As the 2016 Short Session of the North Carolina General Assembly winds down, there appears to be a catastrophic bill working its way through the process. At least to those who are beholden to one particular branch of the “Church of the Pagan god of Climate Change”. This bill would be a direct affront to the branch that prays to the Idol of the Golden Wind Turbine. Oh, the blasphemous work of those nasty people in the NC State Senate would make large swaths of land in Eastern North Carolina “off limits” to those who worship the wind turbine. And for the most trivial reason you could ever think of, just to protect military aircraft flight corridors. Can you believe that?
Now understand that Eastern North Carolina is the location of multiple military aviation assets. Whether it’s Seymore Johnson Air Force Base, Pope Army Air Field, Marine Corp Vertical Aviation Operations in Cherry Point, or the air support operations for Ft. Bragg and Camp Lejeune, or several other facilities, there is a lot of military aircraft activity in the area. And I know to those who worship “green energy”, it may be hard for them to grasp, but there is a definite problem with 500’ tall rotational devices (wind turbines) and low-flying aircraft. Also there’s that whole thing about national security. Oh, and there also seems to be some level of positive economic impact on the region created by the military installations being located there.
There seems to be some in the “green energy” camp who just don’t like the military to begin with and believe it would be a much better use of the airspace in Eastern North Carolina to build hundreds of these “majestic marvels”. I mean heck, you can build a military base anywhere and the military really isn’t necessary anymore. You know, that whole “peace dividend” thing we keep hearing about from the current administration should be used to develop our “green energy” reserves rather than finance more of the draconian tools of war. And if you disagree with them, then you are just some kind of a fossil who is living in the past, when there were those who would do harm to the United States. To this Kumbaya Brigade they would prefer that the military just go away.
But there’s a much bigger fallacy related to “wind power” that never seems to be part of the conversation, that is the fallacy that there is ANY economic argument that favors wind power as a “production” generating technology. The evidence continues to mount every day that without the government-induced market distortions, through “green energy” tax breaks, construction subsidies and “renewable-energy portfolio standards”, there would have never been the first one of these economic albatrosses ever built. That’s right, NOT ONE. One day in the future people will look back at all of these structures standing idle across the landscape and wonder what the hell were those crazy people thinking? This whole exercise makes Don Quixote’s interaction with windmills seem productive.
Have you driven through the Midwest anytime recently and observed the number of these units that are sitting idle among the ones that are actually turning? Understanding that if the propeller isn’t turning, these things aren’t making any juice. In the materials engineering community, “production” wind power is a running, sometimes, joke. Whether it’s the stories of bearing failures, or gearbox failures, or generator phasing, the wind power “industry” is a perfect illustration of what goes wrong when science and engineering are accelerated by government financial incentives. And along with the government incentivized solar “industry”, may be the greatest illustration of the sickness that is crony capitalism. At the expense of those on the lowest rung of the economic ladder in the United States today. Make no mistake about it, “green energy” is the single most regressive tax ever foisted upon the American People by those in our government, supporting their friends.
So back to the Bill in the North Carolina General Assembly, this may be one of the very rare occasions where the “Law of Unintended Consequences” may actually result in a benefit to the people. Why would I say this? Well, whether the stated reason behind the bill, protecting military flight corridors, is seen by some as questionable, or is questionable, if it results in not hanging more of there “economic albatrosses”, a.k.a. wind turbines, around the necks of our Citizens, the bill will provide a benefit. This will be the benefit of not further unnecessarily elevating the cost of electricity across the economy. Whichever way the wind may blow.
