Collector recoils from wind farms

A Noisy Noise Annoys An Oyster said :

These wind farms are ludacris. The Australian did an expose on them last year. They are very expensive to set up and operate and they can’t be relied on to provide reliable, baseload power. It’s another pie in the sky greenie thing that has failed miserably.

Expensive to set up. OK, I accept that, but surely a few towers and blades would be cheaper than a coal/gas fire power station. Expensive to operate? Maybe we should import wind from China or Bangladesh where costs are lower. Reliable? As reliable as a power station that has a gas explosion, radiation leak or has to shut down when the temp exceeds 40 deg.

mmmmmmmmmmmm pie

Anna Key said :

Do they have the same problems with trees?

No, because, funnily enough tress don’t have massive blades whooshing around at an effective speed well in excess of 100km/h.

A Noisy Noise Annoys An Oyster said :

… The Australian did an expose on them last year. …

Well if it was in The Australian it must be true then.

These wind farms are ludacris. The Australian did an expose on them last year. They are very expensive to set up and operate and they can’t be relied on to provide reliable, baseload power. It’s another pie in the sky greenie thing that has failed miserably.

I’ll bet my left nut that 100+ years ago when electrickery was being rolled out into the streets and parishes of Australia the same sort of people were whinging about power poles being an eyesore etc etc..

Holden Caulfield said :

Anna Key said :

Are bird strikes really that much of an issue?

I’m a bit sceptical about this, too, but I’m assured it is a genuine concern. Mostly for native raptors who have a tendency to look at the ground while hunting for prey. I mean, if only they looked where they were going this wouldn’t be a concern!

Do they have the same problems with trees?

nomes707 said :

What happens when the windfarm on someone elses property means that you get four hours of ‘flickering’ light across your property when the sun is behind it every afternoon?

Bullshit
If you’re experiencing 4 hours of shadow (60degrees) and assuming a tower height of 90m, aren’t you only standing ~50m away from the tower (and doesn’t it fill your entire field of vision)?

I only have vague recollections of high school trigonometry and 1:2:sqrt3 triangles, anyone want to back me up?

I don’t get the eyesore argument – to me they look graceful and elegant. Much nicer than a field full of solar panels or a sky full of smog. Besides, it’s just a fairly nondescript cleared grassy hill from what I saw on the news – hardly up there with the Swiss Alps now is it?

I don’t get the health argument – most installations I’ve seen have a very large buffer zone to residential areas. Besides, the science behind the claims is dubious at best. If infrasound was such a big problem then nobody would live anywhere near railways, subways, highways, factories or elephants.

I don’t get the property value argument – I’m sure there’s plenty of rich greenchangers around who’d pay a premium for a property with a view of the wind turbines.

I (really) don’t get the flickering light argument – that could only be a problem within maybe a few hundred metres of a tower where the sun’s shadow is relatively focused, and certainly not for four hours at sunset.

Anna Key said :

Are bird strikes really that much of an issue?

I’m a bit sceptical about this, too, but I’m assured it is a genuine concern. Mostly for native raptors who have a tendency to look at the ground while hunting for prey. I mean, if only they looked where they were going this wouldn’t be a concern!

Wow. flickering light. I’m not sure I have ever heard that one before. Maybe if they make the blades from glass so the sun shines through them?

I think that they should all have bright lights on the tip on each blade so that on a windy night we can see glowing circles hovering in the sky.