Wind Power’s Dirty Little Secret

The above photo is the Gladstone Power Station, which happens to also be Queensland's largest coal-fired power station. Notice the clean skies above condensation towers.

The 1,680 megawatt power station accounts for approximately 13 per cent of Queensland's installed electricity generation capacity and plays a pivotal role in the supply of electricity in central Queensland. Gladstone Power Station receives its primary fuel supplies from the Xstrata Rolleston and Anglo Callide coal mines.

The above photo shows the rare earth factories in Baotou, China. This is where rare earth metals are processed into neodymium magnets. Notice the man-made lake in the front of the picture shows water is mixed with foul-smelling radioactive waste from the industrial process.

This is an aerial photo of the man-made lake outside of Baotou, China (NY Times).

Each and every wind turbine has 2,500 kg of neodymium magnets inside the wind turbine generator.

The mining and refining of neodymium is so dirty and toxic - involving repeated boiling in acid, with radioactive thorium as a waste product - that only one country does it - China.  This year it flexed its trade muscles and briefly stopped exporting neodymium from its inner Mongolian mines. Forget Middle East oil, how’s that for dangerous reliance on a volatile foreign supply.

The Gillard government will allocate over $13 Billion dollars of taxpayers’ money to help fund even more of these useless monstrosities and as already demonstrated above, wind turbines create more pollution in their manufacture than what they can save once they ever become operational, they kill thousands of birds and bats each and every year they are in operation, they affect human health, blight our beautiful landscapes, cost a fortune to install and maintain, require 24/7 back-up  gas or coal power source (so what’s the point of them in the first place?), cost on average 2.2 jobs for every 1 job and to top it off, they don’t reduce our Carbon Dioxide emissions one iota and the Australian taxpayer will still be forced by the Gillard government's Clean Energy Future legislation to buy billions of dollars worth of foreign Carbon Dioxide abatement certificates from snake oil salesman from dodgy 3^rd world countries who will never cut an ounce of Carbon Dioxide emissions. In short – we have all been conned.

Correction:

I have been informed that the original photo representing the rare earth's processing plant in Baotou, China, is actualy a picture of the Lasengmiao Power Plant in Inner Mongolia.I have replaced the Lasengmiao photo with an accurate photo of the rare earth processing plants in Baotou.

 

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Comments

[Andy's RANT!]

Re Js5brown @ 1118pm 14/08/2012,
Your comment is spot on. There’s a lot of “green” to be made in being green.

[Andy's RANT!]

RE TGF @ 0848pm 14/08/2012,
You are just being mischievous. My post is about highlighting the dirty production of neodymium magnets which among other things, are used in the generators of wind turbines.
Your comment actually supports my post by highlighting the other processed rare earths which are predominately processed in China. The facts are the processing of rare earths into the various metals is a highly toxic process. Yet people like you and the other ecoloons are ok to claim that wind power is clean and green. This post proves that wind power isn’t clean and green.

[Js5brown]

Here in America, particularly our electric utility service territory, we have over 200 'Mega' Turbines designed to put out over 2 MW each but are backed up by the local cooperative utility which is 98% coal. If people WANT and NEED energy and Wind is available, by all means utilize it. Just don't systematically and purposefully RAISE the cost of Coal and Nuclear and other fossil fuels just to make COAL and others the same WHOLESALE price at the meter as Wind....making Wind look "good". Sorry...i'm not stupid. When the Chicago Merc Exchange begins to sell "Carbon Credits" and hypocritical liars like AL GORE are set up to win the day" for green 'investments' then I know it is simply...once again...ALL ABOUT THE MONEY. Not the enviroment. WE have short term officials going in now better informed, but wholesale rates have risin nearly 100% in the past 8 years! Crazy!! Somebody tackle EPA here and cut their damn budget!! Sheesh!!

[TheGalileoFraud]

Andy, you are misrepresenting what the rare earth factories produce there. Care to put some balance and fact into your article? Those rare earth factories also produce the following which you appear to deliberately omit, which include:
- Neodymium, used for loud speakers, microphones, headphones, computer hard disks.
- Cerium, the most widespread rare earth metals, used in catalytic converters and diesel fuels to reduce vehicles' carbon monoxide emissions.
- Praseodymium, used as an alloying agent with magnesium to make high-strength metals for aircraft engines.
The rare earth factories are also used to produce less benign items including;
- Gadolinium, Dysprosium, Holmium, Erbium for use in control rods at nuclear power plants.
http://www.mnn.com/earth-matters/translating-uncle-sam/stories/what-are-rare-earth-metals

[Andy's RANT!]

Re TheGalileoFraud,

A correction has been noted on my post. An accurate photo of the rare earth processing plants in Baotou has replaced the incorrect photo.

[TheGalileoFraud]

Andy, you are very incorrect. The above photo is NOT from rare earth factories in Baotou, China, the photo posted is actually of pollution from the coal fueled Lasengmiao Power Plant in Inner Mongolia (located above China). The image has nothing to do with wind turbine production. You are falsely representing the image. The original image of the power plant at http://contact.photoshelter.com/gallery-image/China-Pollution-CI/G0000561QZvJu4qs/I0000wl7gq.UGMvw
Previous correction http://on.fb.me/PdWSgn

[Mypomona]

Not detracting from your message - however Gladstone Power Station is not the largest in QLD. That accolade belongs to Callide Power Station. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Callide_Power_Station

[JaimeDinamarca]

Hey, Andy, how recent is the photo of the chimneys in Baotou?

[Drewe Bantick]

Here in Australia a 3MW wind turbine that generates (at most) $150,000 worth of electricity a year is eligible for guaranteed subsidies of $500,000 a year. These monstrosities generate very little power but an awful lot of free cash for those lucky enough to get their snouts in the trough.