That s because wind does not blow around the clock. It does not blow at peak speeds at times of peak demand, either. As a result, the average cost of production over five years is approximately double the cost of gas and triple the cost of spot market purchases. Oh yes, electrical shorts caused by exposed wires and flaming birds cause fires. Boasting a bird kill per megawatt ten times greater that the champion wind farm at Altamont Pass, California is no small achievement.
Solar farms do it with mirrors.
They birds are attracted to them and collide with the shiny picture-like heliostats that collect the sun s rays. This is an industry that would never exist without federal tax credits, accelerated depreciation schedules and tax-free industrial development funds for construction. The installed equipment investment may run 20 times greater than a gas-fired plant. Construction is dense, creating horrid visual pollution while the solar farm takes as much as 300 times the land of a gas plant. Of course, there is no electricity at night and reduced generation on cloudy days.