Times & Transcript | Readers' Forum
As published on page D7 on February 9, 2005

Wind power claims overblown

To The Editor:

The recent study by the Université de Moncton (Grand Manan has province's strongest wind gusts: study, Feb. 2, Times & Transcript editorial, Feb. 3) will be a great step to further diversifying New Brunswick's energy portfolio which already boasts much non-polluting nuclear and hydro-electric power.

It appears, however, that the potential of this wind power is in danger of being overblown. Both Daniel LeBlanc of the Atlantic Energy Coalition and Dr. Yves Gagnon made statements that made wind power seem like the be all and end all of New Brunswick's energy future. While it certainly has a significant role to play I'm afraid their excitement is a little ahead of technology. Only NB Power CEO David Hay came close to the truth when he said wind turbines have a 30 per cent capacity factor.

Actually this figure is for the world's most advanced turbines placed at the most strategic of locations. Numbers from production scale wind farms are much lower and hover around 15 per cent. Despite the proponents' glee over extremely strong gusts of wind this will have little effect on capacity factor. A wind turbine is designed to operate at one speed most efficiently. If you make this the gust speed (which is hardly ever attained), you are faced with a turbine that is not efficient. Similarly a turbine designed to operate at a lower but more attainable speed is not able to perform well when the gusts reach maximum.

The most poignant example of this comes from Ontario where North America's largest wind turbine resides. This massive 1.8 MW Vestas turbine turned an incredible 99 per cent of the time in 2003 yet due (partially) to the effects mentioned above it only achieved a capacity factor of 18 per cent! Who said wind turbines were reliable?

The practical result of the above facts is simply that there is an upper limit to the amount of power that wind turbines can add to a stable grid. That's why Denmark, for example, which is a role model to many wind turbine enthusiasts with 18 per cent of their supply from wind, is forced to import massive amounts of electricity from neighbouring countries. Ironically most of this is supplied by supposedly unreliable nuclear plants!

To use this study as evidence to not refurbish Point Lepreau is to ignore facts about energy. Point Lepreau has a lifetime capacity factor of 82 per cent. For much of its life it was the No. 1 ranked reactor in the world. Most importantly it emits no greenhouse gases or air pollution. This amounts to over three million tonnes prevented every single year! That's a lot of clean air and that sounds good to me!

Andrew Daley,
Toronto, Ont.
(via canadaeast.com)