wind-farm opposition paper.

http://www.ff.org/centers...spp/pdf/20060331_wind.pdf

Two distinct items are in play--whether or not electricity generated by wind "off-peak" can, in fact, contribute to reducing our dependence on fossil fuels in a meaningful way, when ALL the externalities are considered. (Note: buying windmills made in Denmark isn't going to help the US). Closely related to this is the development or identification of a technology which allows renewable energy to be stored in an efficient manner (better than compressed air storage--hopefully as good as pumped water storage), at least on a daily (diurnal) basis, but preferably also on a weekly or seasonable basis. The Drake community in Alberta is designed to capture solar heat in the summer for use during winter months is an example of the latter, whereas the new Enviromission solar ponds are an example of the former.

The second one, in my opinion, is the type of device used for harvesting the wind--not only its efficiency but it's environmental impact. IMHO, I think that there are technologies which overall are much better than the ubiquitous, HAWT, only one of which is the AVE. The AVE can capture energy when there are no horizontal winds at all, so it should definitely be in the mix when having to provide power, 24/7.

HOG