WIND CUTS EMISSIONS

Wind energy reduces fossil fuel use and emissions
Michael Goggin, July 28, 2011 (Baltimore Sun)

"As wind energy makes increasing headway in reducing America's dependence on fossil fuels and the harmful emissions associated with their use, the fossil fuel industry has launched an increasingly desperate misinformation campaign to muddy the waters…

"[An op-ed by] Mr. Charles Campbell, a retired senior vice president of the Gulf Oil Corporation ("Wind farms wrong answer to Md.'s greenhouse gas emissions…is marred by numerous false statements and a serious misunderstanding of how the power grid operates. One only need to look to Iowa or Texas, which last year produced 15 percent and 8 percent of their electricity from wind respectively, to see that adding wind to the grid actually improves power system reliability."

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"…[T]here is no need to "back up" wind output as he claims…The output of wind plants is aggregated with all of the other changes in electricity supply and demand on a massive interstate power grid…[ and the grid remains] stable and manageable…[B]oth onshore and offshore wind are relatively easy for grid operators to integrate, as changes in wind energy output occur slowly and are predictable…[L]arge fossil and nuclear power plants…are the ones that experience large, immediate, and unexpected outages, requiring grid operators to keep 1,000-plus megawatts of fast acting, expensive and inefficient standby generation ready 24/7 in case one of those plants goes down.

"U.S. Department of Energy data conclusively show that states that have ramped up their wind energy output over the last several years, like Colorado and Texas, have seen major reductions in air pollution emissions. In addition, every independent grid operator that has examined the issue has found that adding wind energy to the grid results in significant reductions in fossil fuel use and emissions."