I've Learned So Much From Others on Substack

This is Just One Example - Limits of Wind Energy

I can hardly add to this well researched and well written piece by Penguin Empire Reports, so I’ll just recommend them and reprint a portion. The earlier portion of their post has some great charts.

Freezing to Fight Global Warming

“…Plus, wind power is a function of wind speed cubed. If you double the wind speed, you increase the wind power potential by 8x. It goes the other way as well. When wind speed drops to 1/2, you go down to just 1/8th of the potential power.

In addition to reduced wind speed, wind turbines aren’t designed to operate at extremely cold temperatures.

General Electric (one of North America’s major turbine manufacturer) published a 2022 “GE Renewable Energy’s Cold Weather Solutions” document. In it, GE reported that:

GE Renewable Energy wind turbines are available from the factory with either a Standard Weather (STW) or Cold Weather Extreme (CWE) package. Standard Weather turbines have a minimum operating temperature limit of -15ºC (5ºF) while the Cold Weather Extreme turbines have a minimum operating temperature limit of -30ºC (-22ºF).

If you have moderately cold weather (above -22F), wind operators can do things like install heaters and change out lubricants, so they don’t freeze up the rotor. If the blades ice up, operators can apply de-icing agents to the blades to reduce the weight and reduce the hazard of flinging ice shards off as the blades spin.

But there’s only so much you can do for extremely cold temperatures, dropping below -22F.

Why?

Turbines are made up of metals and plastics. And they are designed to rotate with extreme leverages and forces placed where the rotator and blades meet. When temperatures drop extremely low, metals and plastics tend to shrink, become brittle, and loose flexibility, running the risk of creating micro fractures in a turbine’s assembly. Continued operations at extreme temperatures run the risk of permanently damaging the turbine, if not all together leading to catastrophic failure.

But that’s not all. Here is the shocking bit to pay attention to in the context of the extreme weather in Alberta. GE added:

“For CWE (Cold weather extreme turbines), the electrical components, gearbox and generator are designed to survive, not operate, down to -40ºC (-40ºF)” (emphasis added).

And Alberta hit -49F. While we’ll have to see how long the extreme weather lasts and what impact it will have on the provinces’ turbines, it’s fair to say that at least some turbines could potentially see an increased risk of long-term damage if the extreme cold continues.

…Cold weather can kill, and it’s when people need a grid to be the most reliable. Yet as we’re watching in real time in Alberta, the only reason the province isn’t literally freezing to death is because the province still has a massive amount of gas power plants, some hydro and coal, and enough transmission connections to keep the lights on.”