Posted on 01/01/2006 12:25:56 PM PST by NormsRevenge
STAMFORD, Conn. (AP) - Giant windmills are popping up on farms, scenic mountain ridges, prairie grass and now an Indian reservation, dramatically changing the nation's landscape and spinning a debate about where they belong.
Wind power grew rapidly in 2005, becoming more competitive as natural gas prices jumped and crude oil prices reached record highs. Improved technology, a federal tax credit and pressure on utilities to use clean energy sources helped fuel the growth from coast to coast.
Officials in Atlantic City, N.J., in December dedicated the nation's first coastal wind farm. And last week, General Electric Co. announced a startup near San Diego of the largest wind power farm on Indian land.
Wind power still makes up less than 1 percent of the nation's electricity, but experts expect wind to generate at least 5 percent by 2020.
"The wind resource in the United States is comparable to the oil resource in Saudi Arabia," said Tom Gray, deputy executive director of the American Wind Energy Association, an industry trade group. "It's a major strategic national resource we should be making every effort to develop."
While windmills may evoke quaint images of yesteryear, they're sparking growing debate, particularly as the first offshore projects are proposed in popular tourist areas, such as Cape Cod, Long Island, N.Y., and the New Jersey shore. Critics, including a member of the influential Kennedy family, worry that some projects could harm national treasures.
"All of a sudden you're transferring an asset used by 5 million people into the hands of private industrial speculators," said Robert F. Kennedy Jr., an environmentalist who has objected to the Cape Cod proposal.
The industry added about 2,500 megawatts of wind power this year, a record 35 percent increase, according to the association. The country's wind capacity is more than 9,200 megawatts in 30 states, enough for 2.4 million average U.S homes.
In September, a report by the Government Accountability Office, Congress' investigative arm, found that the federal government offers minimal oversight in approving wind power plants. The report urged federal officials to take a more active role in weighing the impact of wind power farms on bird and bat deaths, saying local and state regulators sometimes lack the necessary expertise.
Wind projects have sparked complaints around the country that the windmills cause noise, obstruct scenic views and kill wildlife, including thousands of federally protected birds in California.
In Maryland, state officials have sought to limit 420-foot windmills atop the state's highest mountain ridge because of concerns about the impact to rare species.
A proposal to build offshore wind turbine towers along the New Jersey shore led to a 15-month moratorium on such projects while a special panel studies the issue.
A wind farm planned in a small town in Vermont has sparked criticism that the nearly 400-foot towers would ruin the rural landscape and hurt tourism.
In Kansas, conservation groups have asked state officials to create guidelines for wind energy developments, citing concerns that more wind farms will harm the last remnants of the nation's prairie grass and prairie chicken populations.
Proponents say bird kills have been minimal at most wind farms, though Gray acknowledged some bird kills. They say the visual impact is far less severe than other forms of energy such as oil drilling.
Wind power helps lower skyrocketing home heating and electric bills by reducing the demand for natural gas and brings new jobs, rural economic development and tax revenue to cash-strapped states, proponents say.
In McCamey, Tex., Mayor Sherry Phillips said the population has dwindled over the decades from about 10,000 to 1,800 as oil dried up. But these days the area is remaking itself as the wind farm capital of Texas, collecting millions of dollars in taxes and creating 40 to 50 jobs from 860 wind turbines, she said.
The wind power added this year will offset the emission of about 7 billion pounds of carbon dioxide, equivalent to keeping nearly 500,000 SUVs off the road, the association said.
"If we could just find a way to make them invisible," Gray said, "we'd have something everybody could get behind."
---
http://www.awea.org
http://www.gewind.com
While windmills may evoke quaint images of yesteryear, they're sparking growing debate, particularly as the first offshore projects are proposed in popular tourist areas, such as Cape Cod, Long Island, N.Y., and the New Jersey shore. Critics, including a member of the influential Kennedy family, worry that some projects could harm national treasures.
"All of a sudden you're transferring an asset used by 5 million people into the hands of private industrial speculators," said Robert F. Kennedy Jr., an environmentalist who has objected to the Cape Cod proposal.
Probably knows he won't get his 40% markup.
NIMBY syndrome alert!
If they did not have Kennedy and Kerry MA would have no wind.
I wonder how long it will be before some congresscritter tries to make a law.
Insufficient. Non-OPEC oil production will level out in ten years, and OPEC production will decline substantially by 2026 or 2030. Nukes is the only cost-effective way to go, or relax the constraints on coal plants.
agreed. nukes now, and then fusion.
Put some of those Windmills in D.C.plenty of blow hards there
Well, does this mean that Nuclear power is now back on the table?
Kennedy & Kerry do not want eysores fouling up the vista's from their dacha's. Let the scum freeze in the dark!
I saw a report that said massive use of windmills does indeed have climate altering effects because the air is heated as energy is extracted. On a small scale there will be micro climate effects in the vicinity of a large windmill farm and on a macro scale there will be significant atmospheric heating. There is no free lunch.
Sounds like hogwash to me. What about the energy transferred by bending trees as winds flow through forests? Or the energy used to form whitecaps on oceans?
--on about the same scale, it will slow down the rotation of the earth, thus making days longer and also adding to the sun's heating effect---WE'RE DOOMED--
The laws of physics would say that there would be some heat generated by both.
Oh yes. Some power companies are already getting their permits.
If the enviro-fascists weren't such hypocrites they might find themselves in bit of a pickle with these windmills.
The envirowackos are making coal more expensive every day.
Ariz. mine closure throws Indians out of work
San Diego Union Tribune ^ | 1/1/2006 | John M. Broder
Posted on 01/01/2006 12:28:36 PM PST by bkwells
Nevada power plant to close after dispute
AP ^ | 12/30/5
Posted on 12/30/2005 8:01:33 AM PST by SmithL
Oil - Too icky
Coal - Too dirty
Nuclear - Don't even think about it
Wind - Kills birds and lowers the Kennedy's property values
Hydroelectric - Snail Darter
Wood - Tree killer
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.