There was an article in the Financial Times yesterday which bears on our
discussion of energy. Here are some quotes:
"In 2000 wind power systems had a capacity to generate electricity of
17.57GW, according to DKW in a new report. This figure should grow to 66.93
GW by 2006, according to the bank's forecasts, with the US having by then
surpassed Germany as the country with the largest amount of electricity
generated through wind power." Peter Marsh, "Wind Power Systems poised to
Triple over Next Five Years," Financial Times 1/23/01, p. 15
**
"Between 2000 and 2005 the price of electricity from wind power turbines is
expected to drop 17 percent from $900/kW (£608/kW) of installed capacity to
$750/kW, reflecting improvements in technology." Peter Marsh, "Wind Power
Systems poised to Triple over Next Five Years," Financial Times 1/23/01, p.
15
Sounds really great. Then you realize the following:
"In 2000 wind power produced only about 0.2 percent of the total 3,300 GW
world electricity generation capacity.
"However, this figure is likely to rise to 1.42 per cent in 2005 and 3.11
percent in 2010, according to Dresdner Kleinwort Wasserstein. By 2020 the
share could expand to 7 per cent, by which point wind energy could generate
a total of some 400 GW--roughly equivalent to 10 large conventional power
stations." Peter Marsh, "Wind Power Systems poised to Triple over Next Five
Years," Financial Times 1/23/01, p. 15
Electricity is only a small fraction of the energy that we actually use. If
we expect wind to be a significant player in the future, we need to cover
the earth with turbines.
glenn
see http://www.glenn.morton.btinternet.co.uk/dmd.htm
for lots of creation/evolution information
anthropology/geology/paleontology/theology\
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