Comments on: Community Wind Power

By: What I (Don’t) Hate about Wind Power | Planetsave

What I (Don’t) Hate about Wind Power | Planetsave — Wed, 14 Mar 2012 15:05:06 +0000

[…] over on CleanTechnica shared this awesome post below with us in the comments of an article about community wind power last week. I thought you all might enjoy it, so here it is (the post was originally […]

By: Zachary Shahan

Zachary Shahan — Tue, 13 Mar 2012 14:05:00 +0000

Scheduling it for tomorrow.

By: Neil Blanchard

Neil Blanchard — Sat, 10 Mar 2012 03:19:00 +0000

Sure, no problem Zachary! I’d be flattered.

Neil

By: Zachary Shahan

Zachary Shahan — Fri, 09 Mar 2012 21:18:00 +0000

Yeah, a lot of folks are in the PIMBY (or YIMBY — Yes, in my backyard) bandwagon. Making a lot of folks good money for something helping the world.

By: Zachary Shahan

Zachary Shahan — Fri, 09 Mar 2012 21:17:00 +0000

Nice! Mind if i repost that? (Seriously)

By: Neil Blanchard

Neil Blanchard — Thu, 08 Mar 2012 23:44:00 +0000

We are not paid to compensate with the noise from highways; at least not to my knowledge. Just another externalization foisted upon us…

Neil

By: Dave2020

Dave2020 — Thu, 08 Mar 2012 20:57:00 +0000

“Highways are much louder than wind turbines.”

Damn right they are and there’s statutory compensation in the UK for affected properties. (Is there in the States?)

The loudest sounds in my garden used to be a waterfall, birdsong and the wind in the trees. Now, due to the wrong choice of road surface, the tyre roar 400m away drowns them all out. It can still be heard on the hill tops.

The turbines I ride under on the mountain bike are inaudible at 400m and over a mile from any house, yet some NIMBYs still objected. They think they spoil the landscape! In a valley with an open-cast coal mine scarring the hill side? Which is more likely to affect tourism?

The first wind farm paid no compensation. The second one will keep funds flowing into the local community for twenty-five years. Why were we so slow in involving people in the process and giving them a fair stake? That’s been the norm in most European countries for a long time.

By: Neil Blanchard

Neil Blanchard — Thu, 08 Mar 2012 05:11:00 +0000

Here’s my latest blog post, which happens to be on this very topic:

You know what I *hate* about wind turbines?

The smokestacks.
The smoke.
The smog.
The mercury pollution.
The cooling towers.
The explosions.
The spills.
The limited fuel supply.
The other countries that control the wind.
The military cost to defend the wind.
The radiation.
The death of miners.
The fly ash.
The tailing ponds.
The methane gas releases.
The huge carbon footprint.
The increasing cost over time.
The inefficiency.
The pipelines.
The contaminated water.
The damage to our lungs and overall health done by wind turbines is horrendous.
The acid rain is nasty.
The waste.

I also hate the fact that they look like graceful wind sculptures, that let us see the wind. I hate the fact that they are much quieter than a highway.

Not really…

PUT THEM IN MY BACK YARD — PLEASE!

Neil

By: Neil Blanchard

Neil Blanchard — Thu, 08 Mar 2012 05:03:00 +0000

I’ve stood right at the foot of a relatively small wind turbine (the one at the end of Hull, MA, right next to the High School) and it is not very loud at all — the wind itself is nearly as loud. The high school is ~50 yards away, and I doubt you could hear it inside the building at all. There is a much larger turbine on the other end of Hull, and it is virtually inaudible from the closest houses.

Highways are much louder than wind turbines.

Lester Brown calls it PIIMBY – Put it in my backyard! He mentions that Iowa farmers are learning about all the money they can earn (he mentions up to $300,000 / year?) and so they are eager to have turbines installed. Iowa’s wind power percentage may be up to ~20% now?

Neil