Don't you feel like running in the meadow signing "the hills are alive with the sound of music" when you see this picture? If so...you've probably been brainwashed.

During a normal Tuesday morning....

Here I was watching a bit of TV...when a GreenPeace activist was talking about how we should be the world leaders when it comes to windmill energy. The panel who listened to him talk all seemed to be in agreement, nodding their heads as a sign of approval. They all seemed to think that it would be a "good thing" and that we should really consider asking the government "to do more" to stimulate that section of the economy.

Here in Quebec,Canada it's a national sport: ask the government to do stuff.

Now, in Quebecistan, we love monopolies...I can't give you the whole list but it goes from energy, to games, alcohol and even maple syrup. And since, especially in the case of a government monopoly (in the energy sector), they are terrible at making a cost/benefit analysis I have to assume they think its a good idea too. It's also a great way to get some votes.

When the average person think "windmill" they think of those cute commercial of how the "world of tomorrow" is full of those beautiful white thing rotating at a distance. Politicians love to talk about "clean energy" and "green energy". So they ride the bandwagon and no one ask the real hard questions.

Not All Energies Are Created Equal

Here is a rhetorical question for you. Would you plug the pacemaker of your grandma on a wind turbine? Of course not. It seems simplistic but it is here to point out that "not all energies are created equal".

For a source of energy to be sustainable and of good quality for consumption his has to:
1- Be easy to scale during peak hours of consumption
2- Reliable
3- Easy to store
4- Be safe to use
5- Have a large quantity of the resource in order to sustain consumption

It just so happen that we have the PERFECT source of energy right here in our own province and we've been using it for decades...Hydro-Electricity. Its easy to scale at peak hours...only open the spigots in periods of high demand. The water is plentiful, it's reliable, its safe to use and the very idea of an hydro-electric power plant is storage of water.

Check out the potential we've got in Quebec for Hydro power:

But for some strange reason, there are huge public outcries when it comes to touching a river they will personally never see themselves. I have yet to figure out what's going on in people's head...

Wind turbines are ugly, dangerous for the environment and the health of people and animals

The biggest problem with wind turbine energy is that it's highly unpredictable, impossible to scale on demand and when you factor the cost of maintenance from cradle to grave...the ridicule of the project is obvious. It would be impossible for this energy to compete with other available alternatives on the free market. But that's not all...they are ugly, bad for the health of humans and animals.

I was visiting Ohio where a small community is fighting again a huge wind turbine project that would literally destroy the natural beauty of the area. When people think of windmill, people think of those small things in a distance that kinda look cute in picturesque progressive Norway or something. Let me tell you, the size of this thing is EPIC. Here is what they look to scale (the one on the left is the size they have on the project I believe)

Imagine your house surrounded by 15 to 20 skyscaper like this. I feel for those people.

Not only those things are ugly mammoths, they also have an environmental impact. Bats, for example, literally have their inner collapse on themselves because of the change of pressure. Learn more here. Bats are vital to rural area to get rid of pests...the cost of pesticides, both economically and environmentally would go through the roof if you collapse the bat population of the area.

Humans also have issues when we are around them Read Wind Turbine Syndrome: A Twenty-Minute Crash Course

Conclusion

To me, wind turbines farms are a dumb idea that make people feel good. It may be interesting in some applications but we should let the market decide which energy succeed at serving the consumer...especially the one who can't afford an increase in the price of energy.