Opinion on Wind Power (Wind Farms)

[A1cntrler]

There is an article about wind power farms being proposed here in Virginia in the local paper. Similar articles were ran a year or so ago about putting windmill farms off the coast in the ocean. These were shot down because envrionmentalists believed that birds would be harmed by flying into them, and because the Navy said it would impact the training off the east coast too much (flying) What is to keep these birds from flying into the trees and mountains that exist now?? I do have one or two a year fly into my large windows on the back of my house though, but birds are for the most part smart enough to fly around things I think. They seem to avoid my ST on the road pretty well. Have yet to hit on in it... IT seem smost people have the whole NIMBY attitudee about it. There are also a couple of comments that have been left after the article, that I can't believe that they are serious, however the paper "censors" every comment before posting for some reason... I have commented on stuff in the past on there, and have had my words changed before being posted...I don't post anymore on there... Here are the quotes and a link to the article:

Terrorists:

Terrorists could take over the windmills, feed the generators electric power hijacked from nuclear plants, and turn the windmills in huge fans. This could in effect cause the earth to stop rotating, then reverse. If you fail to understand the seriousness of this issue, please refer to the early Superman movies.

- Ethan OToole - Virginia Beach

Say no to wind turbines......

Anything with a 200' diameter blade that turns at 30 to 40 RPM has got to be bad. Imagine if the propellor came off. It could travel for miles, chopping everything in it's path to shreds, killing thousands. And what if terrorists were to get their hands on one? These wind turbine things are just a disaster waiting to happen and too little is known about the adverse long-term health effects that living near a giant rotating device may cause. Surely they produce some kind of electromagnetic something, or something. I think we should produce energy with something safe that we know more about....nuclear power.

- James D. - PORTSMOUTH

 

[Jeff C]

Are those quotes serious? roflcopter....





I wouldn't mind having windmills in my back yard, take me back to the days of my old relatives in Holland, with a modern twist.

 

[A1cntrler]

I hope they aren't serious quotes, however I frequently read the comments to articles in the paper just for a good laugh. Most people are so set in thier ways that they try to push whatever they "believe" is fact onto everyone else regardless if it is right or not. I think that they actually believe what they are preaching..



I have seen some of the windmills in person on I-75 up near the Mackinac Bridge in MI. I thought they looked kind of majestic. Granted I don't live near one, and can't say if they are noisy or not, but looked nice to me. Clean free energy. Since people seem to be so concerned about the sight of the windmills, why don't they just develop a system that works off the same principle, yet work soof of the currents in the ocean? No telling how much energy the gulf stream could produce....

 

[Todd Cloutier]

A wind farm is operational (and expanding) here in Buffalo on the former Bethlehem Steel site. It's a good re-use of an industrial site, that is quite frankly too contaminated to do much of anything else with. The bird issue was a problem with the first generation of wind turbines that were much smaller than the current ones, and therefore had to spin faster to generate.

[Broken External Image]:



A1 - I've seen articles proposing underwater turbines just like you've described for use in rivers and in the ocean. Of course, now it's the poor fishies that are getting chopped up.

 

[Dreman]

I don't know about the birds having a problem, but I can see the environmentalists in the future talking about how wind turbines are changing the climate by taking energy from the winds that should be cooling the earth, so something like that.

 

[TrainTrac]

We've got a couple of them here in Illinois. However, the power generated by them is shipped out of state. Go figure...:huh:



We also have a nuke power plant in Clinton, IL that generates power that is shipped out of state.:blink:

 

[KentheREALone Z]

I saw sevaral windmills on my way into Atlantic City, NJ a few weeks ago. And I thought Jersey was corrupt and couldn't get out of their own way (the government).....



It was good to see. I believe windmills, hydro and solar make great sense. I would much rather have windmills in my area than I would a nuke, coal or natural gas electric plant. BTW, I do live on a lake that generates hydroelectric power, another smart move.



Well placed multiple windmills can make a significant, positive impact.

 

[Ryan Schaecher]

Some people are just blooming idiots.



So let's recap:



-Can't use Coal because "it's dirty"

-Can't use Oil because "it funds terrorism"

-Can't use Nuclear because "What if Chernobyl..."

-Can't use Wind because "What about the birds?"

-Can't use Geothermal because "it may damage pristine wasteland"

-Can't use Hydroelectric because "Dams block trout from spawning"

-Can't use Tidal because "What about the sea lion, whales, <insert any other marine animal here>"

-Can't use Solar because "All those solar panels will shurely increase Global Warming"

-Can't use ....



Do these people not realize that when you plug something into the wall that power has to come from SOMEWHERE? You don't just pay the power company for nothing. Your house doesn't generate it's own power (at least 99.9995% of all houses don't). These are probably the same people that complain when in the winter there isn't enough power to heat their homes or cool them in the winter. Then they bitch when the cost of power goes up.



In all honesty, I'm all for nuclear energy. It's cheap to produce and the rate of accidents and death from nuclear is lower than that of coal (there are all kinds of accidents every year with coal trains bringing in supplies to the power plants, then there are the mine collapes, etc). Wind turbines are not effecient enough for the space they take currently (though it gets better every year). Tidal is promising, but the environmentalists fear damage to kelp beds, coral reefs, and what running that much power in conduit on the sea floor would do to sea life.



Coal is OK is use, not great but newer plants do a pretty good job of scrubbing contanminants out of the emmissions. Natural gas is not effecient enough. Ethanol... gimme a freaking break.



Love that Hydro power. Think about it.... all the fuel burned on the lake by the boats. God I love this country.

 

[user 62394]

I agree with what R Shek is saying. For every thing you can think of, you'll find someone who won't like it for some reason. Need to look at the greater good. I too have seen the windmills in Michigan, and I don't think that I would have a problem with them. I'm not sure if they can provide enough power for everyone, but if it can lower the price by offsetting more expensive energy sources I would be for it.



It does seem to me that there are lots of ways to get energy, but you won't get any if you are worried about making everyone happy.



Rocks

 

[CountyMounty]

There have been several proposed wind mill sites here in Maine over the past few years. So far out of the 5 or 6 specific ones that I know off only one project was able to get approval (state permits, federal permits, environmental permits, and finally local town voter approval). That one continues to cause controversy amongst the people in that area (Mars Hill) but some of that was quieted when the first new property tax bills came out, many people in that town had their taxes decrease significantly because of the amount of taxes the company that owns the site pays the town.



There are currently two big projects being talked about here in Maine, one fairly close to me, but as always it is surrounded by controversy. Most of the controversy is centered around asthetics with many people not wanting to see them lining the ridges, I dont think I've heard anyone bring up any terrorism concerns. There is also something in the works for a tidal energy project in Quoddy Bay. It is just in the planning stages but I for one would be love to see such a thing take shape. Of course that may not happen now that we can just burn the ocean for power

 

[KentheREALone Z]

Think about it, use solar, wind & hydro to offset peak demand from nuke/coal plants. That allows the power company to efficiently manage their demand. Efficient power plants running optimized 24/7, supplemented during peak demand. Check out Duke Energy in the southeast, some of the most inexpensive power rates in the country. This is some of what they do.



California need not comment.....