Green Scam – Windmills

I saw this on Slashdot and found it funny.  The return on the investment for the windmills was not able to produce enough energy to pay for themselves, let alone power a few homes.  So after proving that small windmills are not able to be cost effective, I can’t help but wonder how long it will be before we start seeing them everywhere.

http://www.lowtechmagazine.com/2009/04/small-windmills-test-results.html

“A real-world test by the Dutch province of Zeeland (a very windy place) demonstrates that small windmills are a fundamentally flawed technology (PDF of tests results in Dutch, English summary). Twelve much-hyped micro wind turbines were placed in a row on an open plain. Their energy yield was measured over a period of one year (April 1, 2008 — March 31, 2009), the average wind velocity during these 12 months was 3.8 meters per second, slightly higher than average. Three windmills broke. The others recorded ridiculously low yields, in spite of the optimal conditions. It would take up to 141 small windmills to power an average American household entirely using wind energy, for a total cost of 780,000 dollars. The test results show clearly that energy return is closely tied to rotor diameter, and that the design of the windmill hardly matters.”