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large portions of the population have migrated to the coasts.....so line the shoreline and offshore areas with windmills.
And here we have one of the problems.
Too many people, who want to consume massive amounts of electricity, are absolutely unwilling to be inconvenienced by its production. And they're unwilling to see what is involved.
We visited a wind farm today to see if all the hype about noise, electrical substation clutter, eyesores, etc. is true. We sat beneath an operating Vestas V-90 turbine in a 12-mph wind in the middle of a wind farm of 200+ towers stretching to the horizon. Of the 100 or so visible windmills, maybe 2 were not operating. Here's my verdict:
Noise: This is absolute nonsense. I sat 50 meters away--closer than any house would be located--directly downwind of a full-sized operating turbine and the noise of the wind in my ears or blowing around the car was much louder than the quiet whoosh of the turbine. It sounded like wind blowing around a tall building and was barely audible over the rustling of the corn and the rumble of distant combine engines.
Eyesore: Directly underneath the turbine, the constant shadows passing overhead from the blades was a little distracting. Also, for the first 10 minutes, the hundreds of operating turbines were a slight distraction, but after 30 minutes, they faded into the rural background--about as obtrusive as the high-tension lines you see criss-crossing the country--but I would say slightly prettier thanks to their smooth white finish. I certainly wouldn't mind living near a field of turbines, (in fact I can see them from my house), and would definately prefer it to living near a coal or oil powerplant.
Electrical equipment clutter: I did not see a single substation. I assume the power-conditioning equipment for the Vestas V-90 is located in the nacelle and the power lines must be buried because I didn't see any running to the windmills, just gravel service roads. There was no electrical hum or any real noise besides the sound of the wind.
Makes me wonder how much of a fuss people made about overhead telegraph, then power and telephone line. Our grandchildren really won't care where the windmills are.
large portions of the population have migrated to the coasts.....so line the shoreline and offshore areas with windmills.
I'm with you.
Keep them off the tops of our mountains in our state - especially since the goal is to ship the electric out of state. Put them in the yards of the users.
We visited a wind farm today to see if all the hype about noise, electrical substation clutter, eyesores, etc. is true. We sat beneath an operating Vestas V-90 turbine in a 12-mph wind in the middle of a wind farm of 200+ towers stretching to the horizon. Of the 100 or so visible windmills, maybe 2 were not operating. Here's my verdict:
Noise: This is absolute nonsense. I sat 50 meters away--closer than any house would be located--directly downwind of a full-sized operating turbine and the noise of the wind in my ears or blowing around the car was much louder than the quiet whoosh of the turbine. It sounded like wind blowing around a tall building and was barely audible over the rustling of the corn and the rumble of distant combine engines.
Eyesore: Directly underneath the turbine, the constant shadows passing overhead from the blades was a little distracting. Also, for the first 10 minutes, the hundreds of operating turbines were a slight distraction, but after 30 minutes, they faded into the rural background--about as obtrusive as the high-tension lines you see criss-crossing the country--but I would say slightly prettier thanks to their smooth white finish. I certainly wouldn't mind living near a field of turbines, (in fact I can see them from my house), and would definately prefer it to living near a coal or oil powerplant.
Electrical equipment clutter: I did not see a single substation. I assume the power-conditioning equipment for the Vestas V-90 is located in the nacelle and the power lines must be buried because I didn't see any running to the windmills, just gravel service roads. There was no electrical hum or any real noise besides the sound of the wind.
There is a difference between a concentrated wind-farm and those bigger towers they stick on top of a range of mountains for miles and miles.
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