A Warning to Congress: Renewal of Wind Energy
Subsidies Will Lead to Big Boost in CO2 Emissions:
... For those who say
this problem is more a product of rock-
bottom natural gas
prices than the PTC, I say think again. Wind
tends to be nocturnal,
blowing during off-peak hours for power
consumption, according to UBS and a 2012 Northbridge study.
consumption, according to UBS and a 2012 Northbridge study.
It’s when people least
need the power, yet that’s just when the
taxpayers are being hit
in the pocket. Natural gas plants are not
setting wholesale prices
in the dead of night, but the wind turbines keep spinning.
So how does all of this
connect to going backwards on climate
change? Easy.
This PTC problem causes the erosion of our existing nuclear fleet,
the low-carbon workhorse. As I mentioned, nuke plants are shutting
down prematurely — Vermont Yankee in Vermont and Kewaunee in
Wisconsin to name two — and more are in danger of following suit.
When that happens, climate scientists say, carbon emissions will skyrocket.
change? Easy.
This PTC problem causes the erosion of our existing nuclear fleet,
the low-carbon workhorse. As I mentioned, nuke plants are shutting
down prematurely — Vermont Yankee in Vermont and Kewaunee in
Wisconsin to name two — and more are in danger of following suit.
When that happens, climate scientists say, carbon emissions will skyrocket.
Starting and stopping our thermal plants to accommodate these
windy splurges also
causes big increases in all contaminant
emissions, including
carbon. Just as the fuel economy in your
car worsens when you’re
inching along in traffic rather than
cruising at a steady 55
MPH, the so-called ‘cycling’ of gas and
coal-fired plants burns
up more feedstock, pouring CO2 into the
atmosphere. In fact,
Bentek, a Colorado energy analytics firm,
found that the 1,327
cycling incidents in the state in 2009 created
up to 6.8 million pounds
of ‘extra’ SO2, 3.1 million pounds of NOX
and 147,000 pounds of
CO2.....
Read the entire article at:
http://tinyurl.com/l4c7fmb
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