Here at this blog I’ve written often over Germany’s wind energy follies and the mounting opposition to the construction of wind parks. In fact over 300 citizens initiatives against wind energy have sprouted across Germany alone so far.
The reasons for the exploding resistance are many and include destruction of forests, death to wildlife, blighting of the landscape, infrasound causing illnesses, high costs, technical inadequacy and grid instability, to name some. Probably no other product on the planet delivers so much misery for so little common benefit.
Wind energy opposition site “StopTheseThings” writes a couple of reports coming from Europe, which tell us of growing opposition to and serious health problems from wind energy. We are now witnessing how a rogue industry is well past its heyday.
It’s becoming increasingly clear that wind energy has gone from being welcome with open arms, to being furiously opposed. then only things keeping it afloat is special interest, junk science and corruption.
Europe’s citizens getting sick and tired of wind energy, and now even furious. Source: StopTheseThings.
The first here is a report on how the Irish are becoming fed up and furious, and are now demanding an end to “pointless, subsidised wind power”.
The article writes how the industry had been used to getting its way by bulldozing over and marginalizing opposition and corrupting officials. But that strategy seems to be backfiring now, as StopTheseThings writes that “communities are as angry, if not angrier, than ever about the manner in which wind power outfits have ridden roughshod over their basic human rights – such as the right to sleep, live in and otherwise enjoy their family homes, free from incessant turbine generated low-frequency noise and infrasound – aided and abetted by a political ‘system’ that can be described as ‘crony capitalism’… ”
Recently there was a “monster Dublin protest” where “the leaders of community defence groups from all over Ireland descended on the Dáil Éireann to drive home their message – that wind power is a failed experiment and that these things do not work on any level: social, economic or environmental“.
In Finland StopTheseThings reports here how late last year a comprehensive report was released by the National Association of Citizens Against Giant Windmills warning that wind turbines near residential areas lead to serious health issues. For the report the experiences of 55 people concerning the health impacts were examined. The result: “Out of these 55 people, 33 suffer from sleep disturbances, 26 from ear problems, 23 from headache, 17 from nausea, 11 from heart problems and 11 from inertia“.
The wind industry is facing serious head winds.
Not a big surprise. The electricity bill has raised, and the weather has not got better.
Most peoble accept some inconveniences for improvements elsewhere.
The promises have not come through, they lost on all.
The weather is the same, the sea raises as it has always done, but the bill has gone up and you got worse view and more noise.
Is it a sign, that no climate model incorporates the benefits of windmills?
It’s just one huge trough into which the green-blob pokes its snout.
Within the Netherlands environmental groups like ‘nature monuments’ and ‘Waddenzee protection union’ are going to the supreme court to stop a 320MW wind park in the IJssellake (the former south sea up until it was transformed to a lake in 1932).
Although partnering with Greenpeace for years to promote wind energy, a combination of nine environmental groups came to the conclusion that this wind-park will favor neither nature nor mankind. In total they represent approx. 2.5 million families, and remember – in total the Netherlands only has got 6 million families.
Greenpeace is of course not amused, but the fact remains that Greenpeace is no longer a decisive part of the pro environment/wind energy coalition. They are simply outnumbered.
What’s more, in case of any future breach with criminal law (like throwing cobblestones in sea), Greenpeace will lose all subsidies and most important all fiscal benefits. By law and automatically. Effectively, Greenpeace is therefore ‘Kaltgestelt’, no longer a player to give any airtime on prime-time.
Here you find the URL to the public television first net (in Dutch) http://bit.ly/2gefptT
Further more, the Dutch Liberals (VVD, in power now, to be compared with the German CSU/CDU) have decided that no onshore additional wind-parks will be built after 2020.
Within the coalition with the socialist party (Dutch GroKo) was decided in 2014 to accept at least 6000MW on onshore wind power capacity. As of the elections in march 2017 that will be not a minimum but a maximum capacity of 6000MW of onshore wind power capacity. Therefore, after 2020 no additional wind turbines will be allowed on land, whether the old ones will be dismantled or not.
Within the Netherlands the game for onshore wind power subsidies is over. And Greenpeace will have to find a new business model. Something like Mars is warming, lets get the Martian out of their Hummers. I’d say, go for it!
Tatchley, 2016
http://dspace.stir.ac.uk/handle/1893/22894#.V6D3dJVhnIU
“[A]s for wind power where public attitudes in general are positive but local wind farm developments may still face opposition, only 35% of respondents were in favour of having a SWT [small wind turbine] installed in sight of their home.”
If coal and nuclear plants can be shut down before the end of their economic life there is no reason why wind parks cannot be shut down. And, also, stop building them.
The Drax/UK wood-chips from America’s forests is another thing that ought to go. Mostly that means gas and coal have to be used until a new power supply is discovered. Thus, money now wasted should go for research.
Some developing countries are going to burn coal and use nuclear. The green thugs need to step away from oppressing the poor.
Perhaps there could be a sponsored search for gas in these places.
Thing is , John…
Once subsidies, pay for non-supply and mandated feed-ins are removed, that IS the end of the economic life of wind farms.
Without those ludicrous market aberrations, wind power cannot exist as a viable economic alternative.
Australian Thunderstorm causes massive asthma attacks due to high local Pollen count. So! Do we get a “climate change” with that? Oh yes we do! But! The Guardian is the LAST HOLDOUT of that it seems!
https://www.theguardian.com/science/2016/nov/24/melbourne-suffers-most-lethal-episode-of-thunderstorm-asthma
Wait no. Toronto Star, and “New Hamburg Independent” as well. That’s it.
Every other journalist slime on the planet has retreated from even trying to push that down our throats.
Can you say victory? Yes of course you can!
Donald Trump doesn’t like them either:
the wind is a very deceiving thing. First of all, we don’t make the windmills in the United States. They’re made in Germany and Japan. They’re made out of massive amounts of steel, which goes into the atmosphere, whether it’s in our country or not, it goes into the atmosphere.
The windmills kill birds and the windmills need massive subsidies. In other words, we’re subsidizing wind mills all over this country. I mean, for the most part they don’t work. I don’t think they work at all without subsidy, and that bothers me, and they kill all the birds.
You go to a windmill, you know in California they have the, what is it? The golden eagle? And they’re like, if you shoot a golden eagle, they go to jail for five years and yet they kill them by, they actually have to get permits that they’re only allowed to kill 30 or something in one year.
The windmills are devastating to the bird population, O.K. With that being said, there’s a place for them. But they do need subsidy. So, if I talk negatively. I’ve been saying the same thing for years about you know, the wind industry. I wouldn’t want to subsidize it.
http://www.nytimes.com/2016/11/23/us/politics/trump-new-york-times-interview-transcript.html?action=click&pgtype=Homepage&clickSource=story-heading&module=b-lede-package-region®ion=top-news&WT.nav=top-news&_r=1&utm_source=Sailthru&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=THR%27s%20Today%20in%20Entertainment_now_2016-11-23%2006:57:23_ehayden&utm_term=hollywoodreporter_tie
Dennis, don’t forget about 1000 tons of concrete for the foundation.
Wind is the cheapest energy source. By far. Better get used to them.
Pocketing some of those subsidies are you?
Ok , then you won’t mind the removal of subsidies, the removal of paying not to provide, and other massive market distortions. Yet listening to the HOWLING any time that is even mentioned.
You KNOW that under a level playing field, wind turbines are a NON-STARTER, because they cannot deliver on demand.
Would you care to provide some solid evidence for that statement?
If quoting figures don’t forget to include the cost of having CCGT on stand-by for the 70% of the time the windmills don’t work.
Oh, and the cost of the electricity they consume to prevent the gears from seizing up when the aren’t working.
Yes, thats right under the ruling circumstances.
But is a wind park able to compete with the same conditions as fossil fuel. Can a wind park deliver when needed or even as predicted.
Could you imagine a wind park delivering only 50% of whats available at the moment, because other producers got preference.
Think of the case when wind supply most of our electricity.
At times you will have 200% or most likely 300% oversupply, so some mills have to be turned down. How would you determine who’s got to turn down? And would it have any cost?
Ivor OConnor 26. November 2016 at 1:13 PM | Permalink | Reply
“Wind is the cheapest energy source. By far. Better get used to them.”
Subsidies are a cost. Have you factored those in?
Here is a graph showing the balancing of production and load. About Friday Noon the wind dropped and has yet to come back.
The load is being met with hydro-power via large dams.
https://transmission.bpa.gov/business/operations/wind/baltwg.aspx
The chart updates every 5 minutes. Lots of material to look at below the chart.
With as many outages as they have, it’s a wonder anyone has any power!
https://transmission.bpa.gov/business/operations/outages/OutagesCY2016.htm
@Ivor OConnor 26. November 2016 at 1:13 PM
Tell it to the fools in Ontario who voted in someone as crazy as you, which resulted in disaster.
https://stopthesethings.com/2016/11/23/ontarios-eco-fascists-kill-coal-agenda-kills-ontario-instead-now-everything-costs-more/
If you can’t learn from the mistakes of others, you’ll have to learn for yourself, the hard way.
Troll or idiot = O’connor.
Using your brain is not one of the options available to you?
If that is so then you will enjoy this website HERE listing all the successful green engineering projects from around the world.
LOL. Excellent, TomO. 🙂
Recently there was a “monster Dublin protest”
I don’t recall hearing, or reading about that. But it’s no surprise with our (UK) biased media.
https://stopthesethings.com/2016/11/25/irish-fury-mounts-protesters-mob-dail-eireann-demanding-an-end-to-pointless-subsidised-wind-power/
Thanks, John. What I SHOULD have said was:
“I don’t recall hearing, or reading about that in the mainstream media“
Meanwhile we count 800 citizen initiative in Germany who are fighting against windfarm plans. The movement has been underestimated in Berlin, the political class is not recognizing that the people stand up in the rural areas and protest against the plans of the urban green and greedy elites, who are destroying their homeland and eradicate the endangered birds of prey and bats in those regions
When you rob the poor by raising electricity prices in order to feed the rich who own the subsidized wing and solar farms people will eventually wake up to the fact they are being exploited by corrupt elites who run everything to benefit themselves.
That Bonneville Power Authority site is impressive but what about this:
http://nationalgrid.stephenmorley.org/
The UK statistics show that CCGT is currently the best technology because:
1. The fuel is cheap and abundant.
2. Generating plants can “Load Follow” almost as well as Hydro.
3. Thermodynamic efficiency is high at ~60% at optimum load.
This blog is absurd. People wanted these thing and well now they got them. Now their just trying to find some reason to get rid of them by coming up with absurdly unexpected illnesses. Really, a heart disorder? Give me a break. These are probably the same people that say ” the turbines are making it to windy”. Statistically humans kill more animals with their cars than do wind turbines.
“People wanted these thing and well now they got them. ”
I don’t remember anyone asking me.
“People wanted these thing(s)…” – Matt
Right, and those who “wanted” them only did so because they were sold a bill of goods by the con artists in govt., science, media and those who would profit by it. Having been lied to, it’s hard to see how they can be blamed for the betrayal of all those who’s responsibility was to alert them to the fraud, but did not.
Matt’s attack on those who were conned adds only insult to injury, showing him to be no better than the crooks he’s siding with.
Matt 27. November 2016 at 10:33 PM
Ordinary people were not, in the main, asked if they wanted them. By-and-large these monsters were foisted on the unsuspecting public and now they are causing real illness for those that are having to live near them.
The only people that really want them are the wealthy sharks that saw a quick buck to be made from public funds, no doubt they will leave the mess they’ve made once the subsidy dry-up.
I take it Matt you have no first-hand experience of living close to one of these industrial machines. I take it you know of no-one that does.
“People wanted these thing ”
RUBBISH.!
No-one in their right mind wants to live near one of those monstrosities.
I bet you will not co and buy one of the houses really close to a wind turbine. A lot of them are selling pretty cheap..
Off you go, Matt, live by your words…. or STFU !!