Meretricious: Plausibly significant but actually false and insincere; specious. Also, pretentious, deceptively pleasing but intrinsically rotten. From the Latin
meretrix: a prostitute.
Meretricity: 1. Electricity produced by meretricious machines that seek to convert wind energy into modern power. 2. Electricity subsidized by meretricious politics. See also oxymoron, since wind technology cannot, of itself, produce modern power, and crony capitalism, since wind subsides could not exist without it.
[featslider]
Fire is the second most common accident cause in incidents found. Fire can arise from a number of sources - and some turbine types seem more prone to fire than others. A total of 190 fire incidents were found:
By year:
Year
70s
80s
90s
00
01
02
03
04
05
06
07
08
09
10
11
12*
No.
6
3
2
24
17
15
14
12
21
17
17
13
20
9
* To 30 June 2012 only
The biggest problem with turbine fires is that, because of the turbine height, the fire brigade can do little but watch it burn itself out. While this may be acceptable in reasonably still conditions, in a storm it means burning debris being scattered over a wide area, with obvious consequences. In dry weather there is obviously a wider-area fire risk, especially for those constructed in or close to forest areas and/or close to housing or work places. Three fire accidents have badly burned wind industry workers.
Editor’s Note: While the author of this industry favorable article suggests that effective mitigation of turbine fires can take place, and that much more funding should be placed in fire protection for…
