Do Wind Turbines Cause Global Calming?

Question

Wind Turbines take energy out of the prevailing winds to create electrical energy. There is no debate that this happens.

Taking energy out of the wind stream is causing the phenomena of Global Calming where there isn't sufficient wind power left to move the weather.

Global Calming could be responsible for more floods and droughts as well as more cold and warmth. Some scientists also see global calming as causing more hurricanes or even reducing their numbers over the season.

As the world is putting up a record number of wind turbines, do you attribute the recent weird weather to global calming? And what would you do to prevent global calming from wiping out humanity in 15 years or so?

Answer 1

Boy lots of false data appearing here--

Boone Pickens is building a mega-watt wind farm in West Texas-- it will cost about 2 BILLION dollars just for the right of way and transmission lines to bring the power where it is needed. Texas leads the nation in percentage of power derived by wind power--- (bet you did not know that). However the wind DOES NOT blow all the time-- so wind power will always be a secondary power source that must be supplemented by conventional and nuclear power plants.

The towers ARE HIGH AND NOISY! and cannot be built just anywhere --- Ted Kennedy stopped the construction of wind turbines offshore Cape Cod--- "as ruining the view" of the area. Just an example of why we have an energy crisis--- nuclear is the answer -- if we start building hundreds of power plants RIGHT NOW!-- and prevent frivolous environmental lawsuits from stalling the construction.

To Answer Jello's question directly--- some studies show his premise-- but are not completely conclusive at the current level of wind generator towers--- but who knows after hundreds of them are erected????

Wind Power is NOT the least expensive -- Coal generated power averages less than 4 cents-- while wind is over .06 cents-- and we DO have a 300 year supply of coal right here in the USA!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Sourc...

http://www.earth-policy.org/Updates/2006...

While wind power will become a larger part of our total energy--- conventional power generation will remain a LARGE percentage of our power production.

Answer 2

Using the wind turbine to make electricity does not have any effect on the prevailing winds

.. . ..

A full grown oak tree has more wind disruption than an acre of wind propellers

.. . ..

And a mountain side has how much wind stoppage

.. . ..

So to think a propeller on a 50 foot high pole is going to stop the westerly winds is lost in the breeze of the evening

... ...

Answer 3

The high priests of the GW religion would argue that the conservation of energy laws of physics do not apply to wind energy, and that Mother Earth is incapable of any "balancing" response to our emmission of noxious gasses every time we exhale.  They like to have their cake and eat it too.

Answer 4

Hmm what an interesting question. If there is to much wind turbines stack against the other the air current becomes erratic.

The law of physics plays a role about that and every cause has an effect.

All living things in this earth depends on each other even in the air we breath has no boundaries.

Every thing that has been utilized create imbalances and those imbalances creates equilibrium

Answer 5

Interesting concept.

Answer 6

Nope.  The amount of energy being extracted is insignificant compared to the total wind energy.

It's really hard for man to have an impact on the energy balance of nature. The use of greenhouse gases to capture more of the energy of the Sun, and so warm the planet, is actually one of the few ways to do it.

Answer 7

No, they cause turbulence, which increases local air mixing.  

Here's the expected climate effect:

"David Keith of the University of Calgary and his colleagues estimated the drag that wind farms hypothetically expanded to cover 10 percent of the Earth's land surface could have on the planet's circulating atmosphere. The result showed global cooling in polar regions above 60 degrees North latitude and global warming in temperate regions such as North America at about 30 degrees North latitude."

http://www.livescience.com/environment/0...

Answer 8

This is one global warming "denier" who is 100% behind wind energy.    Once built the wind farms produce the least expensive power, there is no waste, there is minimal maintenance capital expenditure, the birds don't fly into the turbines en masse, and we need to diversify our electricity sources.

Wind cannot produce peak power generation or produce more than 20% of a grid's baseload generation because it's unreliable in the near-term - - although a wind study can show you that there will be a certain amount of wind over any 12 month period, nobody can predict the wind tomorrow or next week.    But that's Ok - we need reliability from the total sources of power for a grid, not from any one, and wind is underused.

I just wish people would stop claiming that wind power has anything to do with oil.    The US generates less than 2% of its power with oil, and that oil is No. 6 oil, a byproduct of the refining process.    As long as we refine crude oil to make gasoline, jet fuel, heating oil, diesel and other fractions, there will be a certain amount of heavy oil produced.    It's not all going to be used for bunker fuel, so it's going to be available as a backup peak power source when natural gas prices spike.

Answer 9

Maybe, but they kill birds. d**n things are worse than nuke plants. Otta be a law.