Are Offshore Wind Farms the Answer?

http://www.offshorewindfarms.co.uk/Pages/COWRIE/

Wake up, USA. Wake up!

Were trying, but it is difficult with the resistance.

Fortunately some of the political components against it are either dieing out or killing themselves on their vacations. Now we may have a chance.

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2003/06/26/sunday/main560595.shtml

Offshore wind farms are not the Answer, but they are an answer. They are a very important and practical answer that should be implemented soon. We should never again think that one single power source method can provide our energy needs.

Foundations get a lot more expensive offshore. I think that kites will be the future of wind power. The foundation and tower are far cheaper, and they can reach much more consistent wind. By adjusting the rate at which they sail across the wind, they can produce a much steadier output and not get overloaded when the wind is strong.

want to know more about Kites. Any particular website?

Imagine 100 Charlie Browns with mutually entangled kite strings....

Does offshore wildlife (birds) count for anything?

Oh, seagulls; well, never mind. (I once knew a fishing skipper who claimed to have conducted two experiments. One was to put a seagull into a freezer for a few hours, justified on the basis that he hadn't yet seen any published data on it. The gull survived. The other experiment was to spray paint a seagull orange. It did not survive--it was pecked to death by its compatriots, proving that racism is not uniquely humanoid.)

If you don't want them in your state then send them up here to North Dakota! We cant put them in fast enough!

Around here they are a welcomed source of income and revenue. Plus our farmers and ranchers actually know what the concept of dual use land management is and how to profitably implement it as well.

Regarding sight and sound that is all a matter of perspective and wildlife issues is a poor argument being that most anyone who drives a vehicle typically kills far more, and a much wider range of, wildlife every year by themselves than any single wind turbine does. ( I know I do!)

EVER see a deer, raccoon, skunk, dog, cat, moose, rabbit, gopher, cow, snake, lizard, turtle, frog, dumbass human, etc, etc killed by a wind turbine?

They may be part of the answer, but distributed power sources will always be maintenance intensive enterprises with extra inefficiencies built in. I have serious doubts as to the longevity of these turbines at sea. The maritime environment is a demanding mistress. She is brutally harsh on man and machine alike and doesn't care whether you are operating a earth-friendly turbine or drilling the sea-bed for dino-fuel.

I'm reading Cape Wind about all the opposition to a wind farm in the Cape Cod area and it seemed the biggest hurdle was getting past NIMBYism until an oil barge spilled 98,000 gallons of power plant fuel oil in the back bay.

Seems to me that someone could buy the old off shore oil rigs near shore from the oil companies and strip them down and mount a few big turbines on them or solar collectors instead of totally scraping them all.

But like you said, they might be worn out by that time anyway from all the salt.

In the recent cold spell in the UK the turbines were useless because of the lack of wind. A recent government report concluded that our wind farms only managed about 30% of their capacity over the past year.

I still can't understand why, in an island like the UK, we've invested so much in wind power when tidal & wave power would be consistent, predictable & match the demands.

That's remarkably good - almost 25% up from the last figures I read.

But as for your main question - the answer seems lie with 'the lobby of the day', not any actual 'engineering' overview.

I don't know about the commerical type wind mill. But the private ones, A electrical engineer friend of mine, told me the investment you need to make it work there really is not pay back. actually its negative. And to integrate it into the grid is worse.

With this in mind, solar is probaly the same.

This was about 5 years ago, I'm sure the costs came down as it is being more widely integrated and coming on line.

They may supplement current resources for power. As for being a big player no they are not a steady source of power. Weather man has hard time predicting the weather. So how do you depend on it?

As far as the off shore windmills being a hazard to wildlife sure will. Also will help. The structure as any does will attract fish provide cover for them. More fish more animals that depend on them for food. More food larger population of those animals.

If wind farms were a significant long term solution (both technically & economically and not just politically), everyone would be investing at an accelerating rate. If petroleum products ran out or prices quadrupled, wind farms could be, as Redfred stated, a part of the solution (same with solar). I'd put my bet on fusion power.

If you are addicted, no amount of anything can satisfy.

Let me make this a bit clearer. I was in the big smoke (over to the mainland) today. +24 deg.C. Visited one of those office towers, all air-conditioned. For us locals 23 is cool, so I dressed to the nines (in summer we are dressed to the two's when in public) and I just felt right. When I walked into the building I was shocked to find it colder than ambient outside temperature.

These buildings are constructed in a way that they are practically hermetically sealed from the outside world. Just like in many other cities in the world. The AC's just run because they are there. If these buildings would be built with common sense ruling the roost, enormous energy could be saved and is.

This is just one example of spoiled brats that have the technology that they so wished for and not have it under control. Just use suitable architecture, that would save more than any carbon tax. It is easier to cut down ones power usage and to insist on 100% comfort than to build whadeva to satisfy the need for total control.

Save energy, not generate more. I mean, we have no heating here in the tropics (some have and pay dearly, bloody sucks!). Sometimes at night it can go down to +7 to +10 here. That is cold for us hairless Queensland monkeys. Appropriate clothing is the choice we make and at bed time we do what humans do when it is cold and a cuddle comes for free.(Sorry solo dudes)

Aah oh, back to the stone age I can hear people think. Soft smelly substance, if I had the choice between having a wind turbine or fields of them which really cost my money and then find out that what they produce is what makes the builders rich and put them in a position to send me bills in the same stroke, usually at the most inconvenient times, I don't think so.

Or alternatively reduce my consumption, live more modest, turn off the lights when only the TV is watching. This adds up I am doing it since a while now. No need to go for 34.5 second showers but why for 30 minutes? No harm done, at all. No disruption of our normal life just a bit more attentive to where the stuff comes from.

All 'more big mac's' proponents should go on a diet or see a shrink. If he is any good he will tell you that you will not die if you have a bit less. Yep and the coke too and the other mindless contraptions of pleasure giving devices which help the delusional brains have such a happy life. Less is more, simple.

After all, this is the 21^st century and it would be very nice if we could at last learn from our indulgences and what they bring us. We all know that this has happened before and that mighty powers want to keep it as it is. Build them and they will consume my lovely behind.

Start using less. The worst that can happen is that more time is freed up to start thinking about, re-introducing better architecture. The Babylonians had it all up and running, thousands of years ago. They didn't fail as a civilization because the buildings failed, they failed for the same reasons we are failing now and so have many others.

Gotta go, my workshop is screaming for me, I'll edit tomorrow, Ky.

I live in Cairns, i concur! You pretty much hit the nail on the head Ky. Got a kw meter a while back......brilliant. Its amazing how much less power you use when you are consciously aware of it.

only 36% know about energy management

I think it is much less than that but who is counting anyway?