Category Archives: Wind

67 Reasons why wind turbines cannot replace fossil fuels

Posted on July 26, 2024 by

Source: Leonard, T. 2012. Broken down and rusting, is this the future of Britain’s ‘wind rush’? Preface   Last updated 2023-10-20 The most important problem to be solved is electrifying transportation, otherwise how can you deliver the 30,000 parts of a … Continue reading →

Posted in Alternative Energy, An Index of Best Energyskeptic Posts, Energy, Wind | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Material and other limits to scaling wind up to 24 GW by 2050

Posted on October 11, 2021 by

Preface. Here are just a few of the many important points made in this excellent paper: Research showing no constraints on the materials needed to build wind turbines “dismiss potential physical constraints and issues with natural resource supply, and do … Continue reading →

Posted in Wind | Tagged , , | 4 Comments

The Next Big Thing: Distributed Generation & Microgrids

Posted on July 14, 2021 by

  Preface. Last updated 2022-9-5   The first article below explains what microgrids will look like in the future.  But first a brief look at what a microgrid is, as Angwin explains in her book  “Shorting the Grid. The Hidden Fragility … Continue reading →

Posted in Alternative Energy, Blackouts Electric Grid, Distributed Generation, Electric Grid & Fast Collapse, Grid instability, Photovoltaic Solar, Wind | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

Why no single or combination of alternative energy resources can replace fossil fuels

Posted on March 5, 2021 by

Preface. This 2002 paper is still true today. There simply are no renewable replacements for the fossil fuels that power our civilization.  If only scientists could violate the laws of thermodynamics and physics the way capitalistic crooks cheat, like Bernie … Continue reading →

Posted in Alternative Energy, Biomass, Fusion, Hydrogen, Nuclear Power Energy, Orbiting Solar, Peak Oil, Photovoltaic Solar, Wind | Tagged , , , , , | 6 Comments

Renewables: not enough minerals, energy or time and mining is destructive

Posted on January 22, 2021 by

Preface. Electricity generating contraptions like wind and solar can’t replace the 50% of oil used in global manufacturing, because they can’t generate the high heat needed, or run battery or catenary electric trucks as I explained in “When Trucks Top … Continue reading →

Posted in Alternative Energy, Battery - Utility Scale, Peak Critical Elements, Peak Platinum Group Elements, Peak Rare Earth Elements, Peak Resources, Recycle, Recycling, Solar, Wind | Tagged , , , , , , , | 5 Comments

Minerals essential for wind, solar, and high-tech, are anything but clean and green

Posted on January 16, 2021 by

This is a book review of Pitron’s “The rare metals war”.  To produce the metals and minerals to make a transition to wind, solar, nuclear and so on would be incredibly destructive and polluting. A fifth of China’s arable land … Continue reading →

Posted in Battery - Utility Scale, Mining, Peak Critical Elements, Peak Rare Earth Elements, Peak Resources, Photovoltaic Solar, Recycle, Recycling, Wind | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

Offshore wind turbines: Expensive, risky, and last just 15 years

Posted on November 29, 2020 by

Preface: The Department of Energy high wind penetration plans require a lot of offshore wind. But is it possible, affordable, or wise to do this? Corrosion leads to a short lifespan of just 15 years. To reduce maintenance, offshore windmills … Continue reading →

Posted in Offshore | Tagged , , | 3 Comments

Renewable costs don’t include transmission & energy storage backup from Nat Gas & Coal plants

Posted on November 23, 2020 by

Preface. Wind and solar advocates don’t include transmission and backup costs in their net energy and cost calculations. But without fossil backup, the electric grid will come down due to lack of storage. There is almost nowhere left to put … Continue reading →

Posted in Electric Grid & Fast Collapse, Energy Storage, Solar, Solar EROI, Wind, Wind EROI | Tagged , , , , | 2 Comments

The Invisible oiliness of everything

Posted on November 20, 2020 by

Preface.  Even a simple object like a pencil takes hundreds of actions and objects requiring fossil energy to do and make. Not electricity.  This is on of many reasons why wind, solar, or other contraption that make electricity can’t replace … Continue reading →

Posted in Alternative Energy, An Overview, EROEI Energy Returned on Energy Invested, Manufacturing & Industrial Heat, Wind | Tagged , , , | 14 Comments

Movie review of Michael Moore’s “Planet of the Humans”

Posted on May 1, 2020 by

Preface. This documentary was made by Jeff Gibbs, a writer and environmentalist, with Michael Moore as the executive producer. This movie is worth watching, and an entertaining and quick way to understand why rebuildable “renewables” are neither green or a … Continue reading →

Posted in Alternative Energy, Biomass, Coal, Natural Gas, Solar, Wind | Tagged , , , , , | 15 Comments