Hi Kevin, I've been following the wind turbine thread and finally have a message (yours) that stimulates a response. First of all I'm a wind mill/turbine geek (Mechanical Engineer now retired)- I am currently installing 2 windmills: 1) a Superior 2 diaphram air pump to aerate my 2 ponds. This is a multiblade (approx 12 ft dia) on a 30 ft unipole and 2) an Endurance S250- low rpm- 225 rpm max vs up to 350 for competition (and therfore low noise at 55 mph wind speed) for whole house power generation and income for feeding back to the grid. Comments/Inputs:
* Conservation important but only one part of the story * I dont see any significant safety issues with small wind mills- spoke with owner between Cayuga and Seneca Lakes and he said there have been no dead birds or other fatalities * If everyone who has 13 mph ave windspeed installed a 10,000 to 15,000 kwh per year wind turbine (at half cost- Feds and State pay $18,000 for an Endurance cost of $39,500) I think we would make a significant dent in our power generation needs. I havent run the numbers on this and dont intend to. * We need to rapidly increase nuclear power generation. This issue that tends to draw the most (emotional) concern is radioactive waste disposal. I think (as do many others who have looked carefully at the situation) this is a non starter. Encase the waste in concrete and bury/place in a salt formation (that has been around millions of years with no breach of integrity) I know I will get the more progressive section of this listserv to attack my position with various histerical rantings. I will not answer any of these. John -----Original Message----- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of kevin millar Sent: Sunday, March 16, 2008 8:58 PM To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]; [EMAIL PROTECTED]; [EMAIL PROTECTED] Cc: [EMAIL PROTECTED]; [EMAIL PROTECTED]; [EMAIL PROTECTED]; [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: Subsidies for Alternative Production or Conservation? Which is more cost effective? Steve, I have serious questions that even the maximization of wind power and other renewable alternatives will make a significant dent in our dependence on coal, oil or nuclear sources to deliver the currently accepted level of energy production, delivery, use and future expectations of same. If we do not concentrate on using less energy, much less, then all the tax incentives for alternatives will just deliver short term gains in a losing attempt to meet an unrealistic demand. The safety and esthetics do matter, but what I am more concerned about is whether or not we are throwing money ( tax incentives ) in the wrong direction to bandaid a longer term and more serious issue, ie unreasonable power production, delivery and usage expectations? Kevin >From: "Stephen Nicholson" >To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] >Subject: Re: Wind turbine safety zone > >Safety zones will certainly prevent an accident. But why do we need to make >wind farms the safest place in the world? I imagine insurance adjusters >would say that parking your car in the lot to go hiking is much more >dangerous. Trees shed ice and branches all the time, and "widow-makers" are >not a rural myth. How can we allow airplanes to fly overhead, full of >people? > >The calculated risks of installing a Wind Farm must be weighed against the >risks of continuing to burn coal to make electricity. Everyday we plug in >appliances, narrowly averting electrocution, then fuel up our cars with a >highly flammable liquid, and proceed to drive away at a fatal rate of speed. > >My belief is that the known risks of using nuclear and coal power make it >imperative that we install as many wind turbines as possible, calculating >that the odds of a fatal accident, or damage to the environment, is orders >of magnitude less with wind. I say "Throw caution to the Wind". >Steve > > >> > >> > >> > Incidents like this may be rare, but that is not the point. The point >> > is that because they may occur, there needs to be saftey zones. >> > >> > The question for which I seek an answer is what is a reasonable safety >> > zone? Is it feasible to co-locate hiking trails and wind turbines? >> > Were a cluster of wind turbines placed at the top of Connecticut Hill, >> > how would that affect the public's access? >> > >> > --Cris >> > >> > The Tompkins Renewable Energy Education Alliance (TREEA) is committed to >> > furthering discussion and exploration of alternative energy options within >> > our region. For more information about TREEA, visit our website: >> > www.treea.org >> > >> > > > >-- Stephen C. Nicholson 220 Yaple Rd. Berkshire, NY 13736 607-539-6923 >[EMAIL PROTECTED] > > > The Tompkins Renewable Energy Education Alliance (TREEA) is committed to furthering discussion and exploration of alternative energy options within our region. For more information about TREEA, visit our website: www.treea.org _______________________________________________ RSS, archives, subscription & listserv information for: [email protected] http://lists.mutualaid.org/mailman/listinfo/sustainabletompkins free hosting by http://www.mutualaid.org
