The Problem with Wind Energy

"Thar she blows!"
--Captain Ahab, Moby Dick

The wind power industry is in trouble. For illustration, look no further than the UK. A few days ago, low winds brought the country’s output to less than 1% of total generation. Right now, the UK grid regulator is preparing to start throwing cash at wind turbine operators because the next named storm is coming and it will bring strong winds — likely much stronger than is healthy for grid balance.

Meanwhile, in Germany, total wind capacity additions for last year hit 14 GW or 2,400 turbines but at the same time the country is facing a future of coal for longer, to balance the grid. Reports are using the word “may” but we all know they actually mean “will” because you can’t have an unbalanced grid.

--Irina Slav, "Wind, Wind" 

* * * 

One of the many things I learned this past year while researching and writing about energy and the grid has to do with that last highlighted phrase, "because you can't have an unbalanced grid." What does this phrase mean? 

The way the energy grid works is that supply and demand must match. Most people don't understand this. And it is one of the reasons energy is becoming more expensive. When the wind fails to blow and the sun hides its face, the power providers must ramp up the backup generators, which is not free. The cost of electricity would be lower if the natural gas or coal plants were able to run as normal, but this Rube Goldberg complexity is altered by the inconsistent variances in wind and solar. 

The three cornerstones of energy policy are Affordability, Reliability and Safety. The notion that wind and sun are free is a myth. The fears regarding the safety of nuclear power have been blown out of proportion and as nearly all of us have experienced, irrational fears are a challenge to control when we lack facts or understanding. 

Here's a comment on the "Wind, Wind" piece by Irina Slav 

The issue from the very beginning of the push for large-scale wind power was whether wind would be reliable enough to provide continuous input, bearing in mind the ABC of intermittent energy.

A. Supply to the grid must continuously match demand.

B. The continuity of wind and solar input is disrupted by nights with little or no wind.

C. There is no grid-scale storage at present using pumped hydro or batteries or any other known technology.

Therefore intermittent inputs from the sun and wind have no place on the grid.

* * * 

Much more can always be said, but this (above) is the basic point for today.

Bob Dylan In Minnesota Now Available at Zenith Bookstore: A Handy Tool for Music-Based Tourists

Music-based tourism is well developed and growing, especially in countries featuring both mature tourism and music industries, such as the USA and the UK. 

So begins an abstract about a paper by David Leaver and Ruth A. Schmidt titled Before they were famous: music-based tourism and a musician's hometown roots.

They go on to say "Mintel estimated destination driven trips as 75 per cent of all music tourism at approximately 55 million annual visits worldwide, including domestic and international travel. It relies on evidence of cultural activities, incidents from the past, and tangible artifacts that can be photographed (Connell and Gibson, 2003). Memphis, with its strapline “Home of the Blues, birthplace of Rock n Roll” has built, post the mid-1980s, a thriving music based tourism industry attracting some million visitors and a spend of $3 billion (Memphis Convention and Visitors Bureau, 2007). The popularity of heritage attractions is highest among middle aged and older consumers, [“baby boomers” born between 1944 and 1964] with a bias towards the more affluent ABC1 socio-economic groups, with the third-age group, which makes up 25 per cent of the UK population, classed as very heritage-active (Mintel, 2008b). 

"The search for a contextual understanding is a key driver for these heritage tourists. Sites of music production and of births and deaths which emerged in the latter part of twentieth century are central."

This link will bring you to sources for this document: Before they were famous: music-based tourism and a musician’s hometown roots.

If you do decide you want to see points of interest from the early life of octogenarian Bob Dylan, I can recommend a couple of books to help you catch a few scenes you may not have been aware of before. The first, which is now near impossible to find, is Dave Engel's Just Like Bob Zimmerman' Blues.  You can read my interview with Mr. Engel here. The second might me K.G. Miles' Bob Dylan in Minnesota, of which I was one of several contributors. If you are planning a trip to the Northland, I recommend buying it when you visit us here Up North or in the Twin Cities.

* * * 

Thursday night I attended a book-signing by Rick Shefchik and Paul Metsa at Zenith City Books where their newly released Dylan-themed Blood In The Tracks is now available. I noticed that Zenith is also carrying K.G. Miles' fourth book in the Troubador Tales series, Bob Dylan in Minnesota. (Caveat: I saw the last copy pulled from the shelf so hopefully it will be back in stock soon.) Paul Metsa was also a contributor to that book as well, along with three other Minnesotans including myself.

If you're looking for a good read, their knowledgeable staff will help guide you to something worthy of your time. What's more, other than the library, I think Zenith has the most complete selection of works by local authors. There are a lot of excellent writers here, so make time to explore.

Here are a few fotos from Thursday eve.

An attentive crowd for the book signing.

Paul Metsa signs a book for Duluth Dylan Fest chair Zane Bail.

Rick Shefchik adds his signature for Nelson French

Meantime, life goes on all around you. Get into it.