A recent issue of Popular Mechanics presents how Texas has climbed on the alternative energy bandwagon, with lots of wind turbines as well as work on solar cells and extracting energy from sewage by raising algae from which can be extracted hydrocarbon fuels.

I guess I took to much thermodynamics in college but has anyone seen an analysis that says we get a net positive energy out of these things? Or for that matter, how does the economics of a wind power turbine compare to a nuclear or coal fired plant in terms of watts/cent? While such developments as low cost computers, networking technology, and lightweight composite materials no doubt have made it easier to build wind turbines, I still suspect that if they were competitive to more conventional electric power generating methods that they would have been developed some time ago.

Back in the 70’s McDonnell Douglas built a solar-thermal generating plant in the California desert. The cost per KWH was considered to be classified information. One would doubt that was because it was found to be so incredibly low.

As for the Energy Independence aspects, that will not fly. We are in no real danger of running out of coal or the ability to produce nuclear power capabilities and wind turbines don’t substitute for oil used in cars. Wind turbines have to fly or crash based on either economics or AGW. Or politics.