Is our wind really that good?

You might not believe it, but our location is really not that super for siting industrial wind turbines in terms of getting the maximum power and efficiency out of them. It however still profitable (because of massive tax subsidies provided to the profit-motivated wind developer) to located turbines.

We all know that on some days it is quite windy in the Copper County. Other days, not so windy. When the wind does not blow, or is not at a sufficient speed for the wind turbine to produce energy, no power is generated (in fact, the turbine will be consuming energy).

The figure below was generated by the U.S. National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL). It shows wind speeds throughout the U.S. The key here is one can see the parts of the U.S. that are more favorable to industrial wind turbines.

See all the brown and yellow colors in the U.P.? These wind speeds are much, much less lower than the orange, red, purple and pink colored parts of the map. In those locations, the wind is much more favorable for maximizing power production from wind turbine technology.