Wind farms-need some science help.

[rllink]

In Iowa we have lots of wind turbines. I'm not the expert that a lot of people seem to be, my opinion is that they are not ugly. I don't think they are beautiful or anything. I don't get particularly emotional about how wind turbines look. They are what they are. They must be generating enough electricity to pay for themselves because they keep putting them up. If they aren't making money now there must be a huge potential because they look way too expensive to be putting them up for fun. I don't think they kill a lot of birds. I've driven cars at seventy five miles an hour across the great plains, motorcycles as well. I've inadvertently flown airplanes through flocks of birds thinking one would come through the prop and kill me but they always seem to get out of the way. I have gotten a few luckless individuals with my car over the years but not many. I don't know why a bird of average intelligence won't get out of the way of a turbine blade coming at it. Okay, no science, just my own logic.

[Napman41]

Originally Posted by rokdog49

For comparison, England is about the size of the state of Alabama. You have prevailing winds along your entire coastline.
We don’t have prevailing winds in Alabama, let alone 90% of our country.
Hardly comparable logistically and from a cost effective standpoint, incomparable when you consider what it would cost to accomplish the same results in the U.S.
Folly.

Nearly 40% of the US population lives within 100 miles of a coastline. Transmission lines can easily transport and supply wind generated electricity to those people.

[Jeff Scott]

Originally Posted by AndreF

Exactly. And in this country, unless a disaster struck, shouldn't be without power at all.

How about the standard thunder storm, or ice storm? Apparently, in a lot of places they are a disaster..........

Originally Posted by rllink

...wind turbines. ..... I don't think they kill a lot of birds. I've driven cars at seventy five miles an hour across the great plains, motorcycles as well. I've inadvertently flown airplanes through flocks of birds thinking one would come through the prop and kill me but they always seem to get out of the way. I have gotten a few luckless individuals with my car over the years but not many. I don't know why a bird of average intelligence won't get out of the way of a turbine blade coming at it.

I always mourn for the seagull I killed years ago. Details upon request.

I'd much rather have those Alexander Calder kinda' looking wind turbines than a belching power plant, any day.

[J Patrick]

...I think it’s important to note that renewable energy is an emerging technology that presents both challenges and opportunities....here in Oregon I see solar farms popping up all over the place....way more prevalent than wind farms...one of the most promising aspects of renewable energy technology is how it can be scaled from small to large depending on what best fits the situation and the needs of the consumer....

[Silly Moustache]

Seems to be a lot of bias and mis-information here.

I live near the south coast of England. It is our custom on Boxing day, to take a long walk along the promenade by the sea.

At maybe half a mile off the coast (not a seaway) there are a lot of wind turbines.

They turn slowly, so I don't see how they kill many birds, and most that are flying around there are gulls.

We are not short of gulls!
They are a noisy, messy and aggressive pest.

The turbines tun slowly, noiselessly and look beautiful against the sea and sky.

We have some solar panel farms around too, and some keep sheep in the same fileds, but they aren't "pretty" but practical.

We have to get sensible about quitting fossil fuels.

[The Bard Rocks]

Originally Posted by hairpuller

All I know is they are really ugly and kill a lot of birds.

At 900', they are not so likely to kill birds or bats. Of course it depends upon the bottom of the swipe.

[Mdinterman]

Win farms will never meet our energy needs. If we want to significantly reduce carbon emission the answer is nuclear power.

[Everton FC]

Originally Posted by hairpuller

All I know is they are really ugly and kill a lot of birds.

There are many in the Pincher Creek area of my province. They actually look kind of cool at first, then Orwellian.

They require a lot of fossil fuel to make and maintain. Just like electric cars, solar (solar is a massive user of fossil fuels). I live in Alberta. I am not a fan of mining the tar sands. The manufacturing of solar, the use of it, leaves a lot of waste behind. Never forget, people are always trying to make a profit, first.

I've considered geo-thermal and water power. The family well on the in-laws farm is a wonderful, natural thing. Nuclear power will never be something I can support. Look at the storage situation in Sweden for a frightening scenario. The real solution - albeit a tough one for some - is we simply need to live more local. Local ag, local commerce, local economies. Use local materials to build. No big ag and GMOs. And so on. That's the most natural way to be. Even when it comes to banking. The more natural, the more local we are, the less unnecessary destruction there will be. Generally speaking. Just my opinion - one of myriad multitudes...

[Ozzy the dog]

On a lighter note, I find it interesting how a bird can fly to it's nest through thousands of irregular shaped branches blowing sporadically in the wind only to be killed by a slowly turning three bladed turbine.

I suppose it's like the bee that flies miles back to the hive and dances to tell the others of the exact location of a small flower on the other side of the valley yet can't find its' way back out of the six foot door it just flew in through.

I blame my dad - he never told me about the birds and the bees when I was young.

[Silly Moustache]

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-48936941

[nickv6]

I recently read a serious item about the wind turbines in the Californian valley and the claim was that when they go wrong it isn't worth repairing them. The initial gov subsidies have been used up (taken as profit) and the returns are no longer there. So anything that goes wrong gets to sit stationary for ever.
I've no way of knowing if it's true but it was a scientific paper not a newspaper.
Certainly, here in the UK, renewable things like solar panels on rooves, rely for appeal totally on gov grants. As our gov reduces the incentive, so the takeup slows.
We haven't yet reached the point here where people accept it's going to cost more, not less.
Nick

[hubcapsc]

At maybe half a mile off the coast (not a seaway) there are a lot of wind turbines.

They turn slowly, so I don't see how they kill many birds,

From a half a mile away, they look slow. The business ends
of those blades are going over 100 miles an hour...

-Mike

[BrunoBlack]

Now this is ugly!

[Gitfiddlemann]

Originally Posted by Jeff Scott

How about the standard thunder storm, or ice storm? Apparently, in a lot of places they are a disaster..........

Oh yes, they sure can be. And they can often knock the power out. But those are all "Acts of God" events. Not much you can do about that, especially with so many trees in our parts. Utilities around here are always quick to restore power in my experience.
It's the intentional and mismanaged power shutoffs for large swaths of the population in other parts of the country, at the worst possible times, that really gets me upset.
But I'll leave it at that.

[Gitfiddlemann]

Originally Posted by Haasome

Now this is ugly!

As is this:

Ukraine, 1986.