Saturday, May 31, 2008

Sell, Sell, Sell, Sell...we might even make some money!!

There now appears to be lots of private enterprise operators prepared to take the risk of investing in and operating wind farms so it would be a great opportunity for the Province to shed the risk now and sell, sell, sell,... before all the our components fail...I understand why Governments initially invest in new ventures in order prove to the marketplace that there is opportunity here but I never understand why they don't know when to get out? If we sold now we (Islanders) may even make some money for a change.... there are just too many things that can go wrong so let others take the risk.
Strong gusts slowing wind turbine repairs
Thursday, May 29, 2008
CBC News
High winds are making it difficult to repair wind turbines at East Point in Prince Edward Island.
'Once in a while you get a component failure, and we've obviously got six of them.'— Energy Minister George Webster
Six of 10 turbines on the site were shut down recently when problems developed in their gearboxes. One turbine has been repaired, but strong winds are making it difficult to work on the other five. The axis of the turbine is about 50 metres above ground, and a special crane had to be transported to the site to assist the work.
The wind farm is owned and operated by a provincial Crown corporation, but the repairs are being fully covered by Vestas, the manufacturer of the turbines. Despite the early trouble with the turbines, which have been operating less than a year, Energy Minister George Webster expressed confidence in the technology.
"They have a 25-year life expectancy easily, with just changing the oil in the gearboxes," said Webster.
"Once in a while you get a component failure, and we've obviously got six of them. The Vestas company that builds these are a very reliable company."
Webster said the goal is to have the turbines back in operation by the end of June.

2 comments:

Unknown said...

Absolutely.

If Governments are going to be investing in such ventures, it should indicate at the outset (and maybe it has) whether the investment is a long-term buy-and-hold strategy -- or a short-term (1-5 year) strategy. Were the windfarms envisioned as long-term or short-term 'investments?'

Do the long-term strategies for government investments all have "sunset clauses" requiring periodic review of these assets? - to see if the original reasons for making such an 'investment' still hold? (and those reasons aren't always going to be purely 'economic').

If the public venture is a short-term investment strategy, governments should be careful not fall into the trap of staying in too long, especially if a small return has been realized for the public purse - At some point, short-term investments need to be sold - and the time do that (especially if the goal is to encourage more private investment on the Island - and not compete with it) is when everyone is pushing to get in the front door, not when people are running for the exits.

Anonymous said...

Who in the world told you that wind turbines have a 25 year life with just changing the oil. That is like a car manufacturer telling you the you would not need to do anything to your car for 25 years,"just change the oil."