Wind farms do not produce as much electricity as claimed by renewable energy lobbyists, energy economist Donn Dears reports in an excellent article on his Power For USA website. Dears expertly summarized a report, The Performance of Wind Farms in the United Kingdom and Denmark, finding wind turbine output drops dramatically just a few years after wind turbines go online.
According to Dears, “These results are amazing, in that the literature usually indicates a consistent capacity factor of 30%, which is what financial projections are typically based on. The report holds even worse news for off-shore wind farms. In Denmark, output declined from 40% in the first year of operation to less than 15% in year 10.”
As the report shows, renewable power lobbyists are selling a false bill of goods every time they make wind power production claims while seeking government subsidies and market share mandates.
Dears’ full article, summarizing other important findings in the report, is available here.
