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Thursday, September 02, 2010
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| | Email this article • Print this article | Why wind turbines are not working, yet
By Chuck Warner
Knowing I'm on the city council, and observing I've written quite a few times about the city's wind turbine, some of the members of the 10 a.m. coffee group have asked what's up with the wind turbine gracing the city's skyline near the cemetery.
Tad Vezner of the Pioneer Press has this article. It certainly helps answer a few questions.
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Last year, about a dozen Minnesota communities dreamed of clean, green energy: spinning windmills powering hundreds of homes. Now, months after the deadline, windmills stand largely immobile, and the communities are still waiting for the power to flow.
Eleven cities, including North St. Paul and Anoka, are participating in the wind turbine project, each getting a 115-foot windmill via the Minnesota Municipal Power Association (MMPA).
The turbines were to be fully operational by Nov. 7. To date the number is zero.
One reason offered this week at a North St. Paul City Council meeting: hydraulic fluid and lubricating oil in the turbines' gear boxes. In cold weather, the fluid turns gel-like and doesn't flow, said Derick Dahlen, president of Avant Energy, which manages MMPA. That can be particularly problematic if the turbines are already at a standstill.
To fix the problem, a contractor installed heating elements this week in the turbines. In addition, heat tracing is likely to be added to the hydraulic lines and lubrication oil system.
But this might not be enough, said Dahlen, who blames his engineering and construction contractor for the delay.
"I think they should have absolutely known about the cold weather issue, but I think the problems go deeper with that. It's a contributing factor, it's not a casual factor," Dahlen said. "The root problem is that the contractor is not solving any problems .... The weather warms up, and they still don't run.
"The units are not set up correctly," he said. "(The contractor denies) that there's a problem."
Lisa Lutz, in-house counsel for Henkles & McCoy Inc., replies: "We were just made aware of the situation in headquarters (in Pennsylvania) today. We are investigating this matter. Henkles & McCoy is a family-owned business that has been in business for 86 years and stands behind its work."
In the meantime, residents driving past the turbines wonder why they aren't running.
"Who's the idiot that didn't realize that a California whirligig is something that doesn't work in Minnesota?" asked a North St. Paul resident.
He referred to the fact the windmills were bought from Escondido, Calif.-based exXco, a subsidiary of the French company EDF Energies Nouvelles, and have never operated under such cold conditions.
Dahlen admits: "This is the farthest north they (the windmills) have been. So we expect to have some issues with cold weather operation ... and were expected to solve it, too. The problems are all solvable."
Dahlen said the turbines had been refurbished, because the MMPA could not afford new units, but have a history of running well.
The windmills each cost $417,000 and have been erected in Anoka, Arlington, Brownton, Buffalo, Chaska, East Grand Forks, Le Sueur, North St. Paul, Olivia, Shakopee and Winthrop. To fund the project, MMPA sold $5 million in zero-interest bonds.
Under the program, the cities buy energy from MMPA, their primary energy provider. They were installed to meet the state law requiring energy producers to provide 25 percent of output from renewable sources by 2025.
The delay in getting the windmills online has not affected the supply, because other energy sources were already in place.
The 160-kilowatt turbines are much smaller than some modern turbines elsewhere in the state. For example, the turbines at Xcel Energy's Grand Meadow Wind Farm, near Rochester, stand nearly 40 stories tall and generate 1.5 megawatts. They work in temperatures down to 20 below.
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OK, there you have it. But it does beg the question, who are the bird-brains who'd spend $417,000 each for something which, without modifications, can't work in a Minnesota winter?
Maybe these geniuses should be told this is Minnesota, and it gets cold here. Or have they been listening to Al Gore?
Chuck Warner is the former owner/publisher of The Brownton Bulletin.
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Reader Comments
Posted: Saturday, March 20, 2010
Article comment by:
Brad Blake
The turbines that aren't working are only a symptom. They will never work enough to pay for themselves, let alone produce enough to reduce carbon emissions.
The real problem is the state law requiring energy producers to provide 25 percent of output from renewable sources by 2025. State Legislators who know nothing about science or economics are passing these laws that will simply cost taxpayers money and drive up electricity cost. It is a farce. Tell your Legislature to repeal this dumb law and let the free market system work.
Without subsidies and preferential treatment, there would be no wind industry. It is simply too unpredictable, unreliable, inefficient, and costly to compete.
Posted: Saturday, March 20, 2010
Article comment by:
Bob
I live in NYC and have a deal for the residents out there. I am selling the Brooklyn Bridge cheap. Any takers? What a scam. Industrial wind turbines even when they turn don't work. Take them down!
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