Name: Helen N.
How reliable is wind powered electricity?
The reliability of electricity produced by windmills depends on the
reliability of the winds. In some places the wind tends to blow steadily
for much of the time, but there are always times when the wind does not
blow. It is therefore necessary to have reliable backup generating
capacity, which could be oil, coal, nuclear, or geothermal. Water power
produced by hydroelectric generating stations taking the energy from
flowing water are generally reliable, but in times of extreme drought can
lose a large fraction of their capacity.
Of course, all forms of power generation can fail due to mechanical or
political problems (people have protested nuclear power plants and caused
them to shut down), so excess capacity is always needed.
In my opinion nuclear power is the safest, cleanest, and most reliable,
but it fails politically.
Best, Dick Plano
I am not sure what you mean by the term "reliable". As long as the wind
keeps blowing the wind mill will keep on generating energy. That energy,
assuming it is electrical, is stored by some mechanism such as a battery, or
As reliable as the wind.
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Update: June 2012