Shelburne Wind Information Series continues…
February 11, 2012
Ben Luce, former wind proponent, will make the case for preserving ridgelines from invasive industrial wind siting Saturday February 11 at 7:00 pm in Shelburne’s Memorial Hall. Dr. Luce is a Professor of Physics and Chair of the Sustainability Studies Program at Lyndon State College in Vermont. He will address the limits of onshore wind resources, the high cost of transmission and the large environmental impact. He will discuss wiser alternatives.
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Wind Wise ~ Massachusetts 
At the recent Cape Cod Commission hearing on the New Generation Wind project in Bourne, lawyers, consultants, and owners spoke glowingly about the many benefits of wind power. They were joined by high ranking state officials who echoed their comments saying that wind power is necessary to reduce pollution and save the world from Global Warming.
I testified that the project will not provide any power. For those who understand the difference between Power and Energy, this is no surprise. Studies have found that wind energy does not save fossil fuel, and fails to reduce pollution. Unlike conventional power sources on the grid, wind turbines, whose energy output changes with the wind, need to be continuously supplemented with natural gas or coal to provide power. The studies have found that the need for backup with fossil fuel reduces efficiency to negate wind’s clean energy claim.
State officials glossed over this point by saying that all power plants need backup. The difference, however, is that wind turbines need additional constant and expensive backup, called “spinning reserve” which consumes fuel and pollutes with or without wind.
Wind turbines are an unnecessary add-on to our electric power grid, and they are not worth the risk of annoyance or ill-health to a single resident of Cape Cod, the state, or the world.