…..an aggressive push to advance global climate change issues……. advocates on Capitol Hill……. Alaska: Meera Kohler (president), Alaska Village Electric Co-op….
Looks like somebody is looking for a budget increase… or an excuse for bad maintenance. Assuming that the issue is sea spray freezing to the equipment there must be a maintenance protocall for clearing it in the periods before and after ice cover when temps get below freezing or do they just let the stuff be damaged
I must be reading that wrong. This is one of those ‘localized’ things global warmers are always quick to say doesn’t apply to “global warming”, isn’t it? Like the record cold and major crop damage in Florida the last 2 years? Certainly if Florida is a localized anomaly in the grand scheme this power outage to 643 people is more so, correct?
I agree with her completely! There should be no generators spewing out all that CO2 in those remote Alaska Villages. They were able to exist just fine before all the technological advances that ruined their preferred life styles. Make that region a natural wilderness and let them live their old life styles with NO outside interferences or assistance. Start by removing all modern implements that have been introduced into their environment since the invasion of Europeans.
I’m betting a worker was asleep at the wheel. Something failed and a decent outage program would tell you exactly what failed. Sea salt ice bs is simply that. What, they don’t have wind in October? That’s when the Bering strait is still water, but temps well into the freezing range. This story irks the hell out of me. The utility business is full of these morons. Now they’re going to buy power washers? I wonder how much that will cost the end users. Note to non- profit utility providers. You must never show a positive margin. The consumers would expect some of their money back.
And greed. The need for a power washer = somebodies nephew or friend needs a job and it comes with an all expense paid trip to the lower 48. Sometimes, I’m ashamed of the business I’m in.
In that case, I want to thank you in advance for the playmates I’ll have in Nashville later this spring. We usually had it in St. Louis, but I guess the powers that be got tired of this place. Do they have a Renaissance in Nashville?
In case you’re wondering, its not optional for me and neither do I have a say in the venue chosen, but I do enjoy the free beer provided at such functions.
Suyts:
In a non profit organization all excess funds are used to cover unexpected administrative costs like Vacations to the Tropics and bigger houses for the administrators.
Solar panels and wind “turbines” are featured prominently on the Nevada Energy Commissioner’s website. The Nevada Energy Commissioner is so proud of their window dressing “commitment” to “renewable” energy. Meanwhile the energies that actually keep NV functioning are Coal & Natural gas, which are shunned by the political appointees of Harry Reid.
In 2007, electric power generated in Nevada primarily
came from coal (27.1 percent), gas (45.4 percent), and
hydro (9.8 percent).
For those that don’t read the egg codes, in 1997 the vast majority of the ice off the Alaskan coast was old ice (i.e. largely fresh), over 2 metres thick, in vast floes (2-10km across). This year, the ice is about half thin first year ice (i.e. largely saline), 30-70cm thick, and half “gray-white ice”, 15-30cm thick. This year’s ice is in small floes a few hundred metres across.
I think it’s quite likely that the chief executive of the local power plant knows rather more than Steven about the normal local conditions, and the amount of salt spray they’re getting this year relative to other years.
So, to be strictly clear, the problem was not strictly an *absence* of sea ice, but the *condition* of the ice. Thin ice is easily fractured in storms and allows the winds to whip up a freezing salt spray which coats the generators.
Yes, it’s cold up in the Arctic, and yes, the exposed sea water is refreezing almost instantaneously (as did the salt spray). That’s why about half the surface is covered with the new 15-cm ice. It’s nothing like the 2m thick ice they used to have up there even 15 years ago.
Ahhh…. So they have normally have ice in the summer too.
Everything is possible in global warming. You see, that island isn’t one of them that capsizes. No, no. But, it does drift around in the Arctic. It summer vacations nearer the Pole.
The problem was freezing salt fog, which congealed on the machinery. This doesn’t happen in the summer, because it’s not freezing! In the summer, any salt spray that gets onto the equipment will be blown or washed off again. It never used to happen in the winter, because the ice was thick enough to prevent the storms whipping up the sea spray. Now, with thinner ice during winter storms, you have a combination of factors that’s particularly tough on electrical machinery.
This was all quite well explained in the article, and backed up by the ice charts I posted.
Peter:
If that is what “Trips Your Trigger” have fun. You left out the warmer periods before they had generators.
I still think the ultimate answer for that village is to get rid of the generator.
Your ice thickness theory is BS by the way! The conditions that changed were wind patterns due to natural variations in ocean atmosphere long term weather patterns that are especially evident in historic records from that region. What you are describing would be fairly common during this portion of the weather cycle. Just like sun spots go in cycles weather patterns follow cycles also.
I especially like his old ice religion. Pay no attention to the location of the town in the post. Maybe he needs bottles of water for the women who faint in the front row as he preaches the good news.
It’s also more sea ice than normal in the Baltic sea (Sweden, Finland, Estonia etc.). It’s actually ice here earlier than in … maybe one hundred years or so! Btw, I’ve not checked 100 years, I’m just reporting…
The amount of money I’ve spent acquiring paywalled papers, getting extra bandwidth from my ISP and upgrading my laptop to keep up with all these blogs, I’m broke. And that doesn’t account for the time spent, being self-employed.
So yes, AGW did cause my bank account to near zero 🙂
Forensic investigation, ooohhh, ahhh, woooow.
It’s above Meera Kohler’s pay grade, like President Obama said about abortion. Meera is a Democrat?
I looked up Meera Kohler. She’s a wind power advocate. Also wants to cut back on diesel.
http://www.alaskapower.org/pdf/MeeraKohler.pdf
She’s also a member of the Alaska Climate Change Mitigation Advisory Group.
http://academic.research.microsoft.com/Author/9346901
Just a little searching explains a lot.
…..an aggressive push to advance global climate change issues……. advocates on Capitol Hill……. Alaska: Meera Kohler (president), Alaska Village Electric Co-op….
http://goliath.ecnext.com/coms2/gi_0199-6601520/NWPPA-s-2007-Legislative-Rally.html
The column didn’t bring up these things about her…….. odd that.
sarc off
Looks like somebody is looking for a budget increase… or an excuse for bad maintenance. Assuming that the issue is sea spray freezing to the equipment there must be a maintenance protocall for clearing it in the periods before and after ice cover when temps get below freezing or do they just let the stuff be damaged
Another person’s nose that is growing exponentially!
These generators are only affected by salt during the winter.
One minor problem. There is more sea ice than normal around Alaska.
You can see in the NSIDC map that Savoonga is completely surrounded by ice.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Savoonga,_Alaska
As of the 2000 census, Savoonga’s population was 643.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Savoonga,_Alaska
I must be reading that wrong. This is one of those ‘localized’ things global warmers are always quick to say doesn’t apply to “global warming”, isn’t it? Like the record cold and major crop damage in Florida the last 2 years? Certainly if Florida is a localized anomaly in the grand scheme this power outage to 643 people is more so, correct?
I agree with her completely! There should be no generators spewing out all that CO2 in those remote Alaska Villages. They were able to exist just fine before all the technological advances that ruined their preferred life styles. Make that region a natural wilderness and let them live their old life styles with NO outside interferences or assistance. Start by removing all modern implements that have been introduced into their environment since the invasion of Europeans.
I’m betting a worker was asleep at the wheel. Something failed and a decent outage program would tell you exactly what failed. Sea salt ice bs is simply that. What, they don’t have wind in October? That’s when the Bering strait is still water, but temps well into the freezing range. This story irks the hell out of me. The utility business is full of these morons. Now they’re going to buy power washers? I wonder how much that will cost the end users. Note to non- profit utility providers. You must never show a positive margin. The consumers would expect some of their money back.
Global warming is the excuse for all incompetence
And greed. The need for a power washer = somebodies nephew or friend needs a job and it comes with an all expense paid trip to the lower 48. Sometimes, I’m ashamed of the business I’m in.
Suyts:
You sell power washers to non profit utilities? 😉
lol, something like that……… I’m usually on the receiving end of garbage people sell to non-profit utilities.
I work for a small Rural Electric Cooperative.
I get my power from a small rural electric co operative!
In that case, I want to thank you in advance for the playmates I’ll have in Nashville later this spring. We usually had it in St. Louis, but I guess the powers that be got tired of this place. Do they have a Renaissance in Nashville?
In case you’re wondering, its not optional for me and neither do I have a say in the venue chosen, but I do enjoy the free beer provided at such functions.
Suyts:
In a non profit organization all excess funds are used to cover unexpected administrative costs like Vacations to the Tropics and bigger houses for the administrators.
This gal reminds me of the chicks that Harry Reid puts on the Nevada Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Authority.
Solar panels and wind “turbines” are featured prominently on the Nevada Energy Commissioner’s website. The Nevada Energy Commissioner is so proud of their window dressing “commitment” to “renewable” energy. Meanwhile the energies that actually keep NV functioning are Coal & Natural gas, which are shunned by the political appointees of Harry Reid.
In 2007, electric power generated in Nevada primarily
came from coal (27.1 percent), gas (45.4 percent), and
hydro (9.8 percent).
And what about the condition of the ice?
Here’s the current map:
http://ice-glaces.ec.gc.ca/prods/WIS56SD/20101227180000_WIS56SD_0005436828.gif
And here’s one from 1997:
http://ice-glaces.ec.gc.ca/www_archive/AOI_10/Charts/sc_a10_19970101_XXXXXX.gif
Spot the difference.
For those that don’t read the egg codes, in 1997 the vast majority of the ice off the Alaskan coast was old ice (i.e. largely fresh), over 2 metres thick, in vast floes (2-10km across). This year, the ice is about half thin first year ice (i.e. largely saline), 30-70cm thick, and half “gray-white ice”, 15-30cm thick. This year’s ice is in small floes a few hundred metres across.
I think it’s quite likely that the chief executive of the local power plant knows rather more than Steven about the normal local conditions, and the amount of salt spray they’re getting this year relative to other years.
So, to be strictly clear, the problem was not strictly an *absence* of sea ice, but the *condition* of the ice. Thin ice is easily fractured in storms and allows the winds to whip up a freezing salt spray which coats the generators.
Yes, it’s cold up in the Arctic, and yes, the exposed sea water is refreezing almost instantaneously (as did the salt spray). That’s why about half the surface is covered with the new 15-cm ice. It’s nothing like the 2m thick ice they used to have up there even 15 years ago.
Ahhh…. So they have normally have ice in the summer too.
http://www.electricgeneratorsdirect.com/accessories/generator-sheds.php
there you go, problem solved for under 1,000 bux – and it can be flown in too !
stevengoddard says:
January 5, 2011 at 6:09 pm
Ahhh…. So they have normally have ice in the summer too.
Everything is possible in global warming. You see, that island isn’t one of them that capsizes. No, no. But, it does drift around in the Arctic. It summer vacations nearer the Pole.
Sorry? Not following the “summer” comment.
The problem was freezing salt fog, which congealed on the machinery. This doesn’t happen in the summer, because it’s not freezing! In the summer, any salt spray that gets onto the equipment will be blown or washed off again. It never used to happen in the winter, because the ice was thick enough to prevent the storms whipping up the sea spray. Now, with thinner ice during winter storms, you have a combination of factors that’s particularly tough on electrical machinery.
This was all quite well explained in the article, and backed up by the ice charts I posted.
What a crock.
Peter:
If that is what “Trips Your Trigger” have fun. You left out the warmer periods before they had generators.
I still think the ultimate answer for that village is to get rid of the generator.
Your ice thickness theory is BS by the way! The conditions that changed were wind patterns due to natural variations in ocean atmosphere long term weather patterns that are especially evident in historic records from that region. What you are describing would be fairly common during this portion of the weather cycle. Just like sun spots go in cycles weather patterns follow cycles also.
Peter, doesn’t the “freezing spray” happen every Sept/October? And, what article are you referring to?
Peter Ellis says:
January 5, 2011 at 6:19 pm
Sorry? Not following the “summer” comment.
Not surprising.
I don’t even want to help you figure it out.
eter Ellis says:
January 5, 2011 at 6:19 pm
This was all quite well explained in the article, and backed up by the ice charts I posted.
Well, you know, your argument would convince anyone of global warming. Your confirming ice charts are just as solid as the Hockey Stick.
Yes, they had warm water in the Chukchi Sea this El Nino Autumn.
Something is just not right when you have a Peter pumping expertise about salty spray launched about in the wind.
I especially like his old ice religion. Pay no attention to the location of the town in the post. Maybe he needs bottles of water for the women who faint in the front row as he preaches the good news.
stevengoddard says:
January 5, 2011 at 3:52 pm
Global warming is the excuse for all incompetence
Sad, but true. The scary part is if they ever get their way, what will they use then? I guess another holocaust should not be unexpected.
It’s also more sea ice than normal in the Baltic sea (Sweden, Finland, Estonia etc.). It’s actually ice here earlier than in … maybe one hundred years or so! Btw, I’ve not checked 100 years, I’m just reporting…
/Greetings från Sverige!
That’s why they pose these things as questions: “Did global warming cause…?”
Then they say “..normally..”
And totally ignore what is happening in reality. That’s how you put together an AGW scare story.
eg:
Did global warming cause my bank account to reach near zero? Normally, there’s heaps of money in it. Now there’s none!
Reality? I spent it, so it was nothing to do with AGW.
Actually you got me thinking Dave.
The amount of money I’ve spent acquiring paywalled papers, getting extra bandwidth from my ISP and upgrading my laptop to keep up with all these blogs, I’m broke. And that doesn’t account for the time spent, being self-employed.
So yes, AGW did cause my bank account to near zero 🙂