wind (Part IV – CO2 Emissions) – MasterResource

In case you missed,  here’s 1, 2 and 3:

Peeling Away the Onion of Denmark Wind (Part I)

Peeling Away the Onion of Denmark Wind (Part II – Details of Exports and Imports)

Peeling Away the Onion of Denmark Wind (Part III – Wind Electricity Used in Denmark)

5-“It seems prudent to study the health impacts of these turbines before there are even more and before they get closer to larger populations.”

EDITORIAL: Studying health effects of wind farms is wise move – iStockAnalyst

Items of interest:

1-“… overall, subsidies for wind and other renewable electricity sources are more than 10 times higher per unit energy output than coal, which provides nearly half the nation’s electricity, and natural gas and nuclear power, which provide most of the rest.”

Ethanol + Wind Power = #Fail – Competitive Enterprise Institute

2-And while the Russians are building pipelines and nuclear plants, our Department of Energy invests $3,000,000.00 in … an airborne wind turbine wing some 800 feet in the air like a kite tied to the ground. C’mon … I’m begging you!

Innovations to boost airborne energy have wind at their back – MSNBC

3-Kent Hawkins continues, at MasterResource:

Peeling Away the Onion of Denmark Wind (Part I)

Peeling Away the Onion of Denmark Wind (Part II – Details of Exports and Imports)

Peeling Away the Onion of Denmark Wind (Part III – Wind Electricity Used in Denmark)

4-Remember this Item from October 24th? – ”It will be read as a vote of confidence or a vote of no confidence for the industry,” Hennessy said of the pending stock sale.  (I’ll read it as reflecting the confidence investors have that elected officials will continue to support this ridiculous technology with continued mandates and tax subsidies.)

Seeking growth, First Wind readies to go public – The Kennebec Journal

Well guess what? – perhaps it is, in fact, “a vote of no confidence for the industry!“

First Wind cuts forecast on proceeds from IPO – Boston Globe

5-Our friends in Ontario are to be taken seriously … upwards of 1,000 people turned out last night—in the rain—to protest a proposed wind farm in Centre Wellington Township.

Liberals must listen, says Arnott after wind farm protest – Wind Concerns Ontario

6-And how are things going in the UK? – More than 230 separate local campaign groups against wind farms are operating across the UK, from Scotland and Kent to Norfolk, Yorkshire and Cornwall. These groups are scoring striking successes in defeating planned wind farms – even when faced with the weight of official recommendations.

Power Failure: UK’s Wind Farm Plans In Disarray – Guardian

Items of interest:

1-If I hadn’t read Jon Boone’s work, I would have thought this excellent progress.  Now I simply see it as trying to crystal ball the incredibly volatile wind to portray it will actually generate something other than tax subsidies for the developers.

“The Austrian Science Fund FWF, the main funder of the new research, wants to develop optimized approaches to estimating the amount of renewable power that authorities will be able to rely on in the near future.”  HUH???

New Method for Estimating the Power Output of Wind Farms – Softpedia

This, however, is the forecasting reality for industrial wind!

With high winds on the way, Michigan Thumb wind farm could stop spinning – Mlive

2-Things are cooking in Ontario:

Massive protest greets wind turbine developers – Wind Concerns Ontario

Change is blowing in Ontario wind – LFPress

Report from the Fergus Protest – Wind Concerns Ontario

3-“The future of a wind turbine firm which received £2.4million of Government funding is in doubt – along with 100 jobs – after the company announced financial difficulties.”

Jobs under threat at wind turbine firm – STV

4-“Vestas, the world’s largest wind turbine maker, has announced plans to cut 3,000 jobs because of weak demand, around 15% of its global workforce.”

Wind turbine giant Vestas cuts 3,000 jobs – BBC

5-American Spectator takes on the Weekly Standard – Still think this “green” debate is politically driven?

The Weekly Standard Goes Green – American Spectator

Items of interest:

1-And while we focus on building windmills, we watch Russia build an energy web of nuclear, natural gas and oil.  A quick look at the headlines of the past few days:

• Venezuela-Russia nuke deal a new headache for U.S., IAEA – UPI
  • Venezuela’s Chavez Orders Government Takeover of Owens-Illinois Local Unit – Bloomberg
• Iran loads first of 163 fuel rods into core of its (Russian built) nuclear reactor – Pravda
• BP sells Venezuela, Vietnam assets to Russia unit – AP
• Russia, Ukraine close to signing new oil transit agreement – Ria Novosti
  • Coincidence? With Ukraine’s blessing, Russia to beef up its Black Sea Fleet – Ria Novosti

So, should we be comfortable with all this?

Russia sinks lower in global corruption rating – Ria Novosti

And, does our continued wallowing in “claptrap” play any part in this?

Will the U.S. Lose Europe to Russia? – NY Times

2-He added that officials claimed to be on target for 2020, but there were no transmissions lines in parts of Wales to get the power to the National Grid, and this seemed to have been “conveniently overlooked”.

Wales misses wind farm energy target – BBC

3-Kent Hawkins takes out his scalpel:

Peeling Away the Onion of Denmark Wind (Part I) – MasterResource

4-Another excellent post:

Wind Exported Evidence (July 26-29 2010) –  Ontario Wind Performance

Items of interest:

1-Hollister Hartman directs us to this interesting article by Alex Pavlak.

Strategy Versus Evolution – American Scientist

2-Are you folks in Charleston paying attention?

The West Virginia Encyclopedia recently released the results of its first online poll. More than 14,300 votes were cast, and results show that a majority of respondents oppose wind turbines in West Virginia. In response to the statement “The placement of wind turbines on Mountain State ridge tops should continue,” 76 percent of respondents said “no,” while 24 percent said “yes.” While poll organizers admit their survey is unscientific, since response was voluntary, they believe that the large size of the vote indicates the direction of public opinion and a strong interest in the topic.

3-Darn … and it’s probably too late to book a flight!

Lady Godiva to Ride Again at Fergus Wind Protest – Wind Concerns Ontario

4-And some of you thought my propeller hat idea was silly!

Fan-Tastic! 10 Cool Colorful Wind Turbine Designs – WebEcoist

Items of interest:

1-“After applying a six-stage, scientific analysis of wind production, paralleled with other sources such as coal, gas, and nuclear, he now sees the wind option as impractical and lacking in proof of consistent power output.“

Droz says wind farms are a lot of hot air – Buffalo News

2-Here are two dots I wouldn’t have connected:  “The Royal Family have secured a lucrative deal that will earn them tens of millions of pounds from the massive expansion of offshore windfarms.  They will net up to £37.5 million extra income every year from the drive for green energy because the seabed within Britain’s ter­ritorial waters is owned by the Crown Estate.”

Queen’s £38m a year offshore windfarm windfall – because she owns the seabed – Mail Online

3-Dr. Dora Mills, leader of Maine’s CDC said:  “in extensive reading I have not found evidence of a disease or specific health problem that is a direct result from the wind turbines appropriately placed.”  Dr. Mills might want to call Dr. Nina Pierpont.  Or, she can take a look at the AT link.

Letter to the Editor: Wind turbine noise a problem – Daily Bulldog

4-“It will be read as a vote of confidence or a vote of no confidence for the industry,” Hennessy said of the pending stock sale.  (I’ll read it as reflecting the confidence investors have that elected officials will continue to support this ridiculous technology with continued mandates and tax subsidies.)

Seeking growth, First Wind readies to go public – The Kennebec Journal

5-From a couple of weeks ago:

Farewell: My Final Column for Energy Tribune – Robert Bryce

6-Is it really all about China, or a technology which simply sustain itself?  “Clean energy was the industry of the future. Manistee County Commissioners expected MasTech to create 120 jobs by 2011 when they approved a $400,000 grant for the company in 2008.  Two years later, MasTech employs 15 people, down from 35 a year ago.”

U.S.-China trade tensions won’t blow away – Detroit Free Press