Golden West Power Partners’ Industrial Wind
Turbine Project – now is the NextEra Wind Farm
Golden West Power Partners' Pushed for Fast
Track BOCC Approval Prior to PTC
Expiration on 12/31/13
• 10/22/13 first notice to adjacent non-participating
property owners
• 11/4/13 Letter sent by GES Tech to Golden West and
GE, questioning 1.7 mw and 250 mw claims
• Numerous email exchanges with GW followed
• GE requested an NDA and stoned walled until 12/5/13
when “proprietary technical data” was finally received
• NDA ultimately not required by GW/GE-Energy
Golden West Power Partners and the
Magic GE 1.7-100 Wind Turbine
A mystery, and an interesting detective story!
• Magic GE Turbine claimed to produce 170%*
of energy available.
*Impossible…
Golden West Power Partners and the
Magic GE1.7-100 Wind Turbine
• There was no independent engineering review on
behalf of the BOCC, and thus El Paso County
residents.
• GES Tech Group Investigation of Golden West
and GE technical claims, and Calhan Wind
Turbine Project, was initiated on 10/30/13.
FINDINGS OF INVESTIGATION:
WIND POWER CLAIMS
•FIRST COST NOT IMPORTANT
•FUEL IS “FREE”…
•WIND IS “GRID FRIENDLY”…
•WIND IS “GREEN” …
•WIND IS PEOPLE FRIENDLY…
“People like to be taken care of.”
(Dave Hazel, Golden West, quoted in Falcon
Herald, 10/13/13)
THE INDUSTRIAL WIND
TURBINE PONZI SCHEME
•FIRST COST ( source: Golden West quoted in
Falcon Herald)
$400 million/250 mw = $1600/kw
•100 mw simple cycle gas turbine
$530/kw ($53 million)
•1600/530 = WIND is 3 x more expensive*
* Based on GE inflated “name plate” rating
THE INDUSTRIAL WIND
TURBINE PONZI SCHEME
Basis of GE 1.7-100 Turbine Rating
•Sea Level Air Density (78% @ Calhan)
•Based on wind velocity of 24.5 mph, 3.2 x
power at standard 16.7mph
•Corrected for Calhan elevation, average wind
conditions, and all loses: 0.7 mw/turbine
•Wind Project, actual power rating: 104.6 mw
THE INDUSTRIAL WIND
TURBINE PONZI SCHEME
•FIRST COST, Golden West/NEXT ERA
$400 million/250 mw = $1600/kw
•Corrected: $400 million/104.6 mw = $3824/kw
•3824/530 = WIND is 7.2 x more expensive
THE INDUSTRIAL WIND
TURBINE PONZI SCHEME
• But, it gets worse…
• REALITY: WIND IS NOT “DISPATCHABLE”
• Translation: Not controllable
• PUC Decision C13-1267 @ para. 14, rates
NextEra Project at 12.5% of “nameplate”.
• 31.25 mw EFFECTIVE LOAD CARRYING
CAPABILTIY (ELCC) 24 times more expensive
than comparable conventional power systems
The INDUSTRIAL WIND TURBINE
PONZI SHEME
•REVIEW OF FINDINGS SO FAR…
•FIRST COST - 7.2 to 24 times more expensive
•FUEL IS “FREE” – “Free” fuel is very expensive, cost of
natural gas would need to rise 500% to make wind power
competitive without PTC (source: American Tradition
Institute 2012, G. Taylor, PhD)
•GRID FRIENDLY – not so much, 12.5% ELCC
•WIND IS “GREEN”
•WIND IS PEOPLE FRIENDLY
THE INDUSTRIAL WIND
TURBINE PONZI SCHEME
• WIND IS “GREEN” ??
SERIOUSLY??
• 500 CUBIC YARDS CONCRETE FOR EACH TURBINE…
• 73,500 CUBIC YARDS, 7350 REDIMIX TRUCKS TOTAL…
• EQUALS A ROADWAY 6 INCHES THICK, 20 FEET WIDE &
38 MILES LONG - CALHAN TO COLORADO SPRINGS
• 2 MILLION GALLONS OF DEEP AQUIFER FOSSIL WATER
JUST TO MAKE CONCRETE AND 30+ million gallons MORE
FOR DUST CONTROL, etc. (source, phone call from contractor to
Upper Big Sandy Ground Water Management District)
• PERMIT TO KILL RAPTORS (American Eagles) MAY BE
REQUIRED
THE INDUSTRIAL WIND
TURBINE PONZI SCHEME
•WIND IS “GREEN” ??
•REQUIRES 100 x copper & steel, 35,000 ACRES,
ROADS, INFRASTRUCTURE, AND 25 MILE
TRANSMISSION LINE
THE INDUSTRIAL WIND TURBINE PONZI
SCHEME: All this for 31 mw of ELCC?
The INDUSTRIAL WIND TURBINE
PONZI SCHEME
•WIND IS “GREEN” MYTH
•100 mw GAS TURBINE, replaces Golden West
Wind project three times over with 100%
dispatchable resource.
•Effective Load Carrying Capability: 100%
THE INDUSTRIAL WIND
TURBINE PONZI SCHEME
• WIND IS GRID FRIENDLY MYTH
• WIND IS NOT “DISPATCHABLE”
• Translation: Not controllable
• 31.25 mw (ELCC)*
*NOTE: May require new gas turbine units as
back up for wind power…
THE INDUSTRIAL WIND TURBINE
PONZI SCHEME
And, the people living with the turbines??
•Sun Flutter: health, quality of life
•Infra-sound: health, quality of life. Minimum separation
distance from homes is violated in populated rural area.
•Ice Throw: life safety
•Migratory and raptor bird kills (permits to kill?)
•Loss of unobstructed views: quality of life
•Potential conflicts between neighbors, property values
•Public Health Legal Liability for County and risk of law
suits against “participating land owners”.
THE INDUSTRIAL WIND
TURBINE PONZI SCHEME
HARVESTING TAX DOLLARS
FOLLLOW THE MONEY!
• 2.3 cents/kWh, PTC (production tax credit)
• $ 143,224/year per turbine
• $ 21,054,030/year BAILOUT
•WITHOUT PTC, CORPORATE WELFARE,
THERE WOULD BE NO WIND FARMS IN THE
USA; CALHAN PROJECT ABANDONED
THE INDUSTRIAL WIND
TURBINE PONZI SCHEME
Summary of Findings
• FIRST COST - 7.2 to 24 times more expensive
• FUEL IS “FREE” – Free is VERY expensive
• NOT GRID COMPATIBLE – 12.5% ELCC
• NOT “GREEN”
• NOT FRIEDLY TO RURAL FOLKS LIVING IN
AND AROUND THE PROJECT
SELLING THE WIND
TURBINE PONZI SCHEME
•The BOCC WAS THE LAST LINE OF
DEFENSE AGAINST THIS PONZI SCHEME
• The BOCC, as our elected representatives, were
responsible for authorizing a project that may
have health risks and one that depends 100% on
BIG GOVERNMENT tax subsidies.
SELLING THE WIND TURBINE
PONZI SCHEME - UPDATE
DENVER POST REPORTED IN DECEMBER OF 2012 THAT XCEL
HAD SUFFICIENT WIND POWER ON LINE OR ON TRACK TO
SATISFY THE GOVERNMENT MANDATED PERCENTAGE
THROUGH 2029. THIS INFORMATION WAS NOT CONSIDERED IN
THE BOCC APPROVAL IN DECEMBER OF 2013. THE CALHAN
WIND FARM APPARENTLY DID NOT HAVE A CUSTORMER IN
DEC. 2013 AND NEXT ERA MAY NOT HAVE A CUSTOMER AT THIS
TIME.
THE PROJECT HAS BEEN DELAYED UNTIL SPRING OF 2015. IF
THE PTC CAN BE REPEALED OR IF THE NEGATIVE IMPACT ON
RESIDENTS HEALTH, PROPERTY VALUES, AND QUALITY OF LIFE
CAN BE MADE WELL KNOWN, THE PROJECT MAY NOT BE
IMPLEMENTED.
RECOMMENDATIONS: That were ignored
by our elected El Paso County BOCC
•REJECT the CALHAN WIND PROJECT, as an
un-economic Ponzi Scheme, Corporate Welfare,
and yet another Bail Out of a non-viable industry.
•REJECT THE PROJECT BASED ON
POTENTIALLY SERIOUS HEALTH AND LIFE
SAFETY ISSUES FOR LOCALS
L. J. Mott, PE
Consulting Engineer
WIND TURBINE ENGINERING
TECHNICAL APPENDIX FOLLOWS
•GE 1.7-100 POWER CURVE
•CUBED VELOCITY RELATIONSHIP
•BETZ WIND POWER FORMULA
• Average wind Cp, USA
•VERIFICATION OF GE 1.7 mw “NAME
PLATE” and ACTUAL RATING AT
CALHAN SITE
WIND TURBINE ENGINEERING
TEXT FROM GE LITERATURE IMPLIES 1.7 MW POWER RATING AT 7.5
METERS/SEC WIND VELOCITY, SUBSEQUENTLY QUOTED REPEATEDLY
BY GOLDEN WEST PROMOTERS AND ACCEPTED BY LOCAL MEDIA AND
BOCC WITHOUT QUESTION.
WIND TURBINE ENGINEERING
ACTUAL RATING AT 7.5 M/S AND IDEAL SEA LEVEL CONDITIONS IS ONLY
1.0 MW – FYI: CALHAN, CO IS NOT LOCATED AT SEALEVEL…
WIND TURBINE ENGINEERING
POWER AVAILABLE IN
WIND IS A CUBED POWER
RELATIONSHIP.
ANY WIND TURBINE IS
INHERENTLY INEFFICIENT,
WASTING AN ENORMOUS
AMOUNT OF ENERGY
WIND TURBINE ENGINEERING
•POWER: KILO-WATTS, kW
•ENERGY: KILO-WATT-HOURS, kWh
•POWER: THE ABILITY OR POTENTIAL TO DO
WORK. Example: 1.2 kW HEATER
•ENERGY:WORK COMPLETED, A 1.2 kW HEATER
RUN FOR ONE HOUR = 1.2 kWh
•UTILITY BILLS CHARGE FOR kWh, NOT kW
•THEREFORE, BRAGGING ABOUT NAME PLATE
RATINGS OF 250 MW IS MISLEADING
WIND TURBINE ENGINEERING
•VERIFICATION OF MEANINGLESS GE 1.7100 SEA LEVEL “NAME PLATE” RATING.
•BETZ FORMULA: P = ½(AϱV^3Cp)
•P = 0.5(7854)(1.23)(11^3)(0.27) = 1.7 mw*
* Sea Level and 24.5 mph wind (11 m/sec), no
losses other than blade efficiency. Average
velocity at Calhan much less than 24.5 mph.
WIND TURBINE ENGINEERING
•VERIFICATION OF GE 1.7-100 ACTUAL
PERFORMANCE, 6800 Foot Calhan elevation.
•BETZ FORMULA: P = ½(AϱV^3Cp)
•P = 0.5(7854)(0.95)(7.93^3)(0.48) = 0.89 mw
•All other inefficiencies = 0.8
•(0.89 mw) (0.8) = 0.7 mw/turbine
•Project ACTUAL NAME PLATE POWER RATING:
147 x 0.7 = 104.3 mw (not 250 mw)
• ELCC ENERGY RATING, per PUC = 31 MW
WIND TURBINE ENGINEERING
GOLDEN WEST CLAIMS A CF OF 41.8%