I like to go look at wind farms when we travel and I notice that it you watch long enough you will see them feather a couple turbines. The only thing that makes sense to me is they are using the wind generators to balance the grid because they don't necessarily feather them all. Usually it is only one or two.
I do wonder how you keep a grid balanced when you have a significant amount of the feed being at the whims of wind and clouds.
I was reading an interesting story in a magazine at the doctor's office yesterday. They are building a dam across some big body of tidal water and using it as a bridge with the whole under part being low speed turbines that catch the tide. They said the Golden Gate Bridge could generate enough power to run the whole bay area. I wonder what the down side is ... you know there is one.
Would they need gates for ships or would the channel still be small enough to allow enough water to back up to run the turbines?
