Wind turbines

[franbee]

What do you think about these monsters marching over our countryside? They are erecting 29 on the moorland above our town, we can see them now as we drive up the road. David Bellamy was involved in a protest, but it doesn't seem to have made any difference.
I'm not sure myself, I've heard reports that they're not as efficient as we have been led to think. Certainly, when you pass a 'forest' of them, they are seldom all working.

[Oola]

I'm in two minds - I can understand how people can see them as a blot on the landscape, but they also have this giant, almost ethereal quality about them that makes them fascinating. If it wasn't too close to other people's houses, I'd definitely consider having one installed on my land. I can understand that the noise can also be a problem.

I know that off coast wind turbines can also cause havoc with tides, currents and sediment, but I have to confess I'm not that informed about them, I've only read a couple of articles really. I should really look into it more.

[Pippa]

From the safety point of view I would rather have wind turbines than nuclear power, as the waste from that is so dangerous. However, if turbines are noisy or not efficient, then perhaps if less electricity was required, big companies using less, we would not need so many forms of generation. How many office blocks do you see lit up at night, I think big companies must play their part in energy conservation before all us little people are chastised for leaving a light on.

[Crocus]

In a country like S.A. where there's an abundance of wind and sun and sea, it's a question of the government to get it's act together regarding wind turbines. We've got a lot a coal, but of course it's not environment friendly. We have a very serious problem with electricity at the moment, whereas one after the other huge generators or going down because of very little of nothing maintenance, and bad planning in the last 14 years. So in our country's case wind turbines may just help for us to not be without electricity one of these days. As it is at the present moment, 5 generators went down "as a result of the rain" as if S.A. never had rain before!

Imagine our frustration, because strategic planning for the next 20 years were in place in 1998, and it was literally wiped from the table which resulted in a radio report this morning about 18 of our 56 generators now out of order. Also there's plans to hike the prices of electrcity to the consumer by 60% this year!

[sunflower]

If wind turbines significantly contribute to make energy for homes then I think it must be a good thing. I find them much more attractive than Pilons. However, the gigantic turbines makes an equally gigantic noise. Therefore, although they look great on a sunlit hill, perhaps not so nice to have them as neighbours!