A flawed criticism of wind energy

    At a talk yesterday (October 10, 2007), Luis Silvestre gave a very thorough explanation of the manner in which wind energy worked, focusing principally on its weaknesses to supply energy to an existing electrical power grid.  While the talk was not factually incorrect (according to the experts present), and he placed the final touches on the arguments against the inherently flawed WindMar project in Guayanilla, at heart there were a set of mistaken presumptions  that were also equally shared by his opponents (WindMar adherents).   Both sides erroneously presumed that wind farms should serve as conventional generators, when all the data presented clearly showed that these had their own unique traits independent from such traditional power generation.  For example, Silvestre pointed out that  the use of traditional batteries are inappropriate for wind-driven electrical production at an industrial capacity, and that wind energy is erratic in nature--so completely erratic that conventional generators need to be established nearby to maintain base loads.  What this means, however, is not that they should not be used at all, as Silvestre concluded, but rather that the use of wind energy to separate hydrogen from oxygen in water would in fact solve both problems: the 'averaging' out of electrical distribution would be achieved by the erratic but consistent collection of hydrogen over time.  In other words, Silvestre perhaps unknowingly  shed light as to why George W. Bush has pushed both wind  farms and hydrogen fuel cells in Texas as hard as he has: they are truly made for one another.