NYT: Winter Weather Stifles Alternative Energy Sources, Will Nets Follow?

It has been a particularly cold winter season, and the energy issue is front and center for the Obama administration. In a surprising December 25th New York Times piece, Kate Galbraith wrote about the season's deleterious effect on alternative energy sources like wind, solar, and biodiesel.

The network news shows have yet to pick up on this story. Galbraith first tackles the issues regarding solar panels in snowy conditions(my emphasis throughout):

This time of year, wind turbine blades ice up, biodiesel congeals in tanks and solar panels produce less power because there is not as much sun. And perhaps most irritating to the people who own them, the panels become covered with snow, rendering them useless even in bright winter sunshine...

Galbraith showed examples of how expensive alternative energy can fail, but she does not mention coal, oil, and nuclear have been keeping modern society consistently warm in the winter, cool in the summer, and moving comfortably in our vehicles every single day.

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