And apparently now, neither do they.
According to the latest Wind Turbine Price Index, produced by Bloomberg New Energy Finance, world prices for new wind turbines are down by 15 per cent on their 2008 peak amid a sharp slump in European and global demand. William Young, manager of Bloomberg’s Wind Insight Service, says: “Expectations for turbine prices have never been so low, and the current market oversupply will continue for quite a while longer.”
But it is in Denmark, the great windfarm pioneer, where some of the most interesting changes are taking shape. In 1980, the Danish government was Europe’s first to bring in large-scale subsidies – on which, just as in Britain, the wind industry depends.
The results have been dramatic. According to the Danish Wind Energy Association, there are more than four thousand onshore turbines – two-thirds more than Britain – in a country a fifth the size. Nowhere else has more turbines per head, and Denmark is also a global centre of wind turbine manufacturing – with Vestas, the world’s leading turbine firm, based in the country.
Unfortunately, Danish electricity bills have been almost as dramatically affected as the Danish landscape. Thanks in part to the windfarm subsidies, Danes pay some of Europe’s highest energy tariffs – on average, more than twice those in Britain. Under public pressure, Denmark’s ruling Left Party is curbing the handouts to the wind industry.
If only there were some sort of technology that could carry information from Europe to our own provincial Energy Minister.
What???? All that hot air from the Euroweenies is not enough to turn the bird killers?? And to think we saved their collective a%%es in WW2. What a waste of our young men and women!!!!!
Anytime I’ve landed in Copenhagen the wind off the Baltic is blowing like hell and the windmills at least appear functional. That’s more than can be said for the McGuinty’s stand-still windmills cluttering up the Escarpment and causing yet another rural/urban divide.
Also the Danes have a big advantage over Ontario, as the article says, the Danes plug into other power grids of Norway, Sweden and Germany. Thus the problem of lack of storage of windpower is considerably mitigated.
What we don’t ever see is the total picture of the net cost to the Danes after the selling, re-selling revenues are taken into consideration. It’s safe to assume the net numbers are negative or the government would be bragging about them. Perhaps Vestas was a stealth reason for the Danish government to jump on the green parade. Vestas has a market cap of $7.5 billion US ; but that’s at $12.50 a share , a couple of years ago it was worth 4x’s that.
Meanwhile the Danish folks hate windmills and this is an accurate assessment “People are fed up with having their property devalued and sleep ruined by noise from large wind turbines”.
Germany has stopped,STOPPED, any further wind mills.
The only practical backup generators, with the flexibility to respond, were NG turbines, needing imported NG. Coal they have. Thermal plants are cheaper per installed KW than either the wind or gas turbines…..in the later case both wind and NG generators are needed.
We just returned from a cruise around the Baltic and the only wind mills we saw were in Denmark and as nomdeblog says the mills all appeared to be working. It does not matter where you look, you see wind mills. The eastern coastline of Denmark for a few miles inland is covered with these things. The coastlines of the the other Baltic states appeared to be bereft of this blight.
Bloomberg – Sep 13, 2010 ….German government plans to prolong the use of nuclear power are “watertight,” the Economy Minister said. Chancellor Angela Merkel on Sept. 6 announced a deal struck with utilities including E.ON AG and RWE AG to extend the running time of Germany’s 17 nuclear-power plants by an average of 12 years. Germany’s opposition groups are stepping up their campaign against the nuclear plans as Merkel seeks to steer the bill granting the extension through parliament this fall.
Meanwhile back in Ontario, even that red tory, John Tory, wanted to increase nuclear power as one his platform planks in the last election. But that good idea got sidelined by his faith based ideas for Islam. Stéphane Dion was right…. “do you think hits heesy to make priorities?”
France has the most nukes and the lowest electricity prices in Europe.
Nomdeblog makes an excellent observation. The good folks of downtown Toronto want to feel better about their smog days so they insist on a giant white albatross be erected, but of course: “NOT IN MY BACKYARD”. The same thing with oil companies try to make themselves look better by erecting more of the cursed things around Southern Alberta and blighting the landscape.
It would be nice to travel west again to the Crowsnest Pass to see the unrivalled beauty of our mountains not be marred by the damn things. And yes, sometimes, here in Southern Alberta, the wind doesn’t blow
We need another Don Quixote, but make sure he has a good supply of TNT!
Another opportunity to juxtapose should be available shortly.
See http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/china-energy-1006.html for an afaik unrefuted estimate that China is bringing on 3-4 500MW coal generators per WEEK.
Meanwhile, this morning’s CBC Vancouver news carries a report about our maoist lunatic jefe Gregor Robertson in Shanghai lauding China’s commitment to green energy development. For example, speaking to local Chinese language press a week ago, Robertson noted that “”The signals from the [Chinese] premier and president have been very clear that China is serious about the green economy and they see this as the future of the world’s economy and China wants to be the leader in the green economy.” (http://www.istockanalyst.com/article/viewiStockNews/articleid/4467472)
Yet another useful idiot.
Think about it. We have the Euroweenies suckering Chretien into signing the Kyoto shaft, Dion promoting the Climate Shaft and meanwhile the Danes export their Vestas windmills, the French and Germans are all geared up on nuclear; yet Don Quixote McGuinty is tilting at unreliable windmills driving our energy costs thru the roof,making our businesses uncompetitive and creating unemployment ..a vicious circle. Just what the Euroweenies wanted..stick it to North America.
How naïve are we?
Can we please have Ezra Levant or Kate or some capitalist expose this fraud on Sun TV, with images, not of polar bears, of workers lining up at the soup kitchen.
Ah yes, those darn facts getting in the way of lofty green aspirations again.
To put things in perspective, the Danes pay approximately 41 cents Cdn per kWh for electricity.
Compare that price to what you are paying…
I live on Highway #3 in Ontario which is a two lane road along the north shore of Lake Erie. We and the other people familiar with the road watch as the long sections of windmills travel the road with Ontario Provincial Police escort travels in front of each section and at the rear of each section with lights flashing.
The subsidies are one concern with tax payer programmes, but the hidden subsidies which rarely come to light can be as big a problem for these vote brokering give aways. Cheers;
Apparently there is a new Wind Farm being built in B.C. in the Tumbler Ridge/Chetwynd area.
I only heard about it from an electrician friend who is working on it,making BIG money,lots of O/T.
I guess the Provincial government wants in on the idiocy along with Sask., and Ontario.
Maybe B.C. should look into manufacturing windmills for sale overseas. We had so much success cornering the market on Fast Ferries, it’s high time the government opted into another leading industry.
I’m sure our unionized work force can provide workers as cheap as China or Denmark.
I’ll have to E-mail this idea to Premier Gord.
MWOLM: Make War on Liberal McGuinty and his Green Fraud.
Fire. Liberal. McGuinty. All.
No mention of Liberal Windmill$cam McGuinty.
“Ontario, Canada’s most populous province, launched an incentive program for renewable energy producers last October, aiming to create jobs and eliminate coal-fired power generators.”
…-
“Ontario clean-power subsidies draw WTO challenge from Japan
Japan has initiated a trade dispute against Canada related to renewable energy equipment in the province of Ontario, the World Trade Organization confirmed on Monday.
The Japanese mission to the WTO said the dispute centres on guaranteed long-term pricing for solar and wind generators made with a certain percentage of locally-produced components.
Ontario, Canada’s most populous province, launched an incentive program for renewable energy producers last October, aiming to create jobs and eliminate coal-fired power generators.
Tokyo believes that the pricing guarantees offered by Ontario in the wind and solar sectors constitute subsidies that violate Canada’s obligations under international trade law.
The request for consultations by Tokyo is the first step in a WTO dispute. If the two sides do not reach an agreement on their own, a WTO panel would be set up to arbitrate the dispute in a process that could eventually lead to retaliation.”
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/ontario-clean-power-subsidies-draw-wto-challenge-from-japan/article1705239/
“”The signals from the [Chinese] premier and president have been very clear that China is serious about the green economy and they see this as the future of the world’s economy and China wants to be the leader in the green economy.” (http://www.istockanalyst.com/article/viewiStockNews/articleid/4467472)
This from the world’s leading producer of greenhouse gasses. The communists have not forgotten Lenin’s description of socialists as useful idiots.
I actually have a meeting scheduled with the Honourable Mr Brad Duguid in October.
Gee I wonder what I should say…..
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/denmark/7996606/An-ill-wind-blows-for-Denmarks-green-energy-revolution.html
FWIW, Ontario is on the verge of getting rid of coal. They have done it by increasing nuclear and gas, and eliminating manufacturing jobs. The irony going forward is if McGuinty is successful in attracting “green” jobs and manufacturing he has promised, he will have to turn the “dirty” coal plants on again.