Painful Lessons for Wind Power

Human Events ^ | 3/24/2011 | Brian Sussman

[detective]

Wind energy took another blow—this time in Massachusetts.

Wind One is the 400-foot-tall wind turbine owned by the town of Falmouth, on the southwestern tip of Cape Cod. The residents of Falmouth initially welcomed Wind One as a symbol of green energy and a handy way to keep local taxes down. Electricity generated by the turbine would be used to power the municipality’s infrastructure, thus shaving about $400,000 a year off its utility costs.

Installed in the spring of 2010 at a cost of $5.1 million (with some $3 million derived through grants, government kickbacks, and credits), the huge turbine cranks out 1.65 megawatts of electricity during optimum conditions.

[A Strict Constructionist]

“The Greenies & kayaker crowd”

I thought portage was part of the fun of canoeing and kayaking. Sounds like another bunch of city weenies to me.

[PSYCHO-FREEP]

They only give the illusion that they are turning slow because they are so big and you mostly see them from the center of the hub. What kills birds is the tips of the props, which move at over 3 times the actual wind speed. They can approach 100 mph with a 30 mph wind.

They truly DO kill birds. Lots of them. Birds have difficulty recognizing the hazard. Especially raptors, which is the most frequent type of bird killed by them.

[WVKayaker]

...the large three bladed ones make no noise. ...

... for the Eco weenies and kayakers agreeing...

Not to be disagreeable (if you believe that, I have a bridge for sale!), but you must not have any actual experience with Wind generation. Those things in the mountains of WV are (almost) noisier than a jet plane. Plus, many are usually idle and many broken, not churning/turning. At least the birds are safe!

As for token remarks about "kayakers", same thing applies. Most I know are NOT weenies, not greenies... (and are crazier than most people)! I watch and learn, but many of the places they paddle are a little rough for me. Cheat River is my fave, but it gets way more action than I like in the Spring. My friends jump in and many get hurt!

[org.whodat]

Plum bull, the invidual props are about seventy feet long, and they move so slow you can stand and count the evolutions, the tip takes four seconds to make a revolution. And they make the same revolution no mater what the damn wind speed is. If you don’t produce 60 cycle power it will not mate with the grid. The old little ones had a brake speed control, the new big ones work off of the same principle of lift as an airplane wing for speed control. The prop rotates in the hub and controls the speed.

[rustbucket]

Which energy source causes less view polution?

[DungeonMaster]

People don’t like radioactive contamination.

[org.whodat]

About 45dba, it you are within 1000 feet. But what was the noise level before they were installed. If you live within 1000 feet of a major highway, your hearing is so shot you could not hear that.

[WVKayaker]

I spent the night at Davis, WV. In the middle of the night, I was aware of a noise, which was not natural. The next morning, I followed it to the source, 12 miles away. There were only a half dozen at the time. YMMV, but I was unhappy enough to not buy property near them! Unfortunately, the Chicago Mafia is behind them and they are proliferating on the mountaintops.

Thanks, GE/Zero!

[BwanaNdege]

I have a 17’ Mowhawk that I use on the Tuckaseegee and also enjoy rafting on the Nantahala. Two of my kids have kayaks.

However...

“American Whitewater” is bragging about their role in taking out the Dillsboro dam and “freeing the river”. They could not get the dam removed based on the merits of the Dillsboro dam. They had to threaten to use the courts to tie up Duke Power license renewals for Nantahala, Bear Creek, Cedar Cliff, Wolf and Glenville lakes.

[WVKayaker]

Are you an electrical engineer? Wouldn't a DC generator produce more power, even with the losses from inversion? Am I wrong?

As for aero design, any windmill action comes from fluid dynamics (lift), whether old or new... it's just a matter of efficiency. Feathering just decreases efficiency and adds problems! I'm sure glad I don't have to repair them...

[WVKayaker]

I am aware of their actions, but it is a small minority (as usual) of vocal opponents that make these things happen. It is up to the rest of us to find a way to rein in the system abuses in our courts.

I ran for WV State Senate (got 1/3 of the vote without really campaigning against a long time Dem) so that I could help make some changes in WV. But, after defeat, I decided to "retire" and just moved to Gulfport, MS. Here, I look out at the Mississippi Sound, and am ready to get me another 17 footer. I had a Necky Kyook with rudder, in NC, but went to a Wilderness Systems Acadia (13') in WV. I'm not a big whitewater guy, but found lots of paddling opportunities... and look forward to many more. I'm also gonna buy me a Sunfish or two!

[detective]

The really sad thing about that the family who were forced to abandon their beautiful home was it was to enable the “wind developer” to take taxpayer money for a project that is economically worthless and for utility customers forced to purchase energy for over 10 times the cost of the energy it replaces. And finally the electricity produced by the wind turbines will only be available when wind conditions are right and can not be depended on during periods of peak electric usage when it is needed.

The whole wind energy industry is a fraud perpetrated on the American people by greedy politically connected crooks, anti-American environmentalists and slimy liberal politicians. I guarantee you none of these “green energy” hypocrites would ever allow wind turbines within 1000 feet of their home.

[Jim Noble]

The residents of Falmouth initially welcomed Wind One as a symbol of green energy

How frickin' retarded is THAT?

[detective]

Please see post number 39.

[captnorb]

Yep! Those wind turbines don’t kill birds! just those nasty stationary power lines and airplanes.

[org.whodat]

Ha, was a power production specialists in the air force.

[Oztrich Boy]

They can approach 100 mph with a 30 mph wind.

Plum bull, the invidual props are about seventy feet long, and they move so slow you can stand and count the evolutions, the tip takes four seconds to make a revolution.

70' blade. circumference 440'. tip speed 110'/sec. 75mph.

Not sure the birds will notice the difference.

[gitmo]

This is reminiscent of the towns across the US that had to install luminescent lights inside the new stoplights because the LEDs didn’t produce any heat, and the lights were icing over. In some states, the law said they HAD to have LED stoplights. The incandescents were installed simply to add the necessary heat.

[WVKayaker]

Ha, was a power production specialists in the air force.

It was evident that you were talking over your head!. The tips spin FASTER than the rotors... and dead birds are just one result!

power production specialists

[org.whodat]

Bs, how fast does a bird fly, have you seen them spear themselves on a tree limb, oh, after the aid force my undergraduate bs
degree minor was industrial engineering. Last week I picked up a whole sack of birds where the had been sitting on one power line and pissing on the other. Don’t eat two many boxes of chocolate. FYI, air force power production specialist are the men that keep the electrical grid working, including the diesels running.