Fighting 'Solar Farm' Installation

MossRoad · Apr 17, 2023

Iowa State University Research Finds Wind Farms Positively Impact Crops

AMES, Iowa — Iowa State University researchers have found that wind turbines located in agricultural fields are a plus for the crops growing around them. The overall effects on crops growing in wind farms appear to be positive said Gene Takle, Iowa State agronomy professor. He has led a team of...

www.cals.iastate.edu

buckeyefarmer · Apr 17, 2023

And the dead birds underneath are free fertilizer.

buckeyefarmer · Apr 17, 2023

Hay Dude · Apr 17, 2023

buckeyefarmer said:
And the dead birds underneath are free fertilizer.

And the whooshing sounds don’t alarm cattle or cows at all. And thankfully that won’t put stress on the animals and their overall weight, quality or dairy output.

Hay Dude · Apr 17, 2023

MossRoad said:
When the turbine's complete life is over, why would someone want to take the concrete foundation out? That's silly. You can plow and plant right up to the base that's sticking up out of the ground. You'd have about a 20 foot diameter circle that couldn't be farmed. That's a little over 300 square feet. There's over 43,500 square feet in an acre.

So in the big picture, it would take 145 wind turbine bases to remove 1 acre of crop land once the towers are removed.

Well, I can tell you from farming around concrete structures that anything in the path of machinery must be steered around, creating an ellipse where no crop can be planted or harvested. This amounts to inefficiency, more fuel use and crop loss.

My state gets 3% of its’ energy from renewables and agriculture is our states #1 industry.
So I guess windmills and farming aren’t such a great fit.

Why does every stupid idea have to be dumped on the farmer. It’s always the farmer making the sacrifice, having to adapt, having to change.

Why don’t cities and suburbs make the sacrifice for solar & windmills? That’s the only people who want them. They can put up with the large mirror reflections or the whooshing sounds

MarkF48 · Apr 17, 2023

A snapshot of New England electric grid resources 4/17/23 at 7:50am. Much of the natural gas being used through the Winter months is imported from other countries due to a lack of pipeline infrastructure through New York. New York (Governor Andrew Cuomo) squashed the requested permitting for additional pipeline capacity due to concerns about carbon dioxide emissions. New England has paid record high prices for electricity and heating by gas this season due to the higher cost of imported natural gas. Renewables still remains only a small contribution to the power put onto the grid. While solar and wind have increased somewhat, many people in rural areas do not want large scale solar or wind projects which would mar the New England landscape and devalue properties.

Fuddyduddy1952 · Apr 17, 2023

"Turbines, as a vessel for up to 1,400 liters of oil, hydraulic fluid and lubricants have many opportunities to leak."
"Clean energy"...yea, right

kenmbz · Apr 17, 2023

Energy companies pay taxes based on where they "sell" the product like NG.
So they pay less when they buy overseas instead of in the US. Refined is usually considered point of sale.

Another reason why it's unusual to see refineries being built here in the US.

And on top of that, deferment on taxes allows them to pay in times when they make less profit:

How Oil Companies Pay Such Low Taxes

Big oil corporations pay much lower taxes than other corporations; learn about tax exemptions and the option to defer.

www.investopedia.com

JJT · Apr 17, 2023

MossRoad said:
When the turbine's complete life is over, why would someone want to take the concrete foundation out? That's silly. You can plow and plant right up to the base that's sticking up out of the ground. You'd have about a 20 foot diameter circle that couldn't be farmed. That's a little over 300 square feet. There's over 43,500 square feet in an acre.

So in the big picture, it would take 145 wind turbine bases to remove 1 acre of crop land once the towers are removed.

All the wind farm contracts I have seen include a demolition bond, the removal of at least 4' of concrete is prepaid before construction ever begins. there's no need to remove more than 4' of concrete. The farmland lost to an active wind turbine is less than an acre, most of that is for the access road. The concrete base is about 30' in diameter.

MossRoad · Apr 17, 2023

Hay Dude said:
Well, I can tell you from farming around concrete structures that anything in the path of machinery must be steered around, creating an ellipse where no crop can be planted or harvested. This amounts to inefficiency, more fuel use and crop loss.

My state gets 3% of its’ energy from renewables and agriculture is our states #1 industry.
So I guess windmills and farming aren’t such a great fit.

Why does every stupid idea have to be dumped on the farmer. It’s always the farmer making the sacrifice, having to adapt, having to change.

Why don’t cities and suburbs make the sacrifice for solar & windmills? That’s the only people who want them. They can put up with the large mirror reflections or the whooshing sounds

Educate yourself and others with accurate statistics or your opinion will not be taken seriously by most.

Your 5 acres of concrete per turbine and millions of acres of farmland comments are outrageous and not accurate.

The 'stupid idea' is being embraced by the farmers that are leasing their land. It's not being dumped on them.

It's hard to locate a wind turbine in a city due to safety issues.

Rural communities are embracing wind and solar, not just cities.

Solar panels reflect less light than window glass, flat water, or steel.

Many airports have solar farms on or near the grounds. If glare was an issue, I'd think they wouldn't allow that.