{"id":417805,"date":"2025-12-19T14:18:30","date_gmt":"2025-12-19T13:18:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=417805"},"modified":"2025-12-19T14:18:33","modified_gmt":"2025-12-19T13:18:33","slug":"the-wind-energy-paradox-why-more-wind-turbines-dont-always-mean-more-power","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=417805","title":{"rendered":"The Wind Energy Paradox: \u201cWhy More Wind Turbines Don\u2019t Always Mean More Power\u201d"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"A<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

From NoTrickZone<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

By\u00a0P Gosselin<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Munich-based daily\u00a0Merkur is finally reporting<\/a>\u00a0on something that’s us skeptics have been pointing out some 20 years: Wind turbines always either produce too little or too much and are thus uneconomical and unreliable.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"A
Image: Vernunftkraft.de<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

In a recent insightful interview with Merkur.de<\/em>, Prof. Dr. Sigismund Kobe, a renowned physicist from the TU Dresden, explains a phenomenon he calls the \u201cTransition to Renewable Energy Paradox.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

His warning is clear: adding more wind power to the grid might soon yield diminishing returns\u2014or none at all.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Zero times two is still zero<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The fundamental problem, according to Prof. Kobe, lies in the nature of weather-dependent energy. Wind power does not scale linearly in a way that guarantees supply. During a lull, when there is no wind, it doesn\u2019t matter if you have 30,000 or 60,000 turbines. The output remains zero. Doubling the capacity does nothing to solve the problem of \u201cDunkelflaute<\/em>\u201d (dark doldrums).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Conversely, under windy weather, the existing turbines often produce much more electricity than the grid can handle. Adding even more turbines during these periods only increases the surplus that cannot be used, leading to forced shutdowns.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Building \u201cuseless\u201d capacity<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kobe argues that Germany is rapidly approaching a \u201csaturation point.\u201d Data shows that while the installed capacity<\/em> (the theoretical maximum) of wind power has grown significantly, the actual amount of electricity<\/em> fed into the grid hasn\u2019t kept pace.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We are essentially building \u201cuseless\u201d capacity that only produces power when we already have too much of it, while failing to provide any power when we actually need it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Economic fallout: paying for nothing<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

This paradox isn\u2019t just a physical problem; it\u2019s an expensive economic one.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \n
  1. Redispatch Costs: When the grid is overloaded, grid operators must pay wind farm owners to turn their turbines\u00a0off<\/em>. Consumers end up paying for electricity that was never produced.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  2. Double Infrastructure: Because wind is unreliable, Germany must maintain a completely separate fleet of \u201cbackup\u201d power plants (mostly gas-fired) to jump in when the wind stops. This means paying for two parallel energy systems.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n

    Can Storage Save Us?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

    The standard counter-argument is that we simply need better batteries or hydrogen storage. However, Prof. Kobe remains skeptical. He points out that the sheer scale of storage required to bridge weeks of low wind is technically and financially astronomical. The efficiency losses involved in converting electricity to hydrogen and back again make the resulting power incredibly expensive.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Prof. Kobe\u2019s message is a reality check for policymakers. He argues that the current strategy of simply \u201cexpanding at all costs\u201d is hitting a physical wall. Without a breakthrough in massive, affordable storage, adding more wind turbines won\u2019t stabilize the grid\u2014it might just make it more volatile and expensive.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Prof. em. Dr. rer. nat. habil. Sigismund Kobe is a distinguished German physicist and a long-standing academic at the Technical University of Dresden (TU Dresden). Born in 1940, he has dedicated his career to theoretical physics, with a specific focus on the behavior of complex systems.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    The Munich-based daily\u00a0Merkur is finally reporting\u00a0on something that’s us skeptics have been pointing out some 20 years: Wind turbines always either produce too little or too much and are thus uneconomical and unreliable.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":121246920,"featured_media":417810,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_coblocks_attr":"","_coblocks_dimensions":"","_coblocks_responsive_height":"","_coblocks_accordion_ie_support":"","advanced_seo_description":"Discover why adding more wind turbines may not boost power output, as Prof. Dr. Kobe reveals the 'Transition to Renewable Energy Paradox.'","jetpack_seo_html_title":"The Wind Energy Paradox: Why More Turbines Don't Equal More Power","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":true,"token":"eyJpbWciOiJodHRwczpcL1wvY2xpbWF0ZS1zY2llbmNlLnByZXNzXC93cC1jb250ZW50XC91cGxvYWRzXC8yMDI1XC8xMlwvMEFRUElDb1RwdGFsNi1Ua081UC1Jd3JDV1lIZWtRLWo0VlhMdENoYTRkNndUNVNwQkNlcXhVMFpWQ0hMbFotRER2NGZxZnp6OFJpYzJYYlZ1M1lDdmpnS3A1SWhRVjNlRkc3NnZOdUMxU3picERHbk9NMHN2WExCUlo1WEY3RFNuLTEtMTAyNHg2MDEuanBlZyIsInR4dCI6IlRoZSBXaW5kIEVuZXJneSBQYXJhZG94OiBcdTIwMWNXaHkgTW9yZSBXaW5kIFR1cmJpbmVzIERvblx1MjAxOXQgQWx3YXlzIE1lYW4gTW9yZSBQb3dlclx1MjAxZCIsInRlbXBsYXRlIjoiaGlnaHdheSIsImZvbnQiOiIiLCJibG9nX2lkIjoxNTU4MTI0NDl9.7kugIy19sgD7OB1arwq61uUi6HkH1B-EAOW7AoiypdIMQ"},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[1],"tags":[691840198,691840199,691818656,691818618,691818051,691840197,691818852],"class_list":["post-417805","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-dunkelflaute-dark-doldrums","tag-batteries-or-hydrogen-storage","tag-electricity","tag-energy-transition","tag-germany","tag-weather-dependent-energy","tag-wind-power","fallback-thumbnail"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/0AQPICoTptal6-TkO5P-IwrCWYHekQ-j4VXLtCha4d6wT5SpBCeqxU0ZVCHLlZ-DDv4fqfzz8Ric2XbVu3YCvjgKp5IhQV3eFG76vNuC1SzbpDGnOM0svXLBRZ5XF7DSn-1.jpeg?fit=1688%2C991&ssl=1","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/paxLW1-1KGN","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":279974,"url":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=279974","url_meta":{"origin":417805,"position":0},"title":"Brazil\u2019s 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Siemens Energy is in talks with the German government to secure billions of euros of guarantees for long-term projects after warning that losses at its troubled wind turbine business would be higher than forecast. From Climate Scepticism BY\u00a0MARK HODGSON What follows is a brief summary of\u2026","rel":"","context":"In \"Contracts for Difference (CfD)\"","block_context":{"text":"Contracts for Difference (CfD)","link":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?tag=contracts-for-difference-cfd"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/0wind-turine-blade-damage-1.jpg?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/0wind-turine-blade-damage-1.jpg?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/0wind-turine-blade-damage-1.jpg?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/0wind-turine-blade-damage-1.jpg?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/0wind-turine-blade-damage-1.jpg?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/417805","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/121246920"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=417805"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/417805\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":417813,"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/417805\/revisions\/417813"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/417810"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=417805"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=417805"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=417805"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}