Cheers to that. Energy is in high demand, so I see energy related work as good job security. I do some work for coal companies too, I'm not opposed to it, but I really like being able to play a role (even if it's a small one) in the development of renewable energy.




Abraxas:

Wind farms have enormous startup costs, but that is typical for pretty much any energy project. As I understand it, wind is pretty heavily subsidized but you have to get the project going first. It takes years to get everything together. I know it can cost millions without even considering the cost of the turbines, but I don't know specifics or the totality of the cost. I couldn't really tell you how it stacks up against other forms of generation.

What's the beef between the wind company and the power distributor? Does the wind developer want a T-line run out to the project area that Delmarva doesn't want to install?

I know that they can bring up some pretty controversial issues. I attended a public hearing on turbines, and people raised every issue under the sun. I heard a realtor accuse the "greedy wind developer who just wants to exploit our natural resources for profit" of threatening his profits by bringing property values down. Very ironic.

Got a link? I want to read more.

I am interested in ALL new information on Solar energy production. Of course, for right now I was interested in the INTEGRATION of solar cells with building materials. I know I could find this, but thought that since you are in the industry, you could save me some time.

I have talked to many people about alternative energy, for almost 30 years. I always knew it's day would come, but it is tough when the masses are brainwashed into believing there is NO ALTERNATIVE TO FOSSIL FUELS WHICH IS ECONOMICALLY FEASIBLE. This sentiment was drilled into the heads of the masses and made for many difficult conversations. Now, with logical advances in technology, this group of people is getting smaller by the day. I have talked with a couple of people about the solar plant near Las Vegas and have had 2 of them tell me that it is a horrible waste of money. After a little reading, I sort of agree, unless the panels can be replaced by some collector that's considerably more efficient, like the one I started this thread about. If the panels can be replaced by some that are more efficient, then the money spent on all the motors and mirrors won't have been wasted.

I totally agree with you about on site production. The problems with the power grid and losses in transmission are the main reasons why on site production is so much more practical, as you know, which is why I am interested in the integration of solar cells with building materials. thanks.

Wow, within 2 minutes of my last post my power went out. I just lit a bunch of candles and I am sitting  mostly in the dark. Now I know why I love my laptop and my wireless card. Too bad my battery sucks and only lasts an hour. Oh well, I am due for a new laptop soon, so I can tough it out till then. It's not even raining here, but I lost power. Still don't know how many people have been affected. Kinda funny.

No, the realtor's statements were met with thunderous applause. People really hate wind farms around here. Real big bat enthusiasts too. I had no idea how concerned the people around here were about the migratory routes of bats (and neither did they until someone told them that windmills kill bats).

It didn't help that the wind developer's spokesman was about as dull as a rock. And truthfully, the developer really does want to exploit our resources for profit (I can't really think of any other reason someone would invest all that money in a wind project). I won't lie about it, I think wind developers do tend to misrepresent the magnitude of negative effects from turbines. IMO, the effects really aren't that bad if good regulations are in place, but turbines can be a nuisance if they're too close to dwellings. Still, some of the propaganda against them is ridiculous, and we've got to get wattage from somewhere.


The hearing was shameful. A mob mentality ruled and no-one from the pro-wind side could get a word in edgewise without someone interrupting with crude shouting. The moderators of the hearing had to tell the audience to quite down several times. I got fed up and ended leaving halfway through.

I was not aware of the dangers to bat populations form wind turbines. Thanks for posting that.

I do believe it would be prudent to try to place wind farms in areas where they will do the least harm to birds and bats. Birds and bats are already declining at alarming rates, it is only common sense to try to avoid this. I find ti strange that more experiments aren't being done to try to scare off birds and bats from the turbines. Blinking lights, or certain sounds, or smells near the turbines might help reduce mortality rates near turbines, I am perplexed why I can't find much info on any experiments like this.

Most people know bats help the enrionment, not just  in polination and fertilization, but also in helping keep down insect populations, especially mosquitos, since they are active at night, when bats feed.

This recent article claims that........

Davis acknowledged that turbines can kill birds and bats, but said new wind park designs introduced for economic reasons have reduced the risk by reducing turbine speeds, building towers without open areas that attract nesting birds and spacing turbines further apart.

http://www.timesleader.com/news/20080510_10wind_ART.html

Some quick reading lead me to this piece......

That toll may not seem like much. But even such small glass kills can add up to big trouble, believes ornithologist Daniel Klem of Muhlenberg College, in Allentown, Pennsylvania. Between 100 million and 1 billion birds die in glass collisions every year in North America alone, Klem estimates. At the very least, that's an average of one bird a year slamming into each of the roughly 100 million homes, apartment buildings, office towers, schools, and storefronts that dot the American landscape. "Glass is one of the world's great bird killers," rivaled only by habitat destruction and perhaps cats, says the blunt-spoken, 57-year-old ornithologist.

I had no idea the death toll from glass was so high. This is a great recent article on some of the ways to reduce bird kilss from collisions with windows.....

http://audubonmagazine.org/features0403/alert.html

Hopefully someone will really work on how to reduce bird and bat mortality for wind turbines. Between loss of habitat, pollution, cats, collisions with man made structures, birds/bats do not need any more challenges to their survival.

I have been a big proponent of wind power most of my life, but with the bird and bat figures, I am starting to reconsider. Unless much is done to reduce bird and bat mortality rates, I will not be a huge wind supporter. Hopefully there will not be any major drawbacks to solar. The rate of recent extinctions is of great concern to me. I believe it should be of great concern to everyone. In my opinion, we are in danger of breaking the food chain. If that actually happens, we will not only see mass extinctions of species, we will mass starvation of people like has never been seen before.