Author Topic: Wind Farms (Read 6123 times)

Carol · « **on:** February 18, 2007, 23:34:32 »

Love them or loathe them, they seem to be a part of our landscape now and I despise them. Does anyone like them? I know its a cleaner means of obtaining energy but..................... I HATE THEM. Every week I see more and more applications for yet another wind farm to be erected and usually on a lovely hillside. They spoil the views especially up here in Scotland. I just wish more of them could be put out to sea but cost is the issue there.

Here they are in case you havent seen any recently. Not a good photo but was a passenger in a car.

dtw · « **Reply #1 on:** February 19, 2007, 01:07:46 »

Why don't they put them on tall buildings alongside the mobile phone aerials.

It makes you wonder if the people giving planning permission are getting backhanders.

They should be painted to blend in with their surroundings.

Sustainable alternative energy won't be properly invested in until the oil is running out.

Will Africa have the same problem with solar panels in the future???
Mind you, there's plenty of room there.

Froglegs · « **Reply #2 on:** February 19, 2007, 10:24:04 »

Why don't they put them out to sea. ???

norfolklass · « **Reply #3 on:** February 19, 2007, 10:48:25 »

saw on the news this morning that they're planing to build a big wind farm off the Suffolk coast that would provide power for all the homes in the county
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/suffolk/3947777.stm

emmy1978 · « **Reply #4 on:** February 19, 2007, 10:49:44 »

Quote from: froglegs on February 19, 2007, 10:24:04

Why don't they put them out to sea. ???

Probably cost is the issue as carol says. I've heard lots of conflicting opinions on wind farms (i hope they're not battery farms) and the fact that unless they are way out to sea they aren't really that efficient. We obviously need to find a better source of energy, but until the oil is gone the investment won't happen.
Have you seen this www.bioregional.com

theothermarg · « **Reply #5 on:** February 19, 2007, 14:49:46 »

I wondered about putting them on tall buildings as well. something else i hadn,t thought of was the fact that all the things we think of as cheap and disposable
ie plastic is made from oil which one day is going to run out. imagine modern life without plastic, i know someone older than me(nearly 60) would have done it, but i,v had it all my life
margaret ???

Blue Bird · « **Reply #6 on:** February 19, 2007, 15:24:20 »

We have them off the coast of North Wales which is not too bad as at least you cannot hear the things - seems to be that the government are all for it BUT if it were to go next to their homes they might think differently.

I know we must start to look for other forms of power - they do have a less impact on the environment than Electric Hydro Systems like in the Snowdonia Mountains were the water is pumped up the mountain and them released down to make power but they need 2 huge lakes to make the thing work! or worse still DAMS!!!!

Hyacinth · « **Reply #7 on:** February 19, 2007, 15:58:46 »

Wind farms? I've not seen a large 'farm' of them :-\, but.....I like them. And I find them - potentially - pleasing to look at.....could be quite spectacular. But they do need wind to be effective......exposed places....can see that they need to win hearts & minds... :-[

caroline7758 · « **Reply #8 on:** February 19, 2007, 16:12:33 »

I like them too, but I haven't got one on my doorstep so maybe I'd feel differently...

Robert_Brenchley · « **Reply #9 on:** February 19, 2007, 16:28:43 »

It's a lot more expensive to put them out to sea, unfortunately, as they need far more elaborate foundations, and putting them under the sea is costly. They're horribly noisy if you live near them, and they have a tendency to catch large birds. Sea eagles have been reintroduced successfully to the west coast of Scotland, and in some areas they're now endangered again because of wind turbines hitting them.

ACE · « **Reply #10 on:** February 19, 2007, 16:42:06 »

WHOO HOO! You lot are going to hate me, If I told you that the name of a garden we are building some time soon is titled ' Wind In The Willows' you might get an inkling of what it is all about.
I will wait for the sh*t to hit the ~~fan~~ turbine.

manicscousers · « **Reply #11 on:** February 19, 2007, 17:27:02 »

Quote from: ACE on February 19, 2007, 16:42:06

WHOO HOO! You lot are going to hate me, If I told you that the name of a garden we are building some time soon is titled ' Wind In The Willows' you might get an inkling of what it is all about.
I will wait for the sh*t to hit the ~~fan~~ turbine.

now there's a thought, ace, is that what they're run on now ;D

Mrs Ava · « **Reply #12 on:** February 19, 2007, 17:58:58 »

I LOVE THEM! I love the noise, and I think they are amazing. They can build them in my garden if they like. Sorry, I know lots of people hate them, but I think they are amazing feats of engineering, and I know there is always debate about them not working and how they work and so on, but I don't find them ugly, and sad but true, I actually get excited when I see them on the horizon, I do not think they ruin our landscape. :-\

tim · « **Reply #13 on:** February 19, 2007, 18:44:41 »

Yes!!

1. I would rather have mills 1/2 mile away - serving a real purpose - than some of the neighbours we have.

2. I have been near them - like 2 feet - & in them - & I truly found them totally inoffensive, noisewise.

3. Should we think ahead for our children rather than being so NIMBYish? Yes - they modify the landscape, but the landscape is not ours. I was happy without TV for some decades, but I have adjusted.

4. I find them peaceful & decorative - like looking into a wood fire.

5. 'Wait for the oil to run out?'. Dear God!!

6. 'Put them on tall buildings'? Again - dear God. 200 feet of tower??

7. Someone, somehow, has got to do something about our Children's future??

8. 'Planning Permission'? Does everyone seek it for their new greenhouse? A stupid simile but you know what I mean?

9. 'Better source of energy'? - join the think tank!

10. Birds? A couple of birds a year is fair exchange?

Now I can have my 3rd Scotch!!

PS Emmy - great site. Try this one - johnelkington?

Hyacinth · « **Reply #14 on:** February 19, 2007, 20:00:31 »

Bless me! And when I saw all these responses I thought I'd be getting some flak for saying that I like them.... ::)

lorna · « **Reply #15 on:** February 19, 2007, 20:18:47 »

I like them. First one I saw was on the way to our chalet at Scratby. Fascinated me.
Now we have them locally (I think only 2 at present) placed very near our local prison(Whitemoor).

Froglegs · « **Reply #16 on:** February 20, 2007, 01:02:21 »

If ya like them that much B&Q sell windmills that you put on the side of ya House. :) better there than a beauty spot. >:(

willawiz · « **Reply #17 on:** February 20, 2007, 02:31:02 »

When I did an OU science course, I remember reading that an expert chemist said that hydrocarbons (ie oil) were much to valuable to burn!

Can't remember the exact reasons now (passing of time, senior moments and all that) but their properties mean that they can be used for drugs and medication etc which cannot be synthesized by other means.

There is SO much energy in the sea, surely one day in the not too distant future scientists will come up with a more efficient way to harness it.

Grandma · « **Reply #18 on:** February 20, 2007, 09:16:00 »

Telegraph poles/wires and electricity pylons/cables are, in my opinion, a blot on any 'natural' landscape. No one can deny that the countryside would look better without them - but

a) I wonder if there was this much fuss about them when they were first introduced?
b) Can you imagine life without all the benefits they bring?

Wind turbines are, by comparison, works of art and could be of even more benefit to future generations.

(I'm pro nuclear, too ................. ;D!)

tim · « **Reply #19 on:** February 20, 2007, 09:49:45 »

Froggles - our house is a beauty spot!!

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Author Topic: Wind Farms (Read 6123 times)