“Modern wind farms are reliable, safe, state-of-the-art power plants with well-tested technologies that meet approved standards and hundreds of thousands of hours of operating experience,” the U.S. Department of Energy states. Except when they fail under normal conditions–or abnormal ones.

“Wind Turbines Destroyed by Typhoon Yagi,” read one recent headline. This (during peak hurricane season 2024) has wind power in the (not-so-good) news. Not only were older turbines destroyed by the 150 mile-per-hour typhoon (Category 4 in hurricane terms); new “more efficient typhoon-resistant versions” were leveled too. For multi-million dollar structures, the risk and the cost of insurance are major issues.

———

The U.S. offshore wind industry will be spared–but only because of projects that have been abandoned or delayed. But what would happen if such naked structures are built, particularly in the Gulf of Mexico or off the Atlantic Coast?…

Ed. Note: This post excerpts energy and climate material from the Media Balance Newsletter, a free fortnightly published by physicist John Droz Jr., founder of the Alliance for Wise Energy Decisions. The complete Newsletter for this post can be found here.

Greed Energy Economics:
*** Americans’ hearts sink as electric bills nearly double, ‘green nightmare’ blamed
*** Billions paid to wind companies to stop generating electricity is scandalous waste of money

Unreliables (General):
*** Better batteries won’t save the energy grid
*** Tangled Comparisons: Renewables Versus Fossil Fuels

Wind Energy — Offshore:
*** Floating Offshore Wind – An Environmental Catastrophe
*** Looming ‘clean’ energy disasters off our coasts
*** Offshore Trojan Horses
Bad Streak for GE Vernova as Another Offshore Blade Fails
New National Offshore-wind Opposition Alliance
Maine’s mysterious floating wind research

Wind Energy — Other:
*** Taking the Wind Out of Climate Change (referencing 60± studies)
How a small Minnesota town was left with a giant pile of wind turbine blades

Solar Energy:
Why Maine businesses are facing crippling solar fees

Nuclear Energy:
*** Nuclear Symposium 2024 (NYC)
*** Trump vows to make electricity cheap with ‘hundreds of new power plants’ and modular nuclear reactors
*** Artificial Intelligence Goes Nuclear
Study Quantifies Germany’s Disastrous Switch Away from Nuclear Power
China prepares to change world with introduction of revolutionary nuclear power station: ‘This design significantly reduces the chances of meltdowns’
Can a Closed Nuclear Power Plant From the ’70s be Brought Back to Life?…

“The fusion propaganda machine has produced a wave of mostly offbeat projects, more than 40 since 2018 by one estimate. The likelihood that any of these fusion pipedreams will produce anything other than red ink is less than slim.”

Harsh reality is again clashing with the fanciful hype of the past several years regarding fusion energy. The only credible attempt to harness the physics of the sun, the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor, has again pushed back the date when it will attempt a sustained fusion reaction toward practical energy production.

For the second time in two years, the 35-nation project has announced a snag in the project, although it has reported some better news. At a July 3 press conference at ITER headquarters in France, Director-General Pietro Barabaschi said the new goal is to be able to run the toroidal magnets in the donut-shaped tokomak briefly at full power in 2036.…

Ed. Note: This post excerpts energy and climate material from the Media Balance Newsletter, a free fortnightly published by physicist John Droz Jr., founder of the Alliance for Wise Energy Decisions. The complete Newsletter for this post can be found here.

Wind Energy:
Feds say “damn the whales” in the Gulf of Maine
*** Taking the Wind Out of Climate Change (referencing 60± studies)
*** Cooking the Books 2: Lazard’s Levelized Cost of Energy Estimates for Wind
*** Short video: Green Madness – The Waste and Destruction of One Industrial Wind Turbine Project
Video: The Problem with Wind Energy

Solar Energy:
NY Community Bans Solar Projects
Another NY Community Reconsiders Solar Projects
Solar Projects are Taking US Back to the Dark Ages

Nuclear Energy:
*** Nuclear Power 101: Safe, Reliable & Affordable Power Generation In-a-Nutshell
*** The stage is being set for an American nuclear power revolution

Fossil Fuel Energy:
225 Ways President Biden and the Democrats Have Made it Harder to Produce Oil & Gas

Electric Vehicles (EVs):
*** China Is The Big Winner Of North American EV Policies
*** Should Electric Vehicles be Illegal?…