Someone left me a really good question in the comments about wind farming on my last post. I started to reply and it got long, so I'm posting it here. Does anybody have any questions about alternative energies? Why they are good/not good (not all are useful), will they really work, etc etc? I'd love to hear them and see if I know any more to help answer them. If you take issue with my answer, please say so since obviously I love to talk about this.
Here's my reponse to KM:
That's a good question! I know that sometimes heading outside it's a dry oven in the summer, and no turbine WOULD turn in circumstances like that. These days, wind farming is really a sophisticated science, already over 20 years old in use, and farm and turbine locations aren't randomized at all. There are ways to (scientifically) determine the areas that are best suited (wind-wise) for turbines. This helps to maximize the usefulness of the technology. I think it's very rare for NO wind to blow ANYWHERE in any of the wind hotspots in ontario or Canada. When it is stagnant and hot somewhere, colder air masses are shifting somewhere else and there will be wind!
Turbines are a great because they are modular: they can be easily erected (compared to a coal plant) they have low risk, they don't pollute or use water, they are flexible and can be moved if needed. There is not a call for turbines to power Canada, and in peak periods and if wind is low all over, there will still be hydro (and don't forget solar!).
Corporations are starting wind farms because they are profitable, and soon (in one week) Ontario is passing a program that will allow small groups and individuals get their own turbine and make money off them. So, if a co-opertive group bought a turbine (always with a wind analysis to determine suitability) they can set one (or more) up and sell the energy back to Ontario at a fixed, guaranteed rate (something like 11 cents a KWH. With solar it's more like 44 cents/KWH because of higher start-up costs). It's guaranteed profits, and Ontario moves towards greener energy.
Some bad things about turbines: they contribute to birdkills, and ther are studies going on right now to find out how many birds, and which kind of birds. The understanding is that , so far it is not as bad as the bird kills of highrises that leave their lights on at night (one building had 500 dead birds in one night!) There is a group in Toronto convincing buildings to shut of lights at night to save money and birds, and hundred's of thousands of dollars have been saved already (and some birds!).
turbines generate some noise and shadows, which bother some people. Satisfation studies have shownthat pre-project, people are really happy, halfway though , opeople are less happy, and once completed, people are happy again.
So far, there have been 30 deaths associated with wind turbines. No one has accidentally died wandering near a turbine, but they have been used for suicides and I htink there have been a few deaths associated with wind workers. One Ontarian has died, last year.
I think that very likely no single energy source is the best answer, it's too many eggs in one basket, but I also believe that there is everything to gain and nothing to lose from increased dependency on wind turbines (the fastest growing energy source).
I hope I answered your questions, but if not please keep asking!
thanks for taking an interest :-)
2 comments:
wow m, it's so nice to see you getting excited about alternative energy sources. i'm hoping to someday in the not-too-far future have a solar panel or two on the house. i have a lot more research to do but i would love to live "off the grid" though i do love modern conveniences that use lots of power unfortunately.
do you know anything about the availability of wind turbines for domestic use? individuals can purchase small solar panels (the technology is modular) to help reduce their energy consumption from the grid. is this possible with wind turbines? do they have small turbines or is it just not economically worthwhile?
I've seen a house that backs onto smyth road (near the riverside) with a wind turbine in the back yard. Mind you, I've never seen it turning, and it's nestled right in with the trees. They skipped the environmental assessment there, I think.
I don't know about the actual turbine, but I would expect that there are bylaws restricting size/location of towers for mounting the generator to. Pretty sure it would fall under some of the laws for big-ass VHF TV antennas and towers. Try to throw one of those up in the suburbs and you're bound to have a visit from the Bylaw Officer.
I was going to bring up birdkills and other drawbacks in the comments of your previous post but I was afraid you'd end up with pages of comments. Now that it's a separate post... fair game.
So here's a Canadian question for you. Do the blades of a wind turbine (a large one, say) get clogged with snow and ice, and require de-icing like airplane wings do? I imagine that ice buildup is inevitable and would significantly affect operation. Any numbers?
I've always wanted my own windmill but haven't really had the opportunity to think seriously about it. Maybe that will change. I really think that energy conservation is key, especially in industry. Regulating a few million people is hard and expensive. Regulating a few thousand industrial applications should be much more rewarding.
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