Wind Turbine ********. Just opened the mail and seen the plan for three massive units

[CalG]

Cal . You seem to have no problems with uncontained lead, cadmium, Mercury, aersnic, asbestosis , PCB', dioxans and furans. Radiation can be found instantly with a frisker. The toxins I listed need actual sick people to motivate lab sampling after the fact.
The used fuel is not waste. It's energy for the next generation of reactors .
If you don't like a couple of acres of cordoned off no access areas . I suggest you avoid military bases, old refineries, dumps, mines, quarries , abandoned towns, old farm sheds etc. should I mention oil and gas wells that penetrate fresh water aquafers to obtain the petroleum underneath?

Yes, You describe a wonderfully crafted world of "progress" (read greed) Such a small price to pay. A place any child should feel comfortable and develop into healthy wholesome members of a vibrant and caring society

And to think, just over a hundred years ago all these "no go zones didn't even exist. I guess our future is secured when left in the hands of folks such as yourself. Doom and gloom, only a matter of "progress".

If you are not part of the solution, you are part of the problem.

 

[Sodo]

Lots of valid information out there if you want to find it.

Pretty easy to prevent folks from finding valid info on the web. There are many companies that specialize in internet content management. They do it by crowding the truth out with invalid information. Then many many other sites re-publish without any fact checking - thus the false info pervades the internet and shows up in everyones searches.

Many commercial companies will write "press releases" that are mostly true but have a few key falsehoods that they are trying to spread. Many news sites appreciate the free article. And as long as it mostly aligns with their "message" they couldn't care less about the partial BS they are repeating (and cementing as 'truth'. And forum members re-post it too, spreading the BS further, with permanent links to it. Some members do this for their job.

This is what has happened to our "information age". You pretty much have to always ask yourself who is benefitting from this position? The age-old method of "follow the money" is useful here.

 

[MinnesotaEric]

There is always a danger in assuming things. I live with a 195 unit wind farm in my back yard (my yard isn't really that large
) The main reason they don't spin is when the wind is not blowing, occasionally it is too strong, one unit at a time is shut down for maintenance, once in a while blade are removed and repaired/replaced. A good deal of the time they are all or nearly all in operation. In the 9 years this system has been on line, I am not aware of any of them being shut down due to noise or bird migration.

Lots of valid information out there if you want to find it.

Loren

Allow a qualifying restatement, [on any day windy enough to spin turbines], half the turbines aren't spinning. I assume because of noise complaints, or because of breakdowns, or bird migrations.

Here in Minnesota piles of birds migrate north and south to the degree that bird migration is a political football for any developer building anything taller than a residential house (35ft).

 

[sd455dan]

In a country that thinks high schoolers should get paid $8+ per hour to flip burgers of an evening at McDs, it's no wonder they wouldn't want to.

Not sure I get what your saying?

But working at a fast food restaurant in 1968 at minimum wage of $1.60
the workers hourly buying power today would be about $10.03
And the difference in most cases is picked up by the state (Medicaid and other programs)
Americans are spending $153 billion a year to subsidize McDonald’s and Wal-Mart

As a county and federal tax payer think companies should pay a livable wage and Not burden the tax payers to subsidize the workers of corporations that don't pay a living wage.. I also believe that low paid workers spend 100% of the money they do make- mainly in the local economy. but this is JMO

sorry for the derail

 

[Sodo]

I also believe that low paid workers spend 100% of the money they do make- mainly in the local economy. but this is JMO

I think you're right, their money goes right back to the economy and feeds it, not like others who sock extra$ away (like me). Some low-wage workers send it out of the country though. One problem is low wage people buy un-healthy foods, which are actually more "expensive". Plus it costs their health. A vicious cycle.

 

[buickanddeere]

Yes, You describe a wonderfully crafted world of "progress" (read greed) Such a small price to pay. A place any child should feel comfortable and develop into healthy wholesome members of a vibrant and caring society

And to think, just over a hundred years ago all these "no go zones didn't even exist. I guess our future is secured when left in the hands of folks such as yourself. Doom and gloom, only a matter of "progress".

If you are not part of the solution, you are part of the problem.

Since you want to part of the solution. Live in the woods with only sharp sticks and stones as your tools only resources while wearing only animal skins.

 

[Redneck in training]

At any time I drive by a wind farm, half the turbines aren't spinning. I assume because of noise complaints, or because of breakdowns, or bird migrations.

Large wind turbines are "dispatchable" if there is an excess of energy in the grid they can be taken off line. It takes only minutes to bring them back on line. Coal power plant burning lignite has about 10-15% turndown ratio. It might take up to few weeks to bring large unit to full power from cold start. That is why we have street lights to waste the night energy excess.

 

[Creamer]

Well, if you take .11 cents per KWh times 2000 (that's 2 Megawatts) = $220 per hour times 24 hours = $5280 per day times 365 days per year = $1,927,200 per year divided by 4 (we'll give it a generous 25% of time that it actually generates at rated power; we suspect much less) = $481,800 dollars per year in electricity. So, 6-8 years it pays for itself and the next 12-15 years is free money - minus maintenance/repairs, of course. Now tack on the generous tax incentives and you've got a real money-maker there.

Sorry but $.11 per Kwh is retail price not wholesale. There are a few distribution costs that have to be added in which will take at least half of this.

 

[buickanddeere]

Sorry but $.11 per Kwh is retail price not wholesale. There are a few distribution costs that have to be added in which will take at least half of this.

Not around here. Wind turbines get 13.5 cents any time they want. natural gas turbine sget 16.5 cents. Solar is paid between 39.5 to 80.2 cents. They even force hydro electric generators to spill water past the turbines or Ontario Power generation has to pay a fine to Hydro One. And then hydro one has to pay a fee to give electricity free to Michigan and NY state. Nuclear units are stuck having to give away power for free some nights and on weekends during the spring and fall.

 

[MossRoad]

Would you like to live in Chernobil, Nagasaki, Iroshima, Fukushima, or for the matter a fact anywhere near those time bombs?

Good grief! What about Three Mile Island? The worst nuclear disaster in U.S. history..... reactor #1 is still running today. Reactor #2 has been shut down, the core removed, the cooling system drained and the #2 generator was removed and re-installed at a different nuclear power plant in North Carolina.

Three Mile Island accident - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Today, the TMI-2 reactor is permanently shut down with the reactor coolant system drained, the radioactive water decontaminated and evaporated, radioactive waste shipped off-site, reactor fuel and core debris shipped off-site to a Department of Energy facility, and the remainder of the site is being monitored. The owner says it will keep the facility in long-term, monitored storage until the operating license for the TMI-1 plant expires, at which time both plants will be decommissioned.[SUP][15][/SUP] In 2009, the NRC granted a license extension which means the TMI-1 reactor may operate until April 19, 2034.