up against the wall part 3

If you beat down all the arguments against wind, with the facts that every new generation of turbine makes more energy and is therefore a cheaper source, if you beat back the lies that wind caused the rates to go up, (state corporate commissions own records show they did not), when that and all the other crap is trampled down, some smart ass Senator smarts off: it's unreliable, you have to build over capacity, it can't be counted as baseload.  These are also common bar room arguments, they are bullshit.

All power sources are unreliable, somewhere in the nation a coal plant shuts down ever few days without notice.  Every few weeks a nuclear plant does to.  Wind energy however is made up of farms, scattered over miles, and more farms scattered here and there over much of the country.  Yes, a turbine might fail, but it's one when hundreds, thousands are running, not much impact there.  As for weather, as they are scattered over great geographic areas some can always run.

Yes, if you want a megawatt your build more.  Coal plants, all plants build 15%, even more into the system.  This is common in all forms of energy.

The baseload is the weakest argument, it was true 15 years ago, maybe 5, but not now.  The states, even great regions of the country now are formed into "power pools".  Together they alternately rest a power plant here while others run and feed the grid.  Base load is now shared and can be switched over great areas. Wind is counted now as baseload, a percent of its "global capacity within the grid" is relied on from time to time to let other sources rest.  Baseload is the overcapacity needed even at night to ensure power is in the line when you turn on the light, it's wasted, but needed for a reliable system.  The more wind sources we have, the more often a coal or gas burner can rest, save fuel, save wear and tear, it actually extends the life of those plants, not sure thats good news, but it does.

Rebutted by a contractor at the meeting who builds coal, gas plants and wind farms, the senator muttered "I don't believe it".  And there you are, republicans will not take information from any source but their own kind.  The fossil fuel is a long way from defeated.  In fact, they may succeed in turning the US into a Petro-state, exactly the kind of corrupt nation that we have had trouble with all over the world for 40 years, that may become us.