Are Wind Turbines The Answer?
The towns of Webster, N.Y., and Greece, N.Y., came out in opposition to the off shore wind farms being discussed by the N.Y. Power Authority. It would seem that the government has a bad habit of showing everyone the plus side of an issue but is silent on the negatives. Here are some of the negatives you may not have read about:
1. They does not do away with the need for coal plants, nuclear energy, and most of the alternative power sources because the wind does not always blow. Wind strength is not constant and there will be times when no energy is produced at all.
2. The wind turbines are noisy. They produce a noise level of a car that is doing over 60 miles per hour. This noise is constant and would multiply by the number of wind turbines in a wind farm.
3. The average wind turbine being built today would provide enough energy for between 400 and 500 households. That would mean you would need 200 wind turbines for a town of 100,000 people.
4. The different areas that produce consistent wind, such as out on Lake Ontario, would necessitate the transmission of the power over long distances by a power grid that was built 100 years ago. This would mean a rebuilding of our whole country’s power grids.
5. There would need to be built, huge storage facilities to store power for the times the wind farms are not producing.
6. There are also several other issues such as:
A. Birds being attracted to high wind areas.
B. Bad television reception.
C. Loss of surrounding home values.
D. The resulting eye sores of these large windmills on the lake and in the mountains.
E. Excessive winds that can destroy the blades and towers.
F. They are very expensive.
Follow this link to You Tube to see a tower being torn apart: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CqEccgR0q-o&feature
It is very wise for these towns to take a wait and see attitude. Their rejection is a non-binding resolution but maybe someone will listen. It will be too late once the Great Lakes, and our scenic mountains, are dotted with these towers that may or may not be an answer to our energy problems.
Comments