As many of you might already know the Presque Isle Power Plant in the Upper Peninsula is to be shut down by 2020.

The plant is being shut down due to age and regulator standards.

The plant is supposed to be replace by two natural gas plants but the Sierra Club of Michigan would like the coal plant replace with what they call clean renewable energy like wind or solar.

How many wind turbines would it take to replace the coal-fired Presque Isle Power Plant?

The answer is 600.

That answer does not even include the problems of delivering consistent energy with wind turbines.

The big problem of consistency with wind turbines is they only produce power intermittently, basically when the wind blows.

According to Jason Hayes, the director of environmental policy at Michigan’s Mackinac Center for Public Policy:

In the very best locations, wind turbines only produce electricity 35 percent of the time. So we still wouldn’t have actually replaced the original plant.  In fact, we would need to keep that old plant, or build a new natural gas or nuclear plant to provide energy during the 65 percent of the time that wind can’t.

Sounds reasonable to me how about you?

That last thing we want or need is a not consistent power source.

The Live with Renk Show airs Monday through Friday 9 a.m. to noon, to let me know your thoughts call (269) 441-9595

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