Dear Mr. Pickens,
This message is the fifth in a series of 6 messages on the energy sources that you enumerated on the You Tube video explaining "The Pickens Plan."
Wind has been used for power since 3,500 B.C. In fact it was wind power that propelled the ships of Christopher Columbus and the Pilgrims across the Atlantic Ocean. For centuries wind power has been used to pump water, grind wheat (or other grains), and propel ships. In the early 1930's small wind driven generators were being used on farms to charge batteries to supply power for lighting.
Wind is caused by the differential heating of the Earth by the sun so ultimately wind power is a form of solar power. Interaction of the wind with the land results in turbulence, in the form of eddies, so the wind velocity (speed and direction) varies, from minute to minute, at a given location. Due to the variability of the wind, the amount of energy produced by a wind turbine farm is less than that of a conventional (fueled) power plant; this difference is called the Capacity Factor (see wikipedia/Wind_powe). The capacity factor for wind turbine farms typically ranges from 20% to 40%. Due to the relatively low capacity factor electricity generated from wind turbines cannot supply all the base load.
The alternators in wind turbines frequently are induction alternators (see Grid management system) therefore, some source of leading reactive power and accurate speed control is necessary. Usually the leading reactive power is supplied by banks of capacitors in the sub-station through which the wind turbine farm power connects to the electric grid; the electric grid alternators keep the frequency constant.
Power companies hate reactive power because reactive power does not accumulate on the electric power meter yet it produces resistive power losses in the power lines which the power companies must supply (for free to the consumer). Power companies install special meters that measure the reactive power where customers have large reactive loads so the power company can penalize the customer for having to supply excessive reactive power.
The effects on the environment of extracting relatively large amounts of power from the wind is not discussed in the reference. Environmentalists have hypothesized that a butterfly flapping it's wings in Brazil could cause a wind storm in Chicago. While that seems ludicrous it might not be so inconceivable that extracting 3,750 Mw (2500 X 1.5 Mw) from the Texas winds might affect the weather in Kansas or North Dakota. So an environmental impact should be performed.
The energy crisis cannot be completely solved as long as energy production depends upon the consumption of material (mass). Wind Power is one energy source that can be part of of the long term solution to the energy crisis.
I have more to say, but this is probably already too long. My next message will be on solar power.
Larry Brown
Your Eyes and Ears in SW Oregon
Now using a Mac Mini (Apple)
P.S. I saw your plan in two different You Tube videos. As a Caltech grad (MS in EE, 1954), I was impressed. IMHO, we, as a nation, should consider all of the energy sources that you enumerated along with any new, "out of the box" technologies, but the "playing field" should be leveled. All government interference in the energy markets should be stopped. This will allow all technologies to compete--the market will select those technologies that are most cost-effective. It was government regulations, subsidies, and taxes that brought us the "energy crisis."