Minn. Green Policy Looms Over Neighbor

Minnesota's push to drastically cut state greenhouse gas emissions is being felt next door in South Dakota -- and that may be a problem for its neighbors.

[Jimmy T]

News flash...

We're going to run out of coal eventually. The burning of coal isn't the only harm being done to the environment as mining inflicts serious damage.

However, don't be fooled into thinking wind power is much better. Wind is unpredictably intermittent. It must rely on back up power being ready at all times. So while the turbines are generating "clean" and "free" electricity a fossil fuel fired plant elsewhere is running at spinning reserve pumping more GHG into the atmosphere yet generating no power. It is doing this so it is ready at a moment's notice to fill the void that dying wind will create in the grid system.

As dirty as coal is, power generated by it is reliable. The power generated by wind is not reliable. Wind has not helped Europe reduce GHG emissions and not a single fossil fuel fired plant has been shut down there as a result of wind power.

European countries with the highest wind saturations have higher carbon emissions per capita and higher rates are paid by consumers.

We need an alternative to fossil fuels but the alternative must be reliable. Solar power is intermittent, but predictably so as the sun rises and sets in a rather predictable fashion. The only reliable power sources we've got now that do not emit GHG are hydro and nuclear.

Evenutally we'll need to quell our fear of nuclear power as it will be the only thing that lets us enjoy our rising addiction to electricity and not focus on conservation.

[Steve]

Good post. Very well done.