THE MORNING RANT: Wind Energy is Facing Stiff Headwinds and Falling Apart (literally); also, It’s Time for “Energy Sanctuary States”

There is some welcome news regarding wind energy. These whale-killing, bird-chopping, "green" boondoggles that don’t produce any reliable electricity are facing some stiff headwinds, and in some cases, planned projects are now being canceled. The populace is turning against wind, the financing is no longer there, and existing wind projects are falling apart - literally.

What is especially heartening is that people are actually fighting to get existing wind farms torn down, successfully!

“Tribal sovereignty trumps wind in Oklahoma” [Politico – 01/04/2024]

A federal judge has just done something unusual — ordered the removal of an energy project that’s been generating power for nine years.

The December decision came as a shock even to the leaders of the Osage Nation, who have argued for more than a decade that the 84-turbine Osage Wind Farm interferes with the tribe’s mineral rights.

The Oklahoma district court agreed that the wind farm had to go to protect the Osage Nation’s sovereignty. The project’s developers — Osage Wind, Enel Kansas and Enel Green Power North America — failed to get mining leases, despite digging up and crushing rocks to use as support for the turbines.

Much praise to the Osage Nation for their persistence in winning this battle.

An existing wind farm in France is also going to come down.

“Bird-slaying French wind farm must be demolished, judges rule” [Brussels Signal – 12/13/2023]

A French court has ruled that a controversial seven-turbine wind farm has to be demolished.

Only 40 pairs of Golden Eagles are known to live in the French Massive Central area, covering 15 per cent of the French mainland. In January, one was found dead at the Hérault site, apparently struck by a turbine blade. Prior to that, the bodies of a black vulture and hundreds of bats had been discovered.

In 2019 alone, more than 1,000 birds were reportedly found dead at the site. “This is a veritable graveyard at the foot of the wind turbines,” noted the environmental associations’ group lawyer Nicolas Gallon. Due to high wildlife mortality, the region’s prefect had ordered the wind turbines to be shut down in 2020. Local residents also complained about the loud noise made by the wind mills.

What’s not to love about wind energy. It slaughters birds, produces an awful noise, and despoils the landscape, all while producing zero kw of reliable energy.

Future wind projects are also being killed off before they even start, including this one in New York.

“Equinor, BP cancel contract to sell offshore wind power to New York” [Reuters – 01/03/2024]

European energy firms Equinor and BP terminated their agreement to sell power to New York state from their proposed Empire Wind 2 offshore wind farm, citing rising inflation, higher borrowing costs, and supply chain issues.

Heh. “Supply chain issues” is a blanket excuse used by climatistas for every failed green endeavor, be it electric vehicles or “green energy.”

"This agreement reflects changed economic circumstances on an industry-wide scale and repositions an already mature project to continue development in anticipation of new offtake opportunities," Equinor said in a statement on Wednesday,

It looked uncertain for a while, but it appears now that the Great Lakes will be spared from the nightmare of wind energy.

“Icebreaker Wind project halted, no plans to resurrect effort to put wind turbines in Lake Erie” [cleveland.com – 12/09/2023]

The Lake Erie Energy Development Corp., which several years ago seemed destined to achieve its goal to put six wind turbines in Lake Erie about eight miles off Cleveland, stated Friday it has “made the difficult decision to temporarily halt the Icebreaker Wind project.”

Icebreaker was to be the first freshwater wind farm in North America and a test to see if turbines could withstand the rigors of a frozen lake.

My wife has lovingly called me a “bird nerd” for my enjoyment of bird-watching, and my need to identify any bird that finds its way onto my property. I’m proud of my fellow bird nerds for their role in helping to turn the tide against unreliable wind energy projects.

But challenges from bird lovers and a lawsuit funded in part by a coal company managed to delay the project long enough to push away the developer and for rising interest rates to drive up the cost of materials and construction.

While I may eat birds, in addition to feeding them and watching them, I would never just kill a bird as a religious sacrament, but that is what the wind energy industry is asking us to allow. Since wind produces zero kw of reliable electricity, every bird killed by a wind turbine is a senseless killing.

Back in August I wrote about the Hermanville wind farm in Prince Edward Island, Canada, and how rapidly the 10-turbine wind farm was failing. In less than 10 years from commencing operations in 2014, the $60 million “green” project was only producing 40% of the electricity it did when it was new. This correlated to the fact that only 4 of the 10 turbines were still functioning at all.

The situation with this failed wind farm just got a lot worse…

“Vicious winds tear 2 blades off wind turbine in Hermanville, P.E.I.” [CBC – 12/22/2023]

One of the wind turbines in Hermanville, P.E.I., had two of its blades completely torn off as powerful winds raged across the province this week.

As awful as the wind energy boondoggle is, and as much as I’ve covered it, I had no idea until now that a non-operational turbine is at increased risk for dangerous dismemberment compared to a functioning turbine.

Because the turbine wasn't operating, the blades were stationary and couldn't move with the wind, so they were completely ripped off.

Somehow the story gets even worse. As Beege Welborn reports at Hotair , an engineer’s report in 2022 had warned of the danger of these potential missiles:

P.E.I. wind turbines at ‘high risk of imminent failure,’ consultant warned province in 2022

A consultant hired in 2022 to assess production problems at a wind farm owned by the P.E.I. government found severe damage, with turbine units possibly constituting a safety hazard and turbine blades at “high risk of imminent failure.”

Much like the Net Zero fanatics who are willing to starve and freeze people to death in pursuit of their fantasy, the “green energy” zealots are willing to risk innocent lives in pursuit of their fantasy.

You’d think that wind turbines should be able to withstand the wind, but that is apparently not the case. Yet another wind turbine was ripped to shreds in Scotland two weeks ago. Take a look at this shocking video from Ayrshire.

Since all green energy, including wind, is unreliable and cannot fuel modern civilization, it is necessary to save the petroleum industry from those eco-communists who are determined to kill it off. Here’s an idea, how about conservative states declaring themselves “Energy Sanctuary States”?

A distinguishing feature of the “new right” versus establishment conservatives is that establishment conservatives take great pride in allowing the left to advance their agenda, so long as we on the right unilaterally uphold norms and principles in our defeat. The new right believes in fighting back and playing by the new rules.

The whole “sanctuary” movement has been accepted as legitimate, even when it is in defiance of federal law, so if “sanctuary states” can exist for illegal aliens and for marijuana, then the next generation of conservative leaders on the right needs to start proclaiming their states to be “Energy Sanctuaries.” (Hello, Greg Abbott.)

“Why 2024 Needs to Be the Year of the Energy Sanctuary State” [Real Clear Energy – 12/22/2023]

The concept of sanctuary states is used extensively by those on the left, usually around immigration and drugs. However, it can and should be extended to the energy sector.

The new year is an ideal time for states to embrace their energy sovereignty. Such states would be able to contend with burdensome federal regulations by focusing on delivering reliable and affordable energy to their citizens. The left has decided to ignore federal immigration and drug laws. Let’s apply the same treatment to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the rest of Joe Biden’s Green New Army.

Exactly! If the left can simply decide to ignore immigration and drug laws, Texas, Louisiana, etc. can choose to ignore laws imposing restrictions on the petroleum industry.

There is no doubt the left will howl, scream, and sue when the first Governor has the courage to buck nonsensical federal rules. However, look at images of the border, or of rampant crime as a stark reminder of the federal government’s willingness to flout its own laws. If leftists love state’s rights when they make marijuana legal, they should love them just as much when a governor clears the way for new pipelines and power plants.

The idea of “energy sanctuary states” is ultimately a humanitarian idea. Without reliable carbon-based energy, people will suffer. Red state governors should proudly proclaim that the anti-humanist, net zero agenda stops at their borders, and that the petroleum industry that fuels civilization may safely seek shelter and refuge in such states.

[buck.throckmorton at protonmail dot com]

posted by Buck Throckmorton at 11:00 AM

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