No subject

AND
INJURIES, and ACCIDENTS FROM WIND TURBINES:

http://www.caithnesswindfarms.co.uk/fullaccidents.pdf

A local recent story about the problems with smaller home scale wind =
power
from one locale in NJ [the $ subsidies being provided are also =
interesting]:

=93Accident leaves wind turbine projects hanging in the air=94
Blades fly off tower in Ocean County; state freezes applications for new
sites - Apr 20, 2011=A0=A0=A0=A0

http://www.dailyrecord.com/article/20110420/NJNEWS/104200309/Accident-lea=
ves
-wind-turbine-projects-hanging-in-the-air


The energy generated from any one wind commercial turbine requires the
manufacture and erection of a very large amount of steel [newer turbines
have heavy steel towers 300 feet tall and more] and the use of a great =
mass
of concrete to provide a stable base. Larger wind turbine units today =
have
peak electric output of  1.5 MW[e], but these large commercial wind =
farms
have proven to have a capacity factor of 33% or much less in practice.  =
So
the output of one nuclear plant at 1,000 MW[e] will require the =
construction
of about 2,000 [two thousand]   1.5 MW[e] wind turbines at a minimum
assuming the wind farm has a 33% capacity factor. I have never seen a =
news
article about wind electricity, where a reporter recognizes the =
importance
of capacity factor and accounts for it in terms of $K/installed kWhr
generating capacity in properly comparing wind electric generation vs.
nuclear power plant costs. Reporters and wind proponents are comparing
apples and oranges on cost comparisons.

News articles speak of let=92s say seven hundred [ 700]  1.5 MW[e] wind
turbines at a farm with a PEAK generation capacity of 1,050 MW[e]. =
However
the news [and the proponents of wind power] neglect the fact that with a =
33%
capacity factor an installed 1,050 MW[e] of wind capacity will only =
generate
the equivalent of about 350 MW[e] of nuclear generating capacity over =
the
course of a year.  At 33% capacity factor, a developer will have to =
build
2,100 [two thousand one hundred]  1.5 MW[e] wind turbines, or two more =
wind
farms at equal cost to the first farm.

If the average capacity of wind farms is actually 25% as is often seen =
in
certain locations, then it will take two thousand and nine hundred  =
[2,900]
1.5 MW[e] wind turbines to equal the electric generation of one 1,050 =
MW[e]
nuclear plant.  Basically, the =93energy density=94 of a nuclear plant =
is so
much more than wind turbines that a nuclear plant requires MUCH less =
steel
and concrete than that required to construct the very large number of
commercial wind turbines to generate an equivalent amount of =
electricity.

Without any doubt, the amount of steel and concrete that must be shipped =
PER
UNIT ENERGY PRODUCED with wind is far higher  than that used to =
construct a
nuclear plant.=20

There are  worker and public deaths and injuries in  mining, production,
construction and transport per ton of steel and concrete in wind =
generation
vs. nuclear.  Since wind requires substantially more steel and concrete =
[and
more risky work in construction ] than nuclear there will be =
substantially
more worker and public morbidity and mortality with wind on the front =
end,
and more injuries and deaths in maintenance of wind turbines vs. nuclear
since there is so much work involved to maintain the units at great =
heights
in more risky situations. =20

Simplistic arguments against nuclear energy vs. other fuel cycles based =
on
unsubstantiated opinions, and grossly exaggerated scare-mongering about =
the
hazards of radiation from nuclear power plants will not change the fact =
that
wind power has greater morbidity, mortality, and environmental impact =
than
nuclear generated electricity.=20

It will be interesting to see what happens when people start putting =
solar
panels on their roofs in great numbers, and climbing up ladders to clean
dust off the panels, or remove snow cover. The deaths among the public =
PER
UNIT ENERGY PRODUCED from domestic solar electric generation  [if the
subsidies hold up such that people will spend the large sums involved =
per
unit energy produced] will be enormous vs. nuclear generated =
electricity.


Stewart Farber, MS Public Health
Farber Medical Solutions, LLC
Bridgeport, CT 06606
email: SAFarber at optonline.net
203-441-8433