Wind Power Clean and Reliable?

[JBG]

Winter would seem to be a peak time of demand for power. Is this (link, excerpts below) what you can rely on?

Northern New Brunswick wind turbines frozen solid

FREDERICTON — A $200-million wind farm in northern New Brunswick is frozen solid, cutting off a potential supply of renewable energy for NB Power.

The 25-kilometre stretch of wind turbines, located 70 kilometres northwest of Bathurst, N.B. has been completely shutdown for several weeks due to heavy ice covering the blades.

GDF SUEZ Energy, the company that owns and operates the site, is working to return the windmills to working order, a spokeswoman says.

"We can't control the weather," Julie Vitek said in an interview from company headquarters in Houston, Texas. "We're looking to see if we can cope with it more effectively, through the testing of a couple of techniques."

She says the conditions in northern New Brunswick have wreaked havoc on the wind farm this winter.

"For us, cold and dry weather is good and that's what's typical in the region. Cold and wet weather can be a problem without any warmer days to prompt thawing, which has been the case this year.

"This weather pattern has been particularly challenging."

Wintery conditions also temporarily shutdown the site last winter, just months after its completion. Some or all of the turbines were offline for several days, with "particularly severe icing" blamed.

The accumulated ice alters the aerodynamics of the blades, rendering them ineffective as airfoils. The added weight further immobilizes the structures.

Vitek says workers are trying to find a way to prevent ice buildup from occurring again in the future. The shutdown has not had any effect on employment at the site, which provides 12 permanent jobs.

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"Although there may be periods when production is down from what would be expected, there are also periods when production is above what would be expected," she says.

"We only pay for the energy that actually goes on our transmission system."

But with energy market prices changing constantly, she says there's no way to know if NB Power is paying more or less for replacement power.

"It can be more expensive. It can also be cheaper," she says, but fluctuations in production at other sites can make up the difference.

"Our hopes is that it will balance out over the 12-month period and, historically, that has been the case."

Despite running into problems in consecutive winters, Morton says NB Power doesn't have concerns about the reliability of the supply from the Caribou Mountain site.

Suez's website states its wind farms on average produce about 35 per cent of their capacity on an annual basis, accounting for daily and seasonal fluctuations in wind patterns.

David Coon, executive director of the Conservation Council of New Brunswick, says winter tends to bring higher winds to the province, which would push wind farms to produce more power.

[Vandy]

Diversity in the energy grid is key. This article proves nothing except that one single wind farm should not be the only source for power in a region.

Specifically, here is a recent counterpoint to your conjecture:

http://news.sciencemag.org/scienceinsider/2011/02/when-wind-is-reliable-turbines.html?ref=hp

[Clifford]

It sounds to me like they have a design flaw in Canada, or any place heavily impacted by ice.

They should look to the aircraft industry for ideas. It might take some energy, but should be better than leaving the turbines idle for extended periods.

http://www.airspacemag.com/how-things-work/deicing.html

http://wattsupwiththat.com/2010/11/14/fighting-ice-at-the-nano-level-a-promise-for-improved-safety/