Big step forward for Clean Energy US

Anyone know why more in the US aren't embracing the small egg-beater style turbines they are using in the (IIRC) Netherlands? Small enough and efficient enough that they are sticking them on top of apartment buildings, etc. and adding to the grid. Different philosophy, instead of a small number of large turbines, put out a ton of small ones that can be dispersed all over.

 

Those are all over Detroit airport. Pretty cool design, and it seems to work quite well.

 

Very cool. I hope it really takes off and the costs come down. If I ever get my dream home I want to be off grid.

 

Enron mudafukas

 

Small wind turbines have poor economics and that's why turbines are only getting larger. Additionally, small wind is most suitable for urban environments and while it may feel windy in the city, it's mostly turbulence which does not lead to much energy generation.

Also, on the bird comments. Wind turbines labeled as killers is just a media play by opponents (climate change deniers and those with fossil fuel assets/interests). Your house cat kills WAY more birds than turbines.
http://www.treehugger.com/renewable...ds-annually-house-cats-around-3000000000.html

 

Not sure how this deal is laid out but I'd guess amazon is leasing the land and paying that other company to build and maintain the system. The power goes into the grid for everyone to use. The power used on the property when the turbines aren't spinning can be subtracted from what is produced which can zero out any electric cost for the property. The utility can buy the rest at a discounted rate. Amazon becomes a small utility.
It probably won't lower John Q Public's bill. It can lower total megawatt hours used that are produced by fossil fuel or nuclear. It may pay out incentives or rewards to the utility for carbon credits or something and it may put a hold on any rate hike.
All in all its a good thing. But of course someone is making money from it. Nothing wrong with that.

 

No. It's not "just a media play." The wind turbine kills of the avian population have been measured by humans, as in body counts of bird carcasses, filmed, not estimated >>>actual. It's particularly bad in places where the industry built gigantic wind turbines smack in the middle of avian migratory paths and / or avian feeding grounds.

I will say that the house cats murdering/decimating songbirds seems to have credence, so I agree with you on that. But, someone will come along & say were those kills actually measured or were those results extrapolated based upon data?

 

The bigger those wind turbines are built, the further they 'throw' the dead raptors. Oh, but there's this little nugget: the wind turbine industry has instituted rules that say they will only measure bird kills within 50 meters of the operating wind turbine.

Why institute a limit on distance? Because the huge wind turbines typically throw the dead raptors upwards of 100 meters from the blade killing the raptor. Less bird carcasses to 'officially' measure = less hassle & easier ability to build more killing machines for more $$$$ profit.

Here's another 'rule:'
Even though many birds hit by turbine blades die within days, if they are still breathing when found, they are considered mobile – and thus not fatalities. Those kills don't 'count.'

The wind turbine industry hides the slaughter. It's all smoke & mirrors. Just like so much of what generates revenue in this once-great land of ours, criminals are running things & there is near-complete lack to ethics & morality.

Follow the money, sparky, follow the money.

 

@Yankee: do inform me of the perfect energy solution as I'd love to support it. I'll take wind energy + dead birds over coal and natural gas any day. If you apply a cradle to grave / LCA philosophy to wind and solar energy, its benefits far outweigh that of fossil fuel.

Nothing in life is perfect (aside from surfing) but wind energy and other clean technologies are certainly a step in the right direction.

 

My pops made a ton of money from transporting these puppies for GE.

 

Sounds cool, but did anyone think if all the bugs that these things will chop up? Those little turbines decimate fruitflies, house flies, and even our beloved grasshoppers. Without these insects as a food source, local small mamall, bird, and amphibian populations begin to starve, and the impact goes right up the food chain- all the way to poor little Timmy's plate. So the next time you think about implementing a 'harmless technology,' consider the havoc it could wreak on the local ecosystem.

(This message brought to you by BP. Don't forget- Free Gulf of Mexico Shrimp Po' Boy with every 45 gallon purchase!)

 

I didn't say I had "the perfect energy solution." I'd support the perfect energy solution if it ever happens.

Wind turbines haven't replaced coal & natural gas, and they never will. Heck, those wind turbines in southern Cal have been there for many decades. There's no coal / gas plants being taken off line in the name of wind turbine power.

No, the wind turbines are being built to serve massive, additional needs for power emanating from an exponentially growing insatiable virus: humans.

The powers-that-be (pick one or two) are proposing hundreds of wind turbines be built in the ocean several miles off Assateague Island. No mention is made of how much cleaner the power will be, no mention is made as to how many coal / gas plants will go dormant once these wind turbines are built. No, the stated need is 'to meet the increased energy needs of the people of the state of Maryland.'

People aren't cutting back at all. Heck, just look at the power needs in your own abode: you might have a few flat screen HDTVs, the always-on computer, the always-on appliances, garbage disposal, dishwasher, the AC pumping cold air all summer long, and so on & so on. I'm not criticizing, believe me: I'm as guilty as anyone.

It is what it is: demand is going up not down. And there is a massively heavy price that the planet pays for this. All for The Age of Convenience.

Wind turbines are a for-profit business. People seem to labor under the skewed impression that if it's not that dirty ol' coal & gas technology, then it's good for everyone & everybody. I'm not against profit. I'm just not a proponent of technologies that destroy species so that humans can pump cold air into their ATM booths & keep their garage floors heated in winter. Et cetera, et cetera ad nauseum.

I'm saying that wind turbines are not 'green' and I'm saying that wind turbines are not 'the right direction' as so many people have been fooled into thinking. They are an added path of destruction to our planet's species. Along with coal plants and natural gas, et. al.

I think that we, as the dominant & most intelligent species on the planet, can & should do better in our quest to provide unlimited energy on demand.

Human solutions are sorely lacking when it comes to affordability for people as well as compatibility with other species. But those utility companies sure make solid bank.

 

Fusion energy is the closes we can get to perfect. Much safer than fission, minimal waste, continuous generation, it has it all. The only issue is that the technology isn't there yet. They are getting closer, but the research plants just can't generate much energy yet. https://www.iter.org/proj#history

Other than that, I also see solar power being a long term solution. Transparent solar cells exist, and are being made more efficient every day. Imagine all the windows in your house generating electricity.

 

Good point Slash, didn't think of that.

 

I've seen a fruit fly.I've seen a horse fly.
I even seen a house fly.
But I be done seen about everything
When I see an elephant fly.

I saw a peanut stand, heard a rubber band
And seen a needle wink its eye
But I be done seen about everything
When I see an elephant fly
When I see an elephant fly

I've seen a front porch swing, heard a diamond ring
I've seen a polka dot railroad tie
But I be done seen about everything
When I see an elephant fly

I saw a clothes horse rear up and buck
And they tell me that a man made a vegetable truck
I didn't see that, I only heard
Just to be sociable, well, I'll take your word

I heard a fireside chat, I saw a baseball bat
And I just laughed till I thought I'd die
But I be done seen about everything
When I see an elephant fly

But I be done seen about everything
When I see an elephant fly
When I see an elephant fly

 

NOAA/NWS document: wind turbines affect weather radar, create false storm impressions
From the Watertown Daily News, and the “law of unintended consequences” department comes an inconvenient truth from the National Weather Service, that upon further investigation appears to be a nationwide problem for the WSR-88D doppler weather radar networkused to predict, track, and analyze severe weather. According to NOAA’s Radar operations center, forecasters are faced with “little or no workaround”.
https://wattsupwiththat.com/2018/04...weather-radar-create-false-storm-impressions/

 

wind is a pipe dream for BA majors who think good intentions will solve every problem. As Brew said, fusion is the only real alternative.

 

Believe it when you see it. There was a big wind farm proposed near here. From the very beginning it was little more than a ruse to get grant money. They made bank on the grant money and the wind farm never happened.

 

Fusion is a good start. Im a believer in even greater technologies...free energy or zero point energy. They have it but of course they cant allow the slaves to be freed. We are so dependent on contact energy, someday soon we will have energy that will not require a plug in cord...we just need to start demanding its release.

BTW to those who are enamored with wind and solar, it is antiquated tech. Think bigger!

 

I despise wind turbines, don't say you support them until you have stood at the base of a single turbine to see their size. They are absolutely massive and a terrible eyesore. Completely inefficient and unprofitable without government subsidies. Even Warren Buffet admits they are worthless without the government support. Killing birds, destroying the visual aesthetic of wilderness areas etc they are a menace.