The following article in the Chicago Tribune by Julie Wernau in the Business Section on Wednesday, January 18, ComEd to receive more solar power, captured my attention:
"Beginning in July, Commonwealth Edison Co. customers will receive more power from the sun, thanks to a solar project under way in LaSalle County.
The 23-megawatt project by Chicago-based Invenergy LLC, using technology from General Electric Co's renewable arm, will be the largest solar project in the Midwest"
Invenergy's new solar project in LaSalle County, with its thin film solar panels and inverters, are expected to fill 160 acres and provide power to 4,000 homes.
In the same Trib article, Wernau informed readers that the 60 acres, 2.3 megawatt solar project planned for LaSalle County will be located next to another already functioning project by Invenergy, its Grand Ridge-wind farm, "where 140 of GE's 1.5 megawatt wind turbines will produce 210-megawatts of power." Through research, I found that the Grand Ridge-wind farm covers 28,000 acres.
Some background information: Invenergy and its affiliated companies develop, own and operate large-scale renewable and other clean energy generation facilities in North America and Europe with its home office in Chicago. Invenergy and its affiliated companies have developed and placed in service twenty-six wind farms, making Invenergy one of the top six largest owners of wind generating facilities in the U.S.
http://investing.businessweek.com/research/stocks/private/snapshot....
As if Julie Wernau's Trib article informing readers of a new Invenery Illinois solar plant and of an existing wind turbine farm weren't enough to stir my thoughts toward one of total disbelief, Wernau further let slip that Exelon Corp's LaSalle nuclear power plant is located in close proximity to Invenergy's solar project and functioning wind farm.
Although my educational background is in music education, I have written numerous articles about the Zion Dual Nuclear Plant, located about 15 miles south of my home in Lake Bluff, IL When standing on Lake Bluff's Sunrise Beach, I could see the dual towers of the Zion's Nuclear Facility looking northward from Lake Bluff. http://illinoisreview.typepad.com/illinoisreview/2010/06/why-i-thin.....
My Nuclear Energy knowledge resulted from extended back and forth communication with David Hollein, a Barrington Hills resident, who during his career at Westinghouse led a number of projects worldwide where he because acquainted with some powerful people. At one point in his career, Mr. Hollein had charge of Westinghouse's Commonwealth Edison projects and had the lead for at least three two-unit power stations, including the Zion's Dual Nuclear Facility. Built in 1973, the first Zion unit started producing power in December, 1973. The second unit came on line in September of 1974.
Zion's Nuclear Facility is presently being decommissioned by Zion Solutions, and when completed over a ten- year time period at a cost close to a billion dollars paid for by electric rate payers in northern Illinois, the Zion Facility will be but a blurb in history of a Plant shut down unnecessarily and prematurely in 1998. Zion's decommissioning will result in the loss of 2,100 MWs of clean, cheap electricity from a power generating station site covering 257 acres. Zion used as its cooling pool Lake Michigan: Intake structure - 2,600 ft. off shore; Discharge structure - 760 ft. off shore.
http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/doc-collections/nuregs/staff/sr1437/v...
And what about Exelon Corp's LaSalle Nuclear power plant mentioned in Julia Wernau's article? The LaSalle Dual Nuclear Station covers 3,055 acres which includes a man-made cooling lake of 2,058 acres. LaSalle's Unit 1 is capable of generating 1,138 net megawatts; Unit 2 is capable of generating 1,140 net MW. Together the units can produce enough energy to power more than 2.3 million average American.
I have no fault with Julie Wernau's Trib article. She is an excellent reporter who covers Energy Issues for the Trib and only presented the facts as she found them.
Why then am I so upset with the facts in Julia Wernau's Trib article?
The answer lies here: Before Zion's shut down in 1998, it was producing 2,100 MWs of power, enough power for 2 million homes. Lasalle is now producing 2,278 MWs of power, enough to power 2.3 million average American homes.
It upsets me that wind and solar power are being considered as viable energy sources here in Illinois under the assumption that they can supply the state with its increasing, future energy needs.
The sum total of megawatts from the new Invenergy solar power project upon completion is 2.3 MW. Combined with the l.5 MWs of power produced at Invenergy's Grand Ridge-wind farm with its 140 turbines covering 28,000 acres, they add up to a paltry 3.8 MWs of power!
This amount of energy is trivial in comparison to the massive amount of energy produced by just one nuclear plant which on the average provides 1,000 MWs of green, safe, efficient, and inexpensive power.
I don't hold any ill feelings against companies such as Chicago-based Invenergy LLC who are only looking to make a buck from their investments in wind and solar as the accepted flavors of the day.
Such companies are being developed and spurred on by climate-warming prophets like Al Gore, who claim that the earth is facing unstoppable destruction due to man-made global warming, if man's dependence on fossil fuels for energy is not abandoned in favor of green energy source -- such as solar and wind -- which are not filthy and which do not pollute the earth with CO2 emissions.
The idea of wind and solar power as sources capable of providing vast amounts of power is but a pipe dream, but if there is money to be made through hefty government subsidies to invest in wind and solar power -- without which wind and solar would not be profitable ventures -- companies will continue to invest in these renewable, green energy sources until they are no longer profitable to operate. Abandonment will occur, as is happening in Europe, when government subsidies dry up. Looking into he future, this nation's landscape will be dotted with rusting wind turbines and abandoned solar power sites.
To be emphasized: Wind and solar power are produced only when the wind blows and the sun shines. Back-up energy must be provided when Mother Nature rations both the wind and the sun.
Concerning wind turbines, there is not a single-wind farm in the world that pays for itself without massive government subsidies. It would take a wind turbine farm covering 300 square miles to produce 1,000 MWs of power. Compare this to one nuclear facility which on the average produces 1,000 MW of energy on a site measured in acres, not in square miles!
Blame must be placed on fool-hardy Illinois legislators who have jumped head-long and feet-first into the unrealistic and unscientific Al Gore premise that Global Warming exists, and that it's a man-made phenomena.
As cited by Julia Wernau in her aritlce, "Passed by Illinois legislators and under state law, utilities must receive one-half of 1 percent of their power from solar (AND WIND?) by 2012, with that total doubling each (tripling between 2012 and 2013) until it reaches 6% in 2015."
Further research by Julie Wernau would have revealed that Illinois legislators have likewise mandated that 18% of Illinois's energy should come from wind and solar power by 2025. According to Wernau, Illinois has not even reached its mandated 2011 goal of one half of one percent.
Illinois is blessed in having an estimated 211 billion tons of coal lying beneath the state. This demonstrated coal reserve base is the second largest in the U.S., and, for bituminous coal, the largest in the nation. Illinois coal resources hold more British thermal units (measure of heat) than all of Saudi Arabia's and Kuwait's oil reserves combined. http://sz0092.ev.mail.comcast.net/zimbra/h/printmessage?id=75986
Coal production is a major part of the Illinois economy. In 2004, the state produced over 31 million short tons of coal worth an estimated $819 million dollars, which ranked it 9th in the nation in coal production. Coal deposits lie under 37,000 square miles of Illinois, about two thirds the entire state. Recoverable coal reserves are estimated to total 30 billion tons, accounting for almost one-eighth of the nation's total coal reserves and one-fourth of bituminous coal reserves. http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Illinois_and_coal span style="color: #0000ff;">http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Illinois_and_coal>
And what about Exelon Corp's LaSalle Nuclear power plant mentioned in Julia Wernau's article? The LaSalle Dual Nuclear Station covers 3,055 acres which includes a man-made cooling lake of 2,058 acres. LaSalle's Unit 1 is capable of generating 1,138 net megawatts; Unit 2 is capable of generating 1,140 net MW. Together the units can produce enough energy to power more than 2.3 million average American.
I have no fault with Julie Wernau's Trib article. She is an excellent reporter who covers Energy Issues for the Trib and only presented the facts as she found them.
Why then am I so upset with the facts in Julia Wernau's Trib article?
The answer lies here: Before Zion's shut down in 1998, it was producing 2,100 MWs of power, enough power for 2 million homes. Lasalle is now producing 2,278 MWs of power, enough to power 2.3 million average American homes.
It upsets me that wind and solar power are being considered as viable energy sources here in Illinois under the assumption that they can supply the state with its increasing, future energy needs.
The sum total of megawatts from the new Invenergy solar power project upon completion is 2.3 MW. Combined with the l.5 MWs of power produced at Invenergy's Grand Ridge-wind farm with its 140 turbines covering 28,000 acres, they add up to a paltry 3.8 MWs of power!
This amount of energy is trivial in comparison to the massive amount of energy produced by just one nuclear plant which on the average provides 1,000 MWs of green, safe, efficient, and inexpensive power.
I don't hold any ill feelings against companies such as Chicago-based Invenergy LLC who are only looking to make a buck from their investments in wind and solar as the accepted flavors of the day.
Such companies are being developed and spurred on by climate-warming prophets like Al Gore, who claim that the earth is facing unstoppable destruction due to man-made global warming, if man's dependence on fossil fuels for energy is not abandoned in favor of green energy source -- such as solar and wind -- which are not filthy and which do not pollute the earth with CO2 emissions.
The idea of wind and solar power as sources capable of providing vast amounts of power is but a pipe dream, but if there is money to be made through hefty government subsidies to invest in wind and solar power -- without which wind and solar would not be profitable ventures -- companies will continue to invest in these renewable, green energy sources until they are no longer profitable to operate. Abandonment will occur, as is happening in Europe, when government subsidies dry up. Looking into he future, this nation's landscape will be dotted with rusting wind turbines and abandoned solar power sites.
To be emphasized: Wind and solar power are produced only when the wind blows and the sun shines. Back-up energy must be provided when Mother Nature rations both the wind and the sun.
Concerning wind turbines, there is not a single-wind farm in the world that pays for itself without massive government subsidies. It would take a wind turbine farm covering 300 square miles to produce 1,000 MWs of power. Compare this to one nuclear facility which on the average produces 1,000 MW of energy on a site measured in acres, not in square miles!
Blame must be placed on fool-hardy Illinois legislators who have jumped head-long and feet-first into the unrealistic and unscientific Al Gore premise that Global Warming exists, and that it's a man-made phenomena.
As cited by Julia Wernau in her aritlce, "Passed by Illinois legislators and under state law, utilities must receive one-half of 1 percent of their power from solar (AND WIND?) by 2012, with that total doubling each (tripling between 2012 and 2013) until it reaches 6% in 2015."
Further research by Julie Wernau would have revealed that Illinois legislators have likewise mandated that 18% of Illinois's energy should come from wind and solar power by 2025. According to Wernau, Illinois has not even reached its mandated 2011 goal of one half of one percent.
Illinois is blessed in having an estimated 211 billion tons of coal lying beneath the state. This demonstrated coal reserve base is the second largest in the U.S., and, for bituminous coal, the largest in the nation. Illinois coal resources hold more British thermal units (measure of heat) than all of Saudi Arabia's and Kuwait's oil reserves combined. http://sz0092.ev.mail.comcast.net/zimbra/h/printmessage?id=75986
Coal production is a major part of the Illinois economy. In 2004, the state produced over 31 million short tons of coal worth an estimated $819 million dollars, which ranked it 9th in the nation in coal production. Coal deposits lie under 37,000 square miles of Illinois, about two thirds the entire state. Recoverable coal reserves are estimated to total 30 billion tons, accounting for almost one-eighth of the nation's total coal reserves and one-fourth of bituminous coal reserves. http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Illinois_and_coal span style="color: #0000ff;">http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Illinois_and_coal>
So why the push in Illinois for producing more and more energy through the renewable sources of solar and wind? Granted, in comparison to western coal, Illinois coal is high in sulfur, and even when cleaned the sulfur content averages 2 to 3 percent by weight. But this isn't the only reason why environmental groups are lobbying against coal-fired plants in Illinois.
As with the Obama administration, Illinois Democrat legislators have become enamored with and dedicated to Al Gore's unscientific hypothesis that man-made Global Warming, with its culprit CO2, must be phased out. Irrational thoughts about saving the earth through the development of wind and solar power continue to swirl around in the misguided brains of Springfield Democrat legislators.
In yet another Trib article by Julie Wernau published June 11, 2011, Consumers' electric bills likely to spike as coal plants close, Wernau warns how stricter EPA regulations, which have already been put in place, will force some power generators to decide to shutter their coal-fired plant, rather than to comply with the costly improvements mandated by the EPA.
Wernau's article further informs readers that starting in 2014 the average residential customer in ComEd's territory would see increases of $107 to $178 a year. http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2011-06-11/business/ct-biz-0612-... span style="color: #0000ff;">http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2011-06-11/business/ct-biz-0612-...>
Every single source of energy besides fossil fuel and nuclear is either less convenient, more expensive, or both. Right now there is no alternative that is economically competitive with oil, coal, gas and nuclear.
Some time ago I received a communication from Howard Hayden, Prof. Emeritus of Physics at the University of Connecticut, an expert on wind, solar and nuclear power, who shared with me this salient comment which says it all!:
"We are not going to run this country on chicken manure, sunbeams and breezes. It is an unconscionable waste of money to subsidize phony energy sources and to look for the Holy Climate Knob in the sky."
As with the Obama administration, Illinois Democrat legislators have become enamored with and dedicated to Al Gore's unscientific hypothesis that man-made Global Warming, with its culprit CO2, must be phased out. Irrational thoughts about saving the earth through the development of wind and solar power continue to swirl around in the misguided brains of Springfield Democrat legislators.
In yet another Trib article by Julie Wernau published June 11, 2011, Consumers' electric bills likely to spike as coal plants close, Wernau warns how stricter EPA regulations, which have already been put in place, will force some power generators to decide to shutter their coal-fired plant, rather than to comply with the costly improvements mandated by the EPA.
Wernau's article further informs readers that starting in 2014 the average residential customer in ComEd's territory would see increases of $107 to $178 a year. http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2011-06-11/business/ct-biz-0612-... span style="color: #0000ff;">http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2011-06-11/business/ct-biz-0612-...>
Every single source of energy besides fossil fuel and nuclear is either less convenient, more expensive, or both. Right now there is no alternative that is economically competitive with oil, coal, gas and nuclear.
Some time ago I received a communication from Howard Hayden, Prof. Emeritus of Physics at the University of Connecticut, an expert on wind, solar and nuclear power, who shared with me this salient comment which says it all!:
"We are not going to run this country on chicken manure, sunbeams and breezes. It is an unconscionable waste of money to subsidize phony energy sources and to look for the Holy Climate Knob in the sky."
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