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This is one of the many concerns about the PLACEMENT of the turbines. This is hand in hand with the distance from homes, churches, schools, etc. In our area- Upstate NY - the salesmen come in and lie about all the adverse effects. They find wind, blast mountain faces, build huge roads, run lines (taken by eminent domain most recently) and get theor money and leave. They do this by offering PILOTs that amount sometimes larger than a whole town budget. Then, when they are up-the truth comes out, the residents are devasted by the fact that they bought the lies, the towns regret the devastion to their land, and the wind companies sit back and laugh all the way to the bank.
WHERE the turbines are placed is a huge issue - the wind companies don't care at all as long as the wind blows, they will spend million to destroy a town to make billions. Dangers to homes, drivers, roads, birds, wildlife, residents, etc. are glossed over and ignored. That is why there are so many websites, blogs, and lawsuits.
Thank you for sharing your perspective that includes things OTHER than viewshed.
Location: North of the Cow Pasture and South of the Wind Turbines
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Not only placement but prominent wind direction. If the wind is blowing directly at them then there are more efficient. However in the mountains and I can say very simply - if you try to fly a kite at a high elevation and a strong wind, with various elevations of the mountains and valleys around you it is almost impossible because the wind swirls around and around. I always wondered what affect that would have if they were to be installed here. Also interesting we had a test tower put in by the good people from a wind company to test wind conditions from a while back and it recently bent over. So too much push me pull you from the wind?
In certain flat areas the wind blows (Texas?) consistently from a certain direction.
And I like kites
Last edited by BovinaCowHateWindTurbines; 07-02-2008 at 06:42 PM..
This is one of the many concerns about the PLACEMENT of the turbines. This is hand in hand with the distance from homes, churches, schools, etc. In our area- Upstate NY - the salesmen come in and lie about all the adverse effects. They find wind, blast mountain faces, build huge roads, run lines (taken by eminent domain most recently) and get theor money and leave. They do this by offering PILOTs that amount sometimes larger than a whole town budget. Then, when they are up-the truth comes out, the residents are devasted by the fact that they bought the lies, the towns regret the devastion to their land, and the wind companies sit back and laugh all the way to the bank.
WHERE the turbines are placed is a huge issue - the wind companies don't care at all as long as the wind blows, they will spend million to destroy a town to make billions. Dangers to homes, drivers, roads, birds, wildlife, residents, etc. are glossed over and ignored. That is why there are so many websites, blogs, and lawsuits.
Thank you for sharing your perspective that includes things OTHER than viewshed.
I'm sorry, but this isn't always true for all wind farms/operators. Wind companies spend years doing environmental studies, system impact studies, planning the siting of turbines, making agreements with the town/county about what is acceptable and not acceptable - before they even consider commencing construction. You are right, however, about where the turbines are placed. They take everything into consideration when it comes to siting issues... such as placing turbines far enough from roads and houses as to avoid each of the issues that you've mentioned. They even do noise modeling to ensure that the noise won't exceed county ordinance limits.
It must be that some developers have been careless and negligent on a few of these issues - especially early in the wind industry, and as a result, they might not have sited the turbines carefully... resulting in complaints from the residents. Unfortunately, those developers give the wind industry a bad name to some folks... and that was never supposed to happen.
As for Palm springs CA, I have heard negative things about that wind farm, and it is likely that this wind farm has not been sited properly. For instance, the turbines there were placed TOO CLOSE to each other (increasing wake interference). As the wind industry matures, there will be more proper siting and stronger consideration of the landowners. The win-win situation is the goal, not win-lose, or lose-lose.
I am not actually completly against wind power. I do take a position when people blindly jump onto a technology without knowing all the facts about it. Wind will not save the world. It will not lessen our dependence on a sustainable power source be that clean coal,nuke or fairy dust! The demand growth in this country and the world will outstrip the currently installed supply and wind power will not stop that.
we actually had our "energy" meeting at work a couple of weeks ago. As some know I am a Residential Designer. Due to changes in codes within several towns here in Colorado, we are having to now design for alternative energy use. I had asked for some details about Residential wind generators from the energy company we have partnered with, and they gave me some very good information.
The initial cost of the generator is less than that of PV cells. They do wear out, and have a life of around 20 years.
They can only be installed in areas that have a consistent 10MPH wind 300' from any obstacles and 30' above any obstacles. The wind MUST be consistent, gusts will not cut it. They do not produce what is needed on wind gusts. They do make noise, roughly the amount of a washing machine. The poles can be installed quickly and with minimal effort.
They were shying away from the Residential wind generators along the front range of Colorado due to the gustiness and unpredictability of the wind. they did however say that along the eastern plains of Colorado they work much better, especially as a hybrid system with PV cells. I know that the commercial ones (big honkers) work a bit different in terms of the wind requirements, I for one think they are beautiful.
I do not see this tech. solving problems, but see them as an added benifit to help us out of the energy problem.
I personally put my views in clean coal, and nuclear as our main power source with PV and Wind generators as a supplement.
"I'm sorry, but this isn't always true for all wind farms/operators. Wind companies spend years doing environmental studies, system impact studies, planning the siting of turbines, making agreements with the town/county about what is acceptable and not acceptable - before they even consider commencing construction. You are right, however, about where the turbines are placed. They take everything into consideration when it comes to siting issues... such as placing turbines far enough from roads and houses as to avoid each of the issues that you've mentioned. They even do noise modeling to ensure that the noise won't exceed county ordinance limits."
Yikes, perhaps in your neck of the woods this is true, but in the Eastern part of the US this is the complete opposite. When you have time, do some searching and researching on these particular towns: Mars Hill, ME, Stamford/Roxbury NY, Prattsburgh, NY, Cohocton, NY. Just start with that as there is enough for hours of reading. What you will read is that lies were told, residents dupped, large noise issues, huge setback deceptions, under-the-table deals with the town counsels to ram the approvals through in spite of no one wanting the turbines except for the leaseholders (the money makers), etc. These towns are experiencing real-life, truthful effects of "no one watching the store." The residents are living in the results of poor government, lack of information, and are fighting for the lives-literally.These towns found out the truth about "lowered taxes, local job creation, free electricity, no harm to wildlife, better hunting spaces, no visual impact, no noise impact" and all the other stories and assurances they are given by the knowingly dishonest wind salesmen.
I am not trying to argue with you, but I believe that you WANT to know everything about this issue. I believe you want to know the reality of this situation. I believe you will take the time to read the other side of this story. These towns are not dealing with "NIMBY" issues, they are dealing with pure deceptions. Also, please remember that any leaseholder, or non-participating landowner sign legal contracts that state they can never say anything negative about the turbines, they can never do anything that is deemed harmful to the wind company or any of its activities. This lease, or contract, prevents the rest of the country from hearing the truth about having turbines on your land, or as your neighbor.
You hear the same quotes from all of them, so similiar it is obviously scripted. It is a free country, they choose to play along, but I urge folks to take what they hear with a grain of salt. To understand that what they hear is constructed around a strict set of rules, rules set by the wind companies, not set by the truth or reality.
Knowledge is power, and information is everything. No matter what side of the fence you are on, I think it is important to have ALL the information, not just cherry-picked propaganda!
The picture is taken from the lowest point on the ground and the mountains still tower over everything, so the mountain view is not disturbed.
Animals are not impeded, they can still get past...I don't think it's so bad really.
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