Wonderful wind farms

[Hedgehog]

I've fallen in love with wind turbines and go cycling through a huge wind farm nearly every weekend. When you are very close to them you realize what beautifully engineered structures they are. I stopped and counted and there were 50 or so. One thing is that they are connected by shale roads which is great for cycling, horse riding or walking and it is so quiet and peaceful. The turbines do make a bit of a noise but it is more like a satisfying wooshing sound.
Naturally there is huge opposition and a lot of ill informed nonsense spoken about wind farms but they are very much here to stay.

[keepersdaughter]

I have never seen a wind turbine farm. Are they very large, how much energy do they generate?

[Crocus]

Hi KD, during a visit to the UK, travelling from the Yorkshire Dales to the Lake District, we passed the Lambrigg Wind farm. Here's a link if you want to have a look. :

http://www.waymarking.com/waymarks/WMC8Q

http://www.12go.co.uk/pictures.cfm?i=2107

[keepersdaughter]

Thanks Crocus, I think they look rather alien like. I wonder how noisy they are if it's really windy.

[Crocus]

We here in S.A. can do with a few of these find farms as our power supply is not as it should be. We have a lot of power cuts because the maintenance of our power station isn't done as it should be. It causes quite a lot of problems I can tell you. xxx

[jazzactivist]

I am afraid that I don't share your joy in windfarms, hedgehog. Would you rather cycle through fields of huge, man-made concrete structures, or through woods and fields of greenery? There is a reason why they seem so quiet and you just hear the swooshing sound - there is no wildlife! I generally agree with wind generated energy, but not in the form of farms which are only built on that scale to generate the biggest profits for energy companies. I think that 5 or 6 turbines is fine, built in areas where there isn't any other natural habitat, but these should serve the communities closest to them. To me, these large windfarms are defiling the countyside and not helping people living in rural areas at all. I would rather see micro-generation on every house, and/or forests of small wind turbines on all the roofs in cities.

[Shelli]

on the roofs in the cities - thats an interesting thought
It could only be on the highest roofs of course because they need uninterrupted flow , and then theres the fact that they're quite heavy :eek: - might pose one or two insurance issues - but then it would stop the pigeons nesting and depositing poop on the roof top!!

I live quite near Lambrigg and it's a desolate place - not necessarily because of the wind farm - it's fairly bleak and wuthering up there anyway - no trees you know - all the topsoil sliding down the fellsides.

The main problem with windfarms is inefficiency - the losses are huge - I've got figures somewhere if anyones interested.

I was reading somewhere that there could well be a return to the old fashioned practice of coppicing trees for fuel - this could be beneficial in lots of ways - has anyone else heard this? what do you think?

[souter girl]

I think wind farms can look wonderfully imposing - like giants on a windswept hillside or rugged cliff top, however there is the threat of a windfarm not far from where I live in a flat and virtually wind free corner of North Bucks and everyone is holding their breath as they would blight all the villages around and completely ruin our gentle countryside. I have also read that they are not cost-effective -it's not as if you can plug your kettle or telly directly into them, might be good if you could! No the only people to benefit are the farmers whose land they sit on. Like those huge electricity pylons you see straddling the countryside we are destroying one of the most precious resources we have in our busy lives - the peace and beauty of the countryside

[franbee]

Well last weekend was the opening of a windfarm on the fells above us, we had a walk up. It is open moorland, not used except for the odd sheep, and no trees. and they are not too close to habitation, however the 26 turbines have spoilt a rather nice view.

[jazzactivist]

I think that one of the main problems is also the amount of concrete needed in the ground to hold each one up. Apparently each the size of an Olympic swimming pool! This displaces the earth, and nothing can grow in it, and water can't drain into it, so the chances of landslides and flooding elsewhere are increased. It seems to me like a 'sledgehammer to crack a nut' approach.