European countries continue to put the rest of the world (including the United States) to shame in amazing reductions of their use of carbon footprints and the use of clean energy. Last week saw a particularly impressive achievement for Denmark which managed to produce 140 per cent of the country’s electricity needs. In the meantime, the vehemently anti-environmental Administration of Tony Abbott in Australia cracked down on wind power to prevent further investments by the Clean Energy Finance Corporation.
The excess energy is shared between Germany and Norway and Sweden. These countries and the European Wind Energy Association has made investment into clear energy and are now enjoying the dividends of cleaner environments, technology sales globally, and a reduction of the carbon emissions that are threatening the very future of this planet.
While wind levels have been higher than usual, Denmark is on track to reach its goal of producing 84 per cent of it’s electricity needs through wind power by 2035.
That is in stark contrast to the situation over in Australia where Abbott continues his determined effort to rollback on environmental protections — an administration that has caused international protests over the damage to pristine areas. We have been discussing the horrific environmental record of Abbott. This includes the decision to dump millions of tons of waste into the Great Barrier Reef. The move that led to international outcry including official condemnation from UNESCO. Much of the criticism has been directed at Abbott putting industry officials in charge of environmental decision-making with predictable results.
Now the Abbott Administration, which has close ties to the mining industry, is moving against wind power. Despite another threat to international investment, Abbott’s government has ordered the $10 billion Clean Energy Finance Corporation not to make any new investments in wind power projects. Treasurer Joe Hockey and Finance Minister Mathias Cormann have told the Corporation to change its investment mandate to bar new wind funding. The move is viewed as a major blow to the wind industry in the country.
Appropriately, Hockey used an appearance on the show of a Sydney radio shock jock to publicly denounce wind farms as “utterly offensive.” Abbott signaled the change with his own objection to the windmill as “visually awful”. Of course, the predictions of global disaster do not appear to be quite as visually offensive for Abbott.
CA gas taxes now account for 64 cents/gallon.
http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-gas-prices-20150401-story.html
There are many reasons creating the perfect storm for our gas prices spiking by such a huge amount, outlined in the above article.
I’m looking forward to the day when I can charge an affordable electric car via the solar panel I will one day have on my roof, it will have an effective range of hundreds of miles, and there will be a network of charging stations everywhere.
I looked up Tesla’s charging network. I cannot afford a Tesla, but I was curious because it’s latest models have improved their driving range, and they have rapid charge stations that only take a half an hour. I would have to drive a hundred miles to get to a charging station.
We’re still in the Beta test stage, but it sure is exciting to see innovations.
But speaking of our dependence on foreign oil, gas prices here in SoCal jumped by $1 in a single day:
http://www.ocregister.com/articles/prices-671107-gas-gallon.html
http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/survey-us-gasoline-prices-cents-past-weeks-32399652
My dream is of the day when we have clean, renewable, energy that does not damage the environment or wildlife, and it’s affordable to customers without massive subsidies.
Oh, and wind energy is massively subsidized, so it’s also not economical yet . If your neighbor puts up a wind turbine, it can make your house unsellable.
Most electricity does not come from oil (only about 1%) so wind energy has no effect on dependence on foreign oil. As per usual, the turbines are made overseas, so we don’t even benefit from manufacturing jobs.
And you have to take that “140%” figure with a grain of salt. Wind is by definition variable. It gusts one day and is absent another. So wind energy can only be depended upon to produce excess energy, not actually meet all power needs. It has its place in our energy portfolio if the technology advances past the Beta stage. But even if it produces the equivalent of 140% of a country’s energy needs in a given year, that includes days when they stood idle, as well as days when they blasted so much energy that the excess went out to other countries.
http://wind-power-problems.org/wind-power-health-problems.html
Dumping waste into the Great Barrier Reef is atrocious.
On the other hand, I live in CA, a major wind energy producer. I am so disappointed in the current wind technology, and feel that we need to make major improvements before we carpet the rest of the state with them. If you walk up to them they make a horrible chopping sound that you can actually feel, not just hear, on your ear drum. My mare hated walking by them with her sensitive ears, so it’s reasonable to assume that they drive off wildlife. And they are typically installed in vast areas of open space that would have been prime wildlife habitat. I do find the large industrial ones pretty, in a Star Wars kind of way, as long as they do not line the ridge tops. But in addition to the unbearable noise, they decimate bird populations, including endangered species. Putting them on ridge tops has placed them directly in the path of migrating waterfowl, as well as our endangered California Condor. Their white color attracts insects at night, which attracts bats, which also get chewed up in the turbines. They are also prohibitively expensive to repair.
Living energy independent with clean energy is a life goal of mine. When we were looking for houses, I looked into buying one with a few wind turbines. The cost of keeping them in good order, or repairing them when they go down, runs into many thousands of dollars. So they are unworkable for the vast majority of homeowners right now. Plus, the noise makes it difficult to sleep at night.
The people who really love wind power should be forced to live next to one for a few months. Otherwise they’re pushing for something they wouldn’t want in their own backyard.
On the other hand it is my understanding that they are working on the noise and danger to birds. If they can make them silent and put some sort of safety feature like a screen, or make them into massive Dyson fans, that would considerably improve my opinion. The first thing they should do is ditch the Star Wars look and paint them tan, like the adobe dirt around them. That would remove their attraction to insects, and bats, to their ultimate doom.
Karen
If Star Wars had wind turbines it would be a lot easier to tell if the old man disabled the tractor beam.
Five years ago I drove across southern MN to Sioux Falls, SD to see my daughter. The gigantic wind turbines were fascinating to me and beautiful in their way. When I returned home I studied up on this means of power generation and learned that the those huge commercial turbines kill many, many birds every year. This information horrified me. As the keeper and mother of three beautiful parrots, the death of even one bird, however unintentional, is a travesty. Birds enrich our lives. They make life livable. Life without birds would be like life without color….
Quikwit
Solar is now comparable with fossil fuels. Solar continues to get cheaper and fossil fuels will only get more expensive. The new cleaner coal fired plants will cost more. Oil and gas is a commodity and is played by the private sector. Solar has the potential of being installed on roofs throughout the south which requires no grid work. The only argument against solar is the status quo, to whom we pay.
Wind is comparable with fossil fuels and is getting more efficient. Less than a megawatt turbines worked at one time but given installation costs and connection to the grid costs the latest are 5 megawatts with 10 mega watt turbines in the works.
The reason why Americans are not profiting from this industry is because fossil fuel oligarchs pull the strings of politicians to thwart it, Americans have an archaic attitude regarding private enterprise and public involvement, and there has been an erosion of the entrepreneurial, industrial, spirit. There are plenty of billionaires being made in Denmark, Germany, Spain, India, China, etc through alternative energy industries. They are exporting their products all over the world, and to the US who should be leading the way but isn’t.
Regardless of your ideological, political, or attitudinal bent, stupid is still stupid.
If we could only harness all the hot air about wind power. . .
What was the increase in electricity cost, compared to traditional sources? Would be good to know.
Pinandpuller
What you and the other regressives fail to understand is that alternative energy is the biggest potential industry since the industrial revolution. Also, even with the initial costs and potential scaring of the earth, once the panels are up and running the damage stops. With coal it continues every time you flick a light switch. A viable goal would be to replace coal with solar and wind. Those that lose jobs could work in factories in the alternative energy industry. It is a win win win win situation but unfortunately not for the oligarchs that pull the strings of the puppets in power. And, you ain’t helping.
Issac
I don’t think there’s anything inherently wrong with wind or solar energy. But let’s not pretend that there aren’t trade offs, as the OP seems to be doing.
Wind mills haven’t been state of the art since the big tulip crash of 1637. They are fine supplementing the power grid, but that’s about it.
When I was a little kid and I wanted to wash my dog or my mom’s car I would drag the garden hose out into the sun for a while to heat the water.
Later, my grandma put a pool heater up by her house in AZ with similar cutting edge technology but I was too young to sue for intellectual property theft.
I actually might buy a POS Harbor Freight slow boat from China solar panel to trickle charge my tractor. I ain’t agin’ it.
In my opinion, the best use for solar power is water electrolysis and hydrogen fuel cells.
Does that mean Denmark has all electric cars? or does everyone ride a bike. Gee the country of druggies leads the world Ha,Ha
Dis wind and solar all you want. But it is the wave of the future. Aussies are people of the past. Denmark is smart. Greece dumb.
There is a tidal wave a coming.
Keep voting progressive and we will have the most expensive least reliable power forced on us.
Wind and renewables do not supply base load energy. It’s really that simple. It’s fairly silly to applaud something because the stars aligned correctly for a period of time.
Annie
According to Mad Max: Beyond Thunderdome they could get most of their energy by turning pig effluvia into me thane [sic].
I don’t think “Clean Energy” means what you think it means.
Ore gets mined out of the earth by giant deisel powered equipment ,refined and manufactured into conductors, magnets and the superstructure.
Diesel powered tractor trailers along with gas powered pilot cars transport the windmills across countries.
Diesel powered cranes assemble the windmills just in time for bird genocide.
Even wood windmills weren’t carbon neutral FFS.
Yep, keep voting for regressive so, that’s what you and we can expect. Regression. Australia could get most of their energy from solar panels, with all that sun. But I guess they’re unsightly too?
And what is Abbott’s association with Costello?
This is where the phrase “down under” comes from.
The alternative energy industry will dwarf the tech revolution and industry. The countries that are profiting have a well balanced socio-economic platform that involves government, private investment, labor, and long term thinking. And here in the good ole US of A, well?????? We have the oligarchs and the sacred words anchoring us to the bottom. Denmark exports 40% of the world’s heavy wind turbines and creates thousands of high paid jobs. Yeah, vote Republican.