Article

2008-08-13 Science & Technology

Dakato windfarm's size limited to 180 MW because tranmission lines not big enough.

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Posted by 3dc 2008-08-13 12:22|| || Front Page|| [3 views ] Top

#1 Billions for earmarks and not a penny for needed infrastructure.

Posted by Anguper Hupomosing9418 2008-08-13 13:08|| 2008-08-13 13:08|| Front Page Top

#2 I have a business idea that I need to flesh out.

Could power sources in this situation be used to make fertilizer? How small could you shrink the Haber process?

Posted by Abdominal Snowman 2008-08-13 13:56|| 2008-08-13 13:56|| Front Page Top

#3 The problem is that wind turbines only produce between 10% and 20% of their capacity, but you need the infrastructure to support the rare occasions when they produce at peak capacity. So you need to build 5 to 10 times more transmission capacity. Which is why even if wind made economic sense at the point of generation, it's still a bad idea.

Posted by phil_b 2008-08-13 14:07|| 2008-08-13 14:07|| Front Page Top

#4 AS - an interesting idea!

Posted by 3dc 2008-08-13 15:06|| 2008-08-13 15:06|| Front Page Top

#5 AS has the right idea. We should be using wind power for off-grid applications that don't need on demand power. Two occur to me - desalination and heating shale oil deposits.

You need to talk to a chemical engineer, but the Haber process looks to me like it requires a continuous process, ie a continous power supply, which wind isn't.

Posted by phil_b 2008-08-13 15:30|| 2008-08-13 15:30|| Front Page Top

#6 Shale in ND.

Posted by 3dc 2008-08-13 15:43|| 2008-08-13 15:43|| Front Page Top

#7 PR piece for the wind farm. Be interesting to see what they have to say in 3-5 years, after the warts are exposed. Can these operations survive without federal handouts?

Posted by tipover 2008-08-13 15:54|| 2008-08-13 15:54|| Front Page Top

#8 3dc, you put the windmills where you need the power.

Posted by phil_b 2008-08-13 16:44|| 2008-08-13 16:44|| Front Page Top

#9 tip

wont that depend on energy prices at the time?

Posted by supergalitz 2008-08-13 16:45|| 2008-08-13 16:45|| Front Page Top

#10 Does it even take a college freshman to tell them that if they double the voltage in their lines it will cut the amps in half? Then they could use very, very small lines if they wanted. P=I*V or if you need it V=I*R. There you go, now off to work.

Posted by bigjim-ky 2008-08-13 17:14|| 2008-08-13 17:14|| Front Page Top

#11 Make hydrogen from splitting water with any spare power.

Posted by Bright Pebbles 2008-08-13 18:08|| 2008-08-13 18:08|| Front Page Top

#12 tipover, my father knows a company rep in Sacramento that tells him that it is a break even business, in a good year. The other 4 out of 5 years it is a subsidy situation.

Posted by bigjim-ky 2008-08-13 18:43|| 2008-08-13 18:43|| Front Page Top

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