600
Megawatt Power Plant
Xcel
Energy Company of Denver, Colorado, has proposed building a 600 Megawatt power
plant across the Eastern Colorado Central Plains. It would stretch from near Deertrail,
Colorado, south across the Palmer Divide to Rush Creek, then Southeast along
Rush Creek to almost Hasewell, Colorado.
The proposed electrical plant would cover 40,000 acres. This wind powered electrical plant would involve
400 wind turbines at an estimated cost of over One Billion Dollars. Xcel is expecting to receive 700 million
dollars from the Federal Government to build the project or three fourths of
the money to build would come from taxpayers.
For comparison, the Cherokee
generating station north of Denver, produces 580 Megawatts of electricity and
covers roughly 1000 acres. The customers
for Xcel are close by not requiring long distance transmission lines. The Power Plant in Brush, Colorado has an output
of 505 Megawatts, about 20% smaller. It
covers about 1000 acres which includes a cooling pond of 140 acres. The Department of Wildlife uses this cooling
pond to raise fish for stocking of fisheries around the state of Colorado. The Valmont station, near Boulder, Colorado
is situated along the banks of Boulder Creek, creating a very picturesque and scenic
setting. The plant is smaller,
generating 227 Megawatts of electrical power. Valmont Lake on the edge of the plant is for
cooling, yet it supports a large variety of wildlife and fish.
Lots of this will change as the coal
fired plants are being replaced Natural Gas fired power production
generators. Here are three plants that
have a combined capacity of 1312 Megawatts of production and would cover about
3000 acres of ground and be of benefit to wildlife and have a recreational value
to the people of Colorado. So gas/coal
fired plants produce 1 Megawatt of electricity per 2 acres of ground. Whereas the Rush Creek wind powered plant
will produce 1.5 Megawatts of electrify per 1000 acres.
The other thing is the power
consumed transporting the watts across transmission lines. The power plants located near the cities
along Colorado Front Range, do not lose as much electricity transporting the
watts to the consumer. Whereas the Wind
power plants on the Eastern Plains require long journeys to get the watts to
the Front Range consumer. Boulder,
Colorado has passed a resolution wanting renewable/clean energy. So much of the Rush Creek power would be earmarked
for Boulder, a journey of 100 to 150 miles to get to Boulder. Approximately 10% of the energy produced
would not arrive in Boulder for it would be consumed in transporting the power
to the Front Range. One of the biggest
problems with electricity is its transportation costs and how much is lost on
moving and or converting the power grid.
One of the unexplored assumptions in
wind generated electricity is that it is considered clean, but is it really
clean energy. Consider all the holes in
the ground that have to be dug to produce the materials to build a wind turbine
with tower. How much iron ore has to be
dug, and then refined into to iron pigs.
Lots of iron is imported because of local environmental regulations that
stopped lots of steel mills from production.
Then there is all the energy need to process the iron into steel. Then there are the mines to produce the ore
to strengthen the steel. The Copper pits
need to get ore to produce copper wire and then the mines for the rare earth
minerals used to regulate the turbines and electrical flow. Next is all the petroleum products used on
the production of all the raw materials.
Then the petroleum byproducts in the plastics for wrappings and
insulation not to mention the lightweight carbon fiber used on coverings.
By the time all the labor,
technology and money has been invested in a wind turbine, its expected life is
but 15 years. After the wind turbine
dies, where does it go? In some
instances, the motionless windmill sits on the plains as a monument to
______________ .
Another thing that does not have
much discussion is the pay back for investment.
Generally something with a short life span, 15 years, a 1-3 year payback
is sought. From various comments, the
payback of a wind turbine does not begin until after the tenth year, so only
the last five years is it a net producer, a very poor return on
investment.
With wind farms, various
environmental impact reports have been dismissed. Environmental Impact Reports were a tool used
by environmental groups over the years to block, stop or eliminate projects
they did not like. Yet they have the
illusion the wind power is clean and will not damage the environment, so the
reports for large projects like this, they have put in the round file of 13
coffins.
It is a consensus that wind turbines
are killers of big birds and many smaller species. There is the story of the bird watchers out
in the field studying birds. They
spotted a bird they thought was extinct; everybody got excited and stared
taking pictures. The bird took wing and
flew away from the birders, right into the propeller of a wind turbine. Feathers, blood and guts went flying across
the field.
At one time the American Symbol, the
Bald Eagle was considered an endangered bird species. The eagle was given special protection laws,
in the attempt to keep people from harming the endangered species. That changed when the wind turbines blades
were shown to be great killers of the American Bald Eagle. The protection laws for the great birds were
waived/ignored where there were wind farms.
Where the wind farms were located it was now okay to kill the great
birds without consequences.
The Rush Creek project stretches
across some sensitive wildlife habitat, for a large variety of birds. Besides being home to Bald Eagles, the
massive Golden Eagle calls the area home.
There is a variety of other raptors in the area. A tremendous assortment of hawks, falcons,
owls, and waterfowl, live in the boundaries of the proposed project. During migration, huge flocks of birds can be
seen floating across the horizon. Sand
hill cranes, stop in the fields to glean the seeds left behind as do the geese
and ducks. The prairie ponds make nice
habitat for the migrating birds. Then
there are the mid size birds, like the Mountain Plover, that some of the
communities have bird festivals for. All
these birds would be under threat of mutilation by the spinning blades of the
wind turbines. And this killing would
probably bring in more buzzards/vultures looking for a meal, resulting in more
sliced up bird.
All the laws that have been passed
in the past to protect wildlife become void when there is a wind farm.
The
Rush Creek Power Plant track will also cross some very sensitive areas of
Archeology and environmental. So many
people along the Front Range see nothing in Eastern Colorado. They see it as a devoid, barren land of no
value. Yet the power lines and wind mill
sites will be built crossing ancient Indian villages, hunting grounds and
burial sites. It will also be crossing
Creeks that are loaded with small springs that feed small ponds and
creeks. Activity around these areas can
change the water flow of the springs and creeks and in worse case, destroy
them. Many an early pioneer built his
home near these areas for a supply of water.
The rancher knew of them to provide water for his cattle and cattle
trails followed along these creeks to where the springs were. Water on the prairie is the life blood of the
people that call it their home.
Then
there are the Indian sites along the land.
Tepee rings dot the land where the Indians used to live, fire rings are
found nearby and a variety of ancient tools can be found in the area,
arrowheads, scrapers, spear points, grinders and the occasional burial
site. Right over the top of these
ancient sites the Power Plant will be built.
Again it appears that laws will be ignored, The Antiquity Act, to get
the wind farm built.
When
the windfarm is built, there is road construction to access all the wind mills
and carry the wiring that connects them into the power grid. Then there are the tremendous holes in the
ground that have to be dug and filled with concrete as an anchor base. In a land where water is in short supply,
water used in concrete puts lots of pressure on local water. When the farm is completed, land has been
tied up that is no longer productive land to the farmer or rancher. When the life of the wind turbines expire
what happens to them. In instances of
older wind generators wearing out and no longer useful, the operators have
abandoned them and the windmills sit as a monument to something. All the concrete anchor pads, which are equal
to a 5-6 story building in size, are there in the ground.
For
when a farmer or rancher loses productive land, they lose a part of their
income. Dirt can not be rolled out on
the Sixteenth Mall and then graze cattle.
Yet the pundits say that lost income is replaced by the rental income of
the windmill. Is the trading of tax
dollars a replacement for lost income? A
reduced Ag income means the taxes paid by the Ag industry have been lost. So when land is taken out of production,
taxes are also lost. Then when the
windmills are abandoned, what does it take to restore the land to productivity? Will the operators be forced to reclaim the
land like the coal miners are forced?
The
economics of this project is also questionable.
The Federal government will give Xcel Energy 700 million dollars to
build the power plant. That means that
every citizen in the United States will give Xcel Energy two dollars out of
their pocket. In return what will these
coerced citizens get from Xcel Energy?
The power generated from this farm will only go to a small portion of
people on the Front Range. The expensive
impact of the project will reach into everybody’s pocket book.
Wind
generated electricity is more expensive than the other methods, coal, nuclear
and gas. So on the backside a wind
powered electrical plant will take more money out the pocket of people. Electricity is one of the keystones that
drives the economy. It powers the motors
in the production lines of the factories, the machines for tooling, the
electronic machines of communication and the illumination of business
buildings. Without electrify, we would
still be using candles to light the way.
Wind
generated electricity is roughly 25% more expensive then the conventional means
of producing it. That means, durable
goods production pricing will go up, communication costs will go up, the cost
of operating an office will go up, stores will have to pay more on their energy
bill and across the board the price of everything increases. With all these price increases, does the
environment improve? There has not been
a consensus answer to that.
The
economics of wind generated power raises so many questions and creates rubs
that make sparks fly. With the
government subsidy, the price of wind generated power is more expensive then
coal, nuclear or gas. There are the
maintenance expenses of the towers. The
land holders get lease payments plus there are the access roads to the turbines
to gain access for repairs. Again it is
government subsidies that support these expenses. After the life of the wind turbine expires,
what happens to them? In locations, the
wind farm was left standing. Silent
giant windmills on the horizon, a monument to something.
The
land holder that leases some of his land to the operator likes it because they
feel they are receiving increased revenue.
With government subsidies, it amounts to sending a 10 dollar bill to
Washington DC and getting 50 cents back for their lease payment. Every taxpayer in the county sends a couple
of pennies to the land owner and what do they get back…… ? I get an increase in my electric bill because
the supplier raised their rate. Of of
the rate increase of a quarter, 20 cents go to the distributor and supplier and
a nickel goes to the leaseholder of the wind turbine. Again what does the land owner return to me
for giving him a nickel?
When
a person looks at government subsidies, it can be seen that it creates lots of
animosities for subsides favor a few that the many have to pay for and get
nothing in return. Yet it is something
the government has been doing for decades and it has resulted in some
scandalous deals over the years.
So
when a person looks at the Rush Creek wind farm, who benefits, where do the
benefits go? Who is damaged, why are
they damaged? Is there an upside to the
project? How much damage will there be
in the construction of the project.
One
of the cleanest power plants for electricity is nuclear. Because of the Atomic bomb, there has been
lots of fear and scare tactics used against nuclear power plants. Duke Energy, has an interest in some of the
wind turbines around Burlington, Colorado.
Duke Energy is one of the biggest utility companies in the SE US, producing
electricity for the Carolinas, Georgia, parts of Florida and surrounding
areas. They also operate Nuclear power
plants, producing over 3000 Megawatts on plant sites of about 3000 acres, a
ratio of one Megawatt per acre. Compared
to 1.5 Megawatts per 1000 acres on a wind farm.
Even
Xcel Energies largest power plant at Pueblo produces Megawatts at a good ratio
of Fourteenhunded Megawatts on roughly 1400 acres of land. On their web page, Xcel states they have 99%
reduction of pollutants. Comanche is a
coal fired power plant and a 99% reduction is excellent. The maintenance costs on a plant like
Comanche are nominal compared to the expenses of repairing wind turbines.
Nuclear
far out shines the other methods of producing electricity on a cost benefit
ratio. The waste byproduct has become
neutral over the years. The nuclear
waste dumps around the country are closely monitored and in the older storage
sites, radiation has dropped to the levels as background radiation we receive
daily. If a person wants renewable energy, nuclear would fit the bill.
Today,
the use of natural gas is leading the way for electric production. Listening to the people that work in the gas
fields, many are saying that the gas is almost replaced as fast as it is
extracted from the ground, making it a renewable fuel source. In the ever expanding world of technology,
wind generated electricity is falling way behind in delivering a reliable and
affordable product.
Wind
turbines, tie up vast amounts of land, wasting numerous acres but most of all
it is not reliable. For the wind does
not blow 24 7 365 days on the Prairie.
And when the wind does set down, nothing is produced by the windmills,
they silently sit there being non productive.
Then when the wind does decide to roar, it is to strong of wind for the
windmill and it has to be shut down, again being non productive.
In
today’s market, the natural gas fired power plants are the best value and gas
is a renewable energy source that is virtually non pollutant.
