I told you so

[Cane Pole]

Wind mills just won't work. T Boone Pickens wind farm is shut down. Technology will not work yet.

Bluegrass Pundit: Fail: Billionaire T. Boone Pickens Wind Power Plan Runs Out of Air

Solar panels won't cut it either. We have coal and nuke capbilities and enough natural gas and coal to last us 300 years. Why not use it?

Cuba and China are drilling off the coast of Florida. If they spill oil, will they clean it up? We are hand tied by tree huggers.

[Billbob]

amen on that

[BigSandyRookie]

I second that amen!

[Eager Beaver]

If you want to think that CP, then I would suggest that you not take the interstate 80 corridor across Iowa west of Des Moines. There are so many of those things that power the towns along there. Rock Port, Missouri is another town completely powered by wind mills. Valmont industries in Valley Ne. runs their plant off one wind mill. They make irrigation pipes for irrigation systems.
Why don't we use nuck and coal power- Because of the pollution that they produce.
Natural gas- check the news the past few weeks and you will discover that the pipes are starting to deteriorate and explode, like in New York and the one in California. 12 inch mains are exploding across the Country. Just to answer a few of your questions. EB

[Cane Pole]

Beaver, here are some scientific facts about wind power. If T Boone cant make it happen, the private market is not going to work. All this wind power you speak of is heavily subsidized. High maintenance.

Try reading this article and maybe you will understand. Scientific facts kinda trumps "Yes We Can".

NoFreeWind - The Heavy Price We Pay for Windpower

[rnvinc]

Wind mills just won't work. T Boone Pickens wind farm is shut down. Technology will not work yet.

Bluegrass Pundit: Fail: Billionaire T. Boone Pickens Wind Power Plan Runs Out of Air

Solar panels won't cut it either. We have coal and nuke capbilities and enough natural gas and coal to last us 300 years. Why not use it?

Cuba and China are drilling off the coast of Florida. If they spill oil, will they clean it up? We are hand tied by tree huggers.

Tree huggers are in the midst...or maybe ..."in the mist"

[TN Hillbilly]

I agree with you CP but Pickens idea was better than most. The way i understand his plan is that the wind turbines, rather than generating electricity directly, were compressing air into underground caverns. The compressed air would then be used to feed gas turbine power plants to produce an increase in efficiency by allowing a reduction or elimination of the need for the turbine to compress it's own. Basically eliminating the compressor stage of the turbine. It would take some of the uncertainty out of wind variability.

[Eager Beaver]

You seem to think that an alternitive to our power sources is just an overnight solution. It took just 10 short years to put a man on the moon from conception. What would have happened if they considered the cost at the beginning.
Nuclear, coal and Natural gas are sources who's time has come to an end. You talk about the cost of the wind power. Most of the power plants are very old and will need a major overhaul and the natural gas pipe need to be inspected and replaced all over this country. What about those costs. Or shouldn't we consider those costs, or the potential of a major disaster happening in this country that would make Chernobal look like a cake walk. What about the nuclear waste that they are dumping in the oceans around the world. They are running out of places to take the waste. EB

[Eager Beaver]

Tree huggers are in the midst...or maybe ..."in the mist"

Dribble like this is why we are where we are! Insults don't solve problems. Just a waste of good air. EB

[TN Hillbilly]

Beaver, maybe if we weren't trying to subsidize bs technologies that are born to fail we could invest some money in building and maintaining what we know works, like natural gas and nuclear. Your suggestion that wind is completely powering those towns is nonsense. Ever noticed that on the coldest nights the wind don't blow and the sun don't shine? What are they doing then, hunkering down waiting for dawn? No, they're running on natural gas and electricity, derived from coal. Problem is, you can't just fire up a coal fired steam plant on a moments notice when the wind refuses to blow. It has to be online at all times, taking up the slack for the wind. Wind power is the most expensive there is and extremely unreliable. It always has to be backed up by another source, which means you have two sets of infrastructure to maintain.