Wind Farms at Kansas State University

John D’Aloia Jr.

John D’Aloia Jr. is a retired navy captain and a submarine commander. He is a columnist for several newspapers in Kansas.

An Associated Press report stated that officials at a Kansas state university were considering the construction of a small wind farm to power their campus. A school official was quoted as saying that two or three turbines (at $1.5 million per) would be needed to provide the 3.2 megawatts required each day. The official went on to state an expectation that the school could save on electrical costs and that a backup source of electrical power “would likely still be needed.”

A modern wind turbine can generate on the order of 1.8 megawatts, so two or three turbines would do nicely--except for several minor points that turn the “would likely still be needed” into a certainty, that is unless the powers that be want the campus dark and cold--or dark and hot, as the case may be, for periods of time. Historically, the actual capacity of a wind farm, based on evaluations of operating wind farms, is only on the order of 15 to 23 percent of the nameplate capacity. Why? Sometimes the wind is blowing too fast and the units have to be secured, sometimes the wind does not blow fast enough. Add in maintenance and repair cycles and you are never able to get the full generating potential out of a wind farm. Thus, if the campus needs 3.2 megawatts per day, the school is in fat city when the wind is blowing within the design parameters of the turbines and all the turbines are operational. What happens when the wind is not cooperating or a turbine is down for maintenance or repair? If the school is not hooked into the grid, back to kerosene lanterns--batteries last only so long.

Is wind-generated electrical power “free” energy? Not by a long shot. The economics are simple and proven--wind power is economically viable only when subsidized by tax credits. There is no savings when the cost of a wind kWh exceeds the price of the local utility’s kWh. No tax break and the electrons stop flowing as quickly as if it were a dead calm day. But then, perhaps a state agency does not have to worry about the actual cost or efficient use of dollars, there is always recourse to the taxpayers--or the courts--to pay for their politically correct endeavors.

The AP article quoted the governor’s energy advisor as saying that other universities are already using wind power, and that students are willing to pay a little more to voice their conscience on energy and environmental issues. Supposedly, KU’s student senate is considering adding a $1.00 per student fee to purchase enough wind energy to power the Student Recreation Fitness Center. (A coerced fee says nothing about the conscience of the person from whom the fee is extracted.) When Westar placed their two Jeffrey Energy Center wind turbines in operation, customers were offered the opportunity to sign up for blocks of wind-generated power. For the privilege of being able to say that the electricity being used was generated by wind power, the customer got to pay a surcharge of $5.00 per month per 100 kWh. Look at your last electrical bill. How much enthusiasm would you have about wind power if your bill included this surcharge?

Have the students really given much thought to the environmental pros and cons of wind power? Surely the big windmills turning in the breeze are not creating environmental problems, no problems that is, as long as you eliminate consideration of such externalities as noise, land disruption, loss of open space and natural habitats, visual blight, avian mortality, and the pollution associated with the manufacture and installation of the machines. I wonder if the students know that wind turbines are referred to as avian cuisinarts, or as one wag noted, “big bird swatters.”

There is another environmental impact under investigation. A theoretical study published in the Journal of Geophysical Research reported that the area downwind from large wind farms could be warmer and dryer than the surrounding area. If this phenomenon turns out to actually occur, wonder what impact it will have on prairie grasses.

A July 2004 Acton Commentary on wind power drew this conclusion after surveying the elements of wind power:

In the Book of Proverbs we learn that, “The wisdom of the prudent is to give thought to their ways, but the folly of fools is deception.”

Let’s not kid ourselves. As a matter of policy, to base any significant stake on wind power would be sheer folly. What will it be regents, folly or wisdom?     *

“Every child in America should be acquainted with his own country. He should read books that furnish him with ideas that will be useful to him in life and practice. As soon as he opens his lips, he should rehearse the history of his own country.” --Noah Webster