Skeptik22 said:
.. rather than the original question ..
Always a good idea to go back to the OP.
Skeptik22 said:
1. Is there a limit to the amount of energy which can be extracted from the wind?
2. There are a huge number of windfarms springing up around the world..
2.5 all taking energy from the wind.
3. The assumption seems to be that this is limitless and "free".
4. Clearly this is not possible.
5. The question is (I think) - how will the transfer of energy (from the wind) manifest itself on the climate,
5.5 and could the impact be measured?
6. The only research I have seen to date, relates to finding the "best" location for a windmill,
6.5 and some on the effect on local weather conditions.
{numbered for clarity}
My answers:
1. Yes
2. Opinion. Huge, for me, would be if wind farms extended for thousands of kilometers, all over the world. (Mostly along the coasts.)
2.5 Yes
3. Ha! Hahahahaha!
4. Ok. Sorry about laughing at your assumption. Yes, I mean no, you are correct.
5. This strikes me as kind of a rhetorical question. Perhaps it will manifest itself in good ways, and bad ways.
5.5 Everything can be measured.
6. Makes sense to me.
6.5 I would love to see wind farms put up to my east. Those winds are dreadfully bad in the fall. But I just discovered that
one of the world's largest wind farms was put up, just there, and I haven't really noticed a change. Not surprising to me. There's still a lot of untapped energy up there.
Skeptik22 said:
This seems to have reached the level of a bar-room argument .. more about one's favoured source of power for one's toys
I hope I haven't given such an impression. I've been adverse to "one trick ponies" for quite some time.
One day, I was setting up my solar powered water pumping system to water down the sand volleyball courts, as they get dreadfully hot in the summer, and burn our feet, when someone walked by and said to me; "Wind power is better".
I thought to myself; "What an imbecile. If it were that windy, no one would be out here playing volleyball!"
On another occasion, someone told me that the only way to make cars more energy efficient, was to make them lighter.
I thought to myself; "What an imbecile. Electric cars are much more energy efficient, and they are heavier!"
Now, the above two examples, might peg me as some "solar" lunatic. Quite the contrary. Do you have any idea how much effort, not to mention the room, it takes to haul 150 watts of solar panels and 400 feet of garden hose out to the river in a 14 foot boat every day? No. Of course not. Only I do. It's a pain in the butt. And that's why I devised a wave powered volleyball court watering system. It would run 24/7! There are always ships running up and down the river making waves. Not to mention the wind generated waves.
But then, I'm sure you'd show up, and ask; "Have you done a study, on the global climate effects, of your wave machine"?
And I'd say; "No. It's not worth my time. Though, I'm sure it has had an effect on the shifting of the sand on the beach, but not enough to worry about".
Ditto with your wind question. We've so far extracted too little energy, to have an effect, IMHO.
