[Robert A Cook PE]

The old “farm-style” windmills were large enough to run (just barely - one water pump.

They succeeded because the water tank was a classic shallow depth “pump storage” unit - you could run the single water pump automatically whenever and for as long as the wind was high enough (but not too high to damage the propeller); then you didn't get any power for the many hours and days when the wind speed was too high, or too low.

The tank didn't care. It filled up, then gradually went down through evaporation, animal use - too small for irrigation! - , and for the farm kitchen. Then it filled up again. No electricity, no farm tools or belt-driven utilities could be reliably driven.

Wind farms are NOT economically driven - they are emotional TAXES on the already-stressed energy demands from conventional and nuclear plants.

Germany, Denmark, other parts of Europe have already idled many dozen wind generators because their grid has been forced sown regularly by their unreliability.

[Aliska]

Thanks for the lesson. I was just a kid and didn't understand how they worked, but I do vaguely remember something about storing excess in generators to be tapped when the wind was low, maybe I got that wrong.

I didn't know that they weren't used for electricity but only for pumping water. Thanks for the lesson. We city folk weren't taught about those things in school even any of my science classes, and I took more than average including a couple of courses in physics and chemistry in college.

And I didn't learn the simplest, most practical things until I picked up a copy of Mother Earth News and was intrigued with the problems with pumping water uphill out of a pond, not that I understood it all, but it was more than I'd ever been exposed to before.

Those weren't girl things either, and farmers were marginalized although they contributed so much to our way of life.

[Ditter]

My husband is a rancher and has dealt with windmills for watering his stock for 50 years. When ever he hears anything about the use of windmill farms for power generation, all he can think of is the maintenance that the bearings and other moving part will require. he say it will be huge especially those in a salt water environment.

[steelyourfaith]

Thanx !

 

Beam me to Planet Gore !

[tiki]

I agree, they are appealing to the emotions of saving the world environment but people aren’t going to like the costs.

[Kenny Bunk]

There seems to be a grave misunderstanding about the "ugliness" of oil wells. Once the well is drilled and the drilling rig is removed, the machinery is no uglier than a municipal water well. Beverly Hills is loaded with operative oil wells. There is no need for them to offend the aesthetic sensibilities of the liberals or cause a caribou to detour from its migratory route.

Oil, Natural Gas, Coal are needed to get us to the nuclear era, which the liberals and greenies have delayed in this country for 40 years. After we have accomplished the switch to nuclear powered generation for about 80% of our needs,(take about 15 years if we put our minds and backs to it) we can phase out coal powered plants and perhaps even indulge this idiotic fascination with wind power, which, as has been pointed out, needs back-up.

What a time to hand over the country to these emotional idiots!