Wind Farms!

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HK

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I don't know if this is the right area, but in my area there's some debate at the moment because our council want to put a wind farm on the outskirts of town, and people have taken this news as 'what? and spoil the view?!'

I like wind farms :) they're pleasing to the eye. Why do people hate them?
 
Really? I was looking into them, they pay back the energy that it costs to put them up in the first place within months of being installed - so presumably anything afterwards is profit, right?
 
yeah apparently trying to save the planet is a bad thing...

Wind farms are ok, we've got loads here on the coast. Problem is, they can have quite a negative effect on the local bird life. Apparently there are literally piles of dead birds at the foot of the towers here that get cleaned up every couple of weeks...
 
skyblue said:
they might do if it was windy 24/7
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Actually, turbulent winds aren't ideal for them, so they tend to get placed in areas with consistent wind flow, rather than extreme drops and rises. Have you seen them going? They're not fast movers :)

edgray said:
yeah apparently trying to save the planet is a bad thing...

Wind farms are ok, we've got loads here on the coast. Problem is, they can have quite a negative effect on the local bird life. Apparently there are literally piles of dead birds at the foot of the towers here that get cleaned up every couple of weeks...
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That's the biggest con I've read about so far, depending on the area people get worried that endangered species might be at risk. Not such an issue where I'm from. And I do wonder why the hell birds can manage around trees, but can't avoid fuck-off huge windmills :p

Still, the other side to that argument is that we kill potentially many more birds all the time with other methods of creating energy, so focusing on that for wind farms is beside the point - at least they do something for the environment those birds live in in the first place.
 
HK said:
That's the biggest con I've read about so far, depending on the area people get worried that endangered species might be at risk. Not such an issue where I'm from. And I do wonder why the hell birds can manage around trees, but can't avoid fuck-off huge windmills :p

Still, the other side to that argument is that we kill potentially many more birds all the time with other methods of creating energy, so focusing on that for wind farms is beside the point - at least they do something for the environment those birds live in in the first place.
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I live on the coast. Apparently the birds fly up the cliffs/beaches and as they reach the top and see the blades it's already too late...
 
There are discussions here about regulating them on the Great Lakes. The NIMBY's won't even accept them out x miles offshore where they are not seen. They have done studies and found some very optimal locations where the wind is pretty consistent to make em viable. I have my doubts though as the cost for the units is great plus then you have the costs to run the transmission lines. I would think we might be better off looking at solar for most instances. Again depending upon where you are located
 
kate88 said:
I find them pleasing on the eye too.
However, I have a feeling that this is as long as they are not in my backyard...
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I'm interested to see what they're like, living near to. I've only ever seen them when visiting other towns, usually from a car, so you don't get much idea about whether they really produce a lot of noise, which people seem to think they do.

Sky - I agree that the home versions aren't worth the money right now, unless you teamed them with lots of other options like solar as well.
 
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