Wind power

[mooglemania85]

Originally posted by: Eeezee

Originally posted by: mooglemania85

Originally posted by: villageidiot111
I don't know of anyone who has a personal turbine, that just sounds weird.

Everyone has the potential to generate "wind power". However, there are still people who do not adhere to the limitations on gas emission established in the Kyoto Protocol.

Technically, not everyone has that option; regions with little wind, for example.

Also, if everyone had a wind turbine, then technically everyone's power output would go down. What happens if everyone has a wind turbine? The people furthest downwind wouldn't get any wind at all, so they would still need some way to generate energy.

Solar power does not have this problem.

My co-worker is a health freak and is always eating tons of tofu, yogurt, fresh fruits, nuts, etc. Trust me, he generates quite a bit of "wind power". While some would argue that wind power is better for the environment, I challenge each and every one of those idiots to spend 10 minutes in the proximity of my co-worker and then have the balls to continue spouting that same crap.

 

[Bill Brasky]

I have an idea. Lets use turbines in the ocean, and solar panels on land...

Question: Isn't the next gen. nuclear power supposed to be ready in a decade?

 

[FoBoT]

coal, we have lots of coal


but as to the wind thing, rogo and quesy covered it. there are a few places it makes sense, economic sense vs. greenie nutjob sense , but most places it doesn't

 

[Scarpozzi]

I remember on Sim City it took so many wind turbines to power a city, I only used them for supplemental power at best and they had to be replaced frequently.

 

[OrganizedChaos]

wind power is very popular, they just can't make the turbines fast enough.

All turbine manufacturing companies have sold out of turbines through 2008.

 

[PingSpike]

Originally posted by: Unmoosical
I think using them over the ocean is a great idea. I didn't, however, realized they killed so many birds over land. I guess this isn't entirely true as others have stated.

Also, does everyone think that the site of wind turbines is that horrible? I don't see what the issue is. I don't think they look any worse than a tall building.

I don't know what people's problem really is. My experience is the same as DrPizza's. Either people love them or they hate them. Despite the average subaru driving flatlander around here claims they're "green" and have a hard-on for the envirnoment they bitch and moan that wind power is "ugly" and ruins their beautiful mountain ridgelines...the same ones that are carved all up with fucking ski slopes and chair lifts.

Wind power isn't really a solution to the problem though, its just a supplement. But that doesn't mean its worthless.

I read that in sweden or norway they use extensive wind power. When its really windy and the grid requirement is low, they use the excess power to pump water uphill behind a dam. Then when the grid requirements go up and there's less wind...they let it come down and just hydroelectric to produce the power. It sounds quite clever.

Of course around here they've got problems with the hydroelectric dams too. I forgot the BS reasons...probably something close to the bird killing thing only with fish. I think they're holding out for magic based electrical generation.

 

[Nik]

It takes a long, long time for the energy generated to pay off the cost of installation and maintenance. They're simply not profitable.

 

[SarcasticDwarf]

Originally posted by: PingSpike


Of course around here they've got problems with the hydroelectric dams too. I forgot the BS reasons...probably something close to the bird killing thing only with fish. I think they're holding out for magic based electrical generation.

Um, obviously you have never spent even five minutes researching the pros and cons of dams.

 

[meltdown75]

I haven't seen too many building permits coming through for wind turbines / towers although last summer I did assess 2 residential-class 3.5kW wind turbines on 80' towers. One was right next to the house and another was probably 100' away. They were both constructed on rural properties.

They cost $18,000 and $30,000 to put up, respectively... FYI FWIW

 

[PingSpike]

Originally posted by: SarcasticDwarf

Originally posted by: PingSpike


Of course around here they've got problems with the hydroelectric dams too. I forgot the BS reasons...probably something close to the bird killing thing only with fish. I think they're holding out for magic based electrical generation.

Um, obviously you have never spent even five minutes researching the pros and cons of dams.

Not even the point I was trying to make. It doesn't matter what option you offer people, they all have drawbacks and everyone wants a magic solution that doesn't exist!

 

[Throckmorton]

Originally posted by: GuideBot
It takes a long, long time for the energy generated to pay off the cost of installation and maintenance. They're simply not profitable.

Any other false information you want to share?

 

[Throckmorton]

Originally posted by: PingSpike


Of course around here they've got problems with the hydroelectric dams too. I forgot the BS reasons...probably something close to the bird killing thing only with fish. I think they're holding out for magic based electrical generation.

Are you kidding? Do you have any idea what a dam is?

 

[ElFenix]

Originally posted by: Tango
They are not very popular in the US, but they are elsewhere, notably in Germany, Spain, Italy and Denmark (which produces 20% of its energy consumption by wind farm).

texas has passed denmark with 3352 MW of installed generators and 1246 MW under construction. we've got the largest wind farm in the world. and that isn't counting some of the massive offshore developments which were just leased at the start of october. nor is it counting the 3000 megawatt farm in the panhandle that shell and luminant announced back in august.

 

[meltdown75]

FYI here is a page with links to the types of turbines people are putting up for their private usage around here (not wind-farm style turbines).

Pretty interesting stuff - the Trillium 3.5kW seems to be a popular model:

http://www.renewableenergysolutions.ca/products.html

 

[AlienCraft]

Originally posted by: villageidiot111
I don't know of anyone who has a personal turbine, that just sounds weird.

Sounds like a name for some one's junk.....

 

[Throckmorton]

Originally posted by: ElFenix

Originally posted by: Tango
They are not very popular in the US, but they are elsewhere, notably in Germany, Spain, Italy and Denmark (which produces 20% of its energy consumption by wind farm).

texas has passed denmark with 3352 MW of installed generators and 1246 MW under construction. we've got the largest wind farm in the world. and that isn't counting some of the massive offshore developments which were just leased at the start of october. nor is it counting the 3000 megawatt farm in the panhandle that shell and luminant announced back in august.

Denmark population: 5,468,120
Texas population: 23,507,783

 

[SarcasticDwarf]

Originally posted by: PingSpike

Originally posted by: SarcasticDwarf

Originally posted by: PingSpike


Of course around here they've got problems with the hydroelectric dams too. I forgot the BS reasons...probably something close to the bird killing thing only with fish. I think they're holding out for magic based electrical generation.

Um, obviously you have never spent even five minutes researching the pros and cons of dams.

Not even the point I was trying to make. It doesn't matter what option you offer people, they all have drawbacks and everyone wants a magic solution that doesn't exist!

That is not what you said. You started by stating that the reasons people give for not wanting HE dams are BS. That is incorrect, they are probably legitimate reasons. Furthermore, there is an implied oversimplification of environmentalist-assuming that all of them want the same thing.

 

[gar3555]

Originally posted by: MikeyIs4Dcats
I was told once by someone in the business that a turbine in the Flint Hills of Kansas (where it's windy) would take over 20 years to recoup the initial cost, not including the maintenance.

actually, they are now putting up a very large wind farm just west of Salina, KS. I worked for the college of Architecture when I was at KSU, and my boss's grant research consisted mainly of Wind farms on an aesthetic scale. That one of the major reasons they never went up at the Flint Hills.
link

edit: Added link to Arch classes specifically showing aesthetic grades for potential windfarms

 

[ElFenix]

Originally posted by: Throckmorton

Originally posted by: ElFenix

Originally posted by: Tango
They are not very popular in the US, but they are elsewhere, notably in Germany, Spain, Italy and Denmark (which produces 20% of its energy consumption by wind farm).

texas has passed denmark with 3352 MW of installed generators and 1246 MW under construction. we've got the largest wind farm in the world. and that isn't counting some of the massive offshore developments which were just leased at the start of october. nor is it counting the 3000 megawatt farm in the panhandle that shell and luminant announced back in august.

Denmark population: 5,468,120
Texas population: 23,507,783

italy population: 59,206,382
italy generating capacity: 2123 MW

hey, we generate more wind per capita than italy, one of the mentioned countries.

he only said popular, not generation per capita. wind is very popular here in texas, as evidenced by the fact that we're adding so much capacity so quickly. we had next to nothing in 2000 when, ironically, GWBush mandated 2 GW generating capacity by 2010, we blew by that in 2005. the next goal is 5 GW by 2015 or so, but we'll probably hit that next year.

 

[Josh123]

I live in west Texas and see them everywhere. It's insane how big those blades are, 18 wheelers always pass through our town hauling two of those suckers.

 

[alkemyst]

there are a few down here on some islands.

 

[Suspicious-Teach8788]

So you want a fat turbine rotating in your neighborhood? When you live in a place where houses are $2 million each around you, no people aren't going to let you install a 30 foot turbine out in your back yard.

Solar panels are at the point where they are almost cost efficient. Isn't it the $ / watt (no not watt hour) argument. I remember they showed us a chart in class. The cost is just about at the point where with the benefits that your electric company gives you, you might be able to consider it.

 

[gar3555]

Originally posted by: Josh123
I live in west Texas and see them everywhere. It's insane how big those blades are, 18 wheelers always pass through our town hauling two of those suckers.

that's what have been passing through are town. Those are some amazing blades. Two per semi is quite a site.

 

[E equals MC2]

I'm in the cell phone tower industry and I can tell you why. My company leases out tower spaces to Cingular, T-Mobile, Sprint-Nextel, Verizon etc...

1. Zoning: It's already bad enough cities and towns HATE cellphone towers. It takes years to approve for a new tower site and you have to jump through many many hoops: city zoning, FCC, FAA, and more. Wind towers would be even worse, not to mention dangerous.

2. Cost: Those are very expensive you know. It almost seems counter productive to pour all that money into wind power for the sake of going green when gas, oil, electricity alternatives are so readily available in the already gridded cities.

3. Sheer land requirement: Ties with the item #2. Requires too much land, too much building, and not efficient enough for the power it brings.

 

[iamwiz82]

If you have the opportunity to sit next to a wind farm the sound they make is really spooky.