what are your thoughts on wind energy? and wind farms? i ask because they're planning on building a windfarm in horseshoe shoal which is right under Cape Cod. personally i'm for it. when we did a debate sophmore year in shop, i was put on the against team. it seemed that every reason they had against it was either easily contradicted or didn't make sense. those that are for it: http://www.capewind.org/ those that are against it: http://www.saveoursound.org/site/PageServer your thoughts?
We (Kodiak) are mostly hydro here when the reservoir has enough water in it. Otherwise we burn diesel to generate electric. We were lucky to be forward thinking and get ahead of the curve on wind energy. We put up 3 towers last year and are getting the turbines this summer. There are a lot of things to consider and not all of them are cut and dried. The big one is cost/benefit ratio. How much will they cost to put in vs. the benefit that they return. If the winds are such that the turbines can't produce energy off of them (too strong, too variant, too weak) then that cuts back on the benefit end. Environmental conditions that increase maintenance to the turbines or platforms increase the cost side. You also have to look at the cost of getting the power plumbed into the grid and maintaining the lines. There is a balance point at which the cost to install and maintain wind energy outweighs the benefits that you get from it and that's different for each location. Here it's worth it because our alternative is $5 per gallon diesel fuel. There, where you have the alternatives of relatively cheap coal, natural gas or nuclear energy the benefits may not be so monetarily attractive, although they may be more environmentally attractive which carries some moral weight to the issue.
I'm all for it. Oklahoma is one of the largest wind power producing states in the country. The largest farm gets to as close as 30 miles from where I regularly bowhunt, it's pretty incredible actually. We can actually buy wind power and it is generally a little cheaper than standard energy. I just put a proposal together for a company that builds the windmills here in Oklahoma and it looks pretty promising. As Rob mentioned, they must be placed in the correct locations for the benefit to be realized.
I am personally for it. In fact, I am trying to find a company that wants to use some of our family's land for that purpose. Iowa is fast becoming one of the nations leading producers of wind power. What some people object to is they think they are an eyesore but, they said the same about almost everything else that changes the landscape. For us it is a no-brainer. We get around $500 per acre rent for our farmland per year. The windfarms here are paying around $6000 per acre per year. Simple math to me and I still get to hunt the land. Atleast until the deer start flying.
yes but windfarms provide jobs so you could work there right? i can't remember where but there was a website talking about how some wind energy employers actually look for those who work at fossil fuel power plants so they have a garunteed job
In principle I am for wind power. But in order for me to have a paycheck...clean burning coal all the way! BTW, the quotes in your sig are awesome.
