We Don't Need No Stinking Giant Fans

When it's warm.
When the wind is blowing at just the right speed.
When the blades are insect free.
When the blades are ice free.
When 60hz per second can be maintained.
When angular momentum shock loads have not destroyed the gearbox.
When not zapped by lightening.
When dust has not eroded the airfoil.
When the wind is not gusty.
When the grid can handle the intermittent output.
When there are birds to kill.

"When it's waaarm..."
AND only when the wind is a blowin'!!!

From the Article:

"Special hydraulic fluid designed for colder temperatures was used in the turbines, but it's not working, so neither are the turbines.

There is a plan to heat the fluid, but officials must find a contractor to do the work."

So the turbines generate even LESS electricity because some of it is now being diverted to heat hydraulic oils?? What a brilliant idea!

/sarc off.

Think of all the green jobs! How can you possibly lose when you are dealing in green jobs. Just ask GE and its minions NBC etc. Did I mention GREEN JOBS!!!!

"There is a plan to heat the fluid."

In related news, there was an old lady who swallowed a fly....

In all fairness these activists never said they were keen - just green.

So about 9 grand per house?Do they think they are Al Gore?

Sooooo, just wondering - do other machines and operations with hydraulics shut down when it's cold? Snow plows? Air Canada? Cranes? Trucks?

The No Spin Zone .. Nice sound bite

North Dakota, south of Minot, have a huge array of the propeller boat anchors. One for each Cow in the area...nothing gained, nothing lost…but California got the Money

Ah heck, being able to run the A/C in the summer is important too.

Hmmm, isn't this the same state that filled its school buses with bio-diesel and they wouldn't run at below freezing temperatures?

As the slogan goes...Minnesota, the land of 10,000 taxes.

What I read in another story, and they fail to mention in this story, is that fact that it will take electricity to heat the fluid and they are not sure is there will be a NET INCREASE in electricity or not!!

As the slogan goes...Minnesota, the land of 10,000 taxes.

Ummm, we've been using low viscosity hydraulic fluid up north for years.

Can it be? Minnesota, the land of white elephants?

So, if there are no other costs, it will take approx 15 years(if they produce power every day)to pay each of these behemoth's off.

Factor in the noise pollution, the dead birds, the ugliness of them, and the one thing that nobody is talking about yet.....the EMF(electro-magnetic force)radiating from each one, and we have ourselves a real "winner" here.

Nice to see that premier chimpy mcidiot has committed billions and billions to this brain-dead technology.

In the recent massive snow storms in Great Britain- which were TOTALLY missed, even one day in advance, by the global-warming crowd- windpower managed to generate a full .02% of the electricity they needed.

as I noted a few days back, there is something terribly wrong when you need block heaters for your fans. It's not like Minnesota is having strange weather either.

"There is a plan to heat the fluid."

The best plan would be to build another fan beside each existing fan. The energy it produces could be used to heat the existing fan. Problem solved. If you "think green" there is always a solution. The "green jobs" these fans are creating will save our economy.

The plan is to warm the fluid using green technology. They're going to install giant magnifying lenses on top of each turbine.

Posted by: Boss429 at February 4, 2010 7:55 AM

Think of the ANTS!!! For god's sake think of the ANTS!!

I wonder if there is a business case for this. At my company if you can't show that something will pay for itself you can't have it. I'm not sure what the average household electric bill is, mine is around 50 dollars. I know other households are higher so I settled on 200 as an example number. 35 households times 200 is around 7000 dollars. I wanted to see how long it would take to pay for the 300 000 dollar cost at that rate, Its 42 months. Not a terrible time frame to return your investment. There is a problem though. Some of your electric bill is tax and fees that don't go to electricity generation. Everything mechanical requires maintenance, and there is a transportation cost to electricity. Someone has to build and maintain those high voltage lines. As Kate points out here, the darn things don't run all year either. Sounds like a business case only a politician could love.

these seem incredibly cheap. if you could get these installed for $9000/home it would be a bargain. I think there are alot of numbers missing here.

CanuckInMI
$50/month...be glad.
Here in McSquinty's Ont. December Hydro bill...
11 kw/day X 29 days
283 kw = 309kw (adjusted 1.092 for transmission loss)
$17.92 electricity
$37.23 delivery
2.26 Regulatory charges
1.98 Debt retirement Charge
2.97 GST
Total $62.36

5.8000 cents/ kw gets to .2203533

That's why I cook on the wood stove.

Kingstonlad and Sasquatch.Please refrain from mentioning that name. Every time I see it I throw up a bit in my mouth.

Another brilliant thing we did here in MN was to install LED lights on some of our stop lights.
Guess what? When it snows and it covers the lights, the LED lights don't create heat and melt the snow. Make us wonder what white means. Stop, go, wait? Think of the fuel wasted with a bunch of Minnesotans sitting there pondering whether to go or not without something (or someone)telling them what to do.

This is just going to get worse folks. Welcome to the world of apparatchiks.

I moved to Ontario from Cornwall, England 14 months ago, Cornwall is a stunning place, wonderfull scenery, except the damn turbines everywhere, they produce under 20% of the time and never when it gets real cold or hot or stormy (when the wind goes over a certain speed the blades feather and it puts the back to the wind, and have motors to keep them there) . Windmills are great for pumping water and can supply power if the grid is not available but useless for baseline power. In the UK the only way to get anyone to invest in the things is large subsidies and now even that has ceased working. Like most things "green" they are not subject to due dilligence, it is like dealing with a 5 year old.

I've seen these things up close and personal. The one in Pickering (ON) next to the Nuke plant was trucked in in many huge pieces and erected over several weeks. That alone would cost $300K. I don't buy that figure.

Also, a friend at work who owns acreage about 4 hours north of Toronto was recently approached by an agency engaged by the Ontario government to set up some of the Samsung windmills ($7B worth). If his property qualifies for one or more (up to 4) he would receive $20K for each. Per month. Yes, I said - per month.

That's about the same amount of $$ as if you were installing a small diesel generator in each of the 35 homes. Of course the diesel would run without wind, but it does need fuel.

As for the oil in the gearbox, I would use ordinary Type "F" automatic transmission fluid. Better yet, heat the nacelle, but the you need electricty for that don't you.

I had girlfriend that was like that! Just kidding.

i live in Iowa, and make frequent trips to minneapolis, mn.
there is an array of windmills near Charles City, Iowa. i've NEVER seen them not spinning, even on one day recently when it was - 9 deg.

if they're spinning , are they making juice?
also, how did they get those windmills so cheaply

http://www.startribune.com/local/north/83506647.html?elr=KArksUUUycaEacyU

"Avant Energy of Minneapolis, which operates the turbines for MMPA, says it is bringing in a company that will get the windmills running within two months."

HA HA HA what company...the Obama Company? I don't know if brainiacs in MN realize this, but in 2 months it will be warmer and they will run by themselves!!

But then again...
"He said the relatively small turbines, bought with federal renewable energy bonds, demonstrate the 11 cities' support for green energy."

That way they can say they paid somebody to fix the problem to show their support. Then come November...