Does one megawatt of coal fired electricity = one megawatt of wind powered electricty?

Here in the province of Alberta that is sitting on a coal bed 6' thick and a huge natural gas reserve the idea has been to replace coal and gas fired electricity with wind powered. So far 29 windfarms are scattered across the province. The other day the entire province was calm. The electrical output was 0.3% of capacity. Good thing we have good neighbours who are willing to sell us electricity.

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calicuz · 51-55, M

Personally I think wind farms ruin the landscape

cherokeepatti · 61-69, F

@calicuz they cut up birds too

Canicu69 · 70-79, M

@cherokeepatti do you really think birds are that stupid

cherokeepatti · 61-69, F

@Canicu69 They don’t see the blades in the evening. I have seen photos of bald eagles that had a wing sliced off by a windmill blade.

Canicu69 · 70-79, M

@cherokeepatti never thought about the night time….duh !

hippyjoe1955 · 61-69, M

@Canicu69 You have to realize the tips of the blades are doing 80 mph and coming at the bird or bat at angle. It must be very hard for a bird or bat to calculate the arc and speed of the tip.

ArishMell · 70-79, M

@hippyjoe1955 Not only impacts, it seems. I don't know the source of this information but I gather there have been autopsy reports showing flying animals had been killed by lung injury from the peculiar air-pressure effects just downstream of the blades they have dodged.

hippyjoe1955 · 61-69, M

@ArishMell I have read similar articles. Not being a veterinarian and having never done an autopsy of any birds found around windmills I can't confirm or deny it. The dead birds I have seen were killed by impact with the blade.

ArishMell · 70-79, M

@hippyjoe1955 Oh, I am sure that's happened as well. I think it was bats rather than birds knocked down by embolism in their lungs; but either way it's wild animals being killed by these things.