Windmills

[Ianab]

Hi Folks
Went on a bit of a road trip this weekend to catch up with a  friend and came across some pretty cool hi-tech windmills
I think each one is good for about 300kw of power.. and there are a few up on this hill
Think the final plan is for about 120 or so to be built.
Was blowing about 20mph the day we were there and standing under those blades was pretty impressive 8)
near Palmerston North , NZ

Ian

[Haytrader]

They look similar to the ones we have in southwest Kansas and northwest Oklahoma here in the States. The towers are different but they do the same thing, generate electricity. They just got the ones finished just south of me in Oklahoma. There are 58 of them  and cost nearly 5 million each and will pay off in six years. There will be more as we have the amount of wind needed. The only problem is distribution. Since we are in a low population region, the major distribution lines needed to disburse this amount of electricity are not here..............yet.

[Jeff]

There are two of those on the south end of The Macinac bridge. The Bridge used to be the only attention getter now those giant wind machines are.

While on our trip to Missouri Tammy and I saw a caravan of Trucks carrying theose monster blades to somewhere. I think we were in Illinois but I am not sure. One blade to a truck and they were WAY over length, all marked and running escorts and follow vehicles.

Either there is a factory out there or they were on the way to an installation.

[Patty]

The windmills are becoming more & more common around Iowa. There is a "wind farm" up north from us, and another one in the works that is supposed to be the largest in the midwest. I think they are way cool. Some of the schools in our area have put them up to generate power for the school and to sell back to the power company. In Iowa it is still a law that the power companies are required to buy back any power you generate.....after you've passed through all the red tape they put up. We've looked at them for our farm (a smaller version of those shown above). We've been told to generate enough power for the farm (and our sawmill) the cost of the windmill is around $30,000-$40,000. It should pay for itself in 10 years I think they said. (my fear is that in 10 years, I'll have to replace it.) I am hoping technology will catch up soon and make these more cost effective for the small guy. Iowa is always windy, I'd love to harness some of it.  ;)

[Buzz-sawyer]

I have been researching wind power for years...a really nice practical machine(s) can be built out of home made parts here is an awsome site....I have other info if your interested!
Don
http://www.otherpower.com/

[Den Socling]

Buzz-sawyer,

You are right about otherpower.com. makes me want to start still another project! Lets see ... a wind powered vac kiln.  ;D

Den

[Buzz-sawyer]

Know what you mean Den....project...My home power the house Im building the sawmill I run home built wind....where does it end!!!
Don

[Fla._Deadheader]

This topic was kicked around a while back, and since there was no real interest, I never followed up on info.
  I was part of a project to record wind conditions and install wind generators in Arkansas, in the 80's.
 Scanner not working, so, this is NOT a good copy.





  Ended up being a dealer and installer for several manufacturers.
  Here is a copy and paste link for one of the best units out there, for small business and home operstions.
          http://www.bergey.com
 There is a LOT of good info on this site, and I would try to help with questions, if anyone is interested.
  Most people want to completely eliminate their electric bill. THAT, is not practical.
  The best thing, is to figure your YEARLY electric bill AVERAGE, over 12 months and then compare that figure to how a Wind Generator can save you money.
  The Bergey machine, is the MOST maintenance free machine that I know of. I highly recommend them.

[L. Wakefield]

   Now the state referendum on the casino has been voted down, the native americans are looking into the possibility of wind power projects. lw

[Patty]

Fla Deadheader,

You pointed out an excellant website; lots of good information.  :P  

Thanks for the input. ;)

Patty

[Fla._Deadheader]

Hi Patty. If you need some info, it's been a long time since I was involved, but, I'll try to answer any questions.

[Stan]

The powers that be have decided to shut down the 7000 windmills in Altamont Pass east of San Francisco. It seems that in the 20 years of operations an estimated 22,000 birds have been killed by these brutes.  ???

[beenthere]

 : Now isn't that just one bird killed every 6.3 years for each windmill?   ???

Seems like they are really not too dangerous to birds. My picture windows are much more lethal to the feathered friends than that.    

And our highways should be so safe for people.   :-/

[Corley5]

The windmills in Mackinaw have caused quite a controversy here too  :(.  People have complained about the noise, bird kills and that they look unsightly :.  I've had some dealings with the excavator who has them in his backyard.  The times I was there and they were working you could hardly hear them 8).  More birds are killed by cars and house window collisions in a year than are killed by the windmills in years of operation.  They never turn real fast anyway.  If the wind gets over a certain speed they automatically shut down.  It would take a pretty slow bird to get killed by one.  I think they look pretty  8).  After the uproar by the half dozen people who didn't like them the zoning board but on hold the planned construction of up to eight more at the same location.  Last year a farmer near Levering but in Cheboygan Co applied for a permit to put up a 30' test tower to see if he had suffucient wind to build windmills on HIS land.  The zoning board promptly denied his permits and hastily put into effect regulations that basically exclude all but a couple very large pieces of land in the county >:( >:( >:( >:( >:(.  The main requirement being 2,000 foot set backs from property lines to build windmills .  The fella who was denied the permit is currently suing the county and is being represented by an attorney of the Farm Bureau.  According to Mi Right to Farm Act he could put in a 750 head hog feedlot operation with no permits at ALL but the County says it's against the law for him to harvest clean wind on his own farm : :( >:(.  It's going to be interesting to see how this all plays out especially when other counties in the state and country are encouraging wind farms.  I've got a couple good sites and would love a windmill or two or three or whatever I could put up 8) 8) 8).    

[Fla._Deadheader]

Corley, you are thinking the right way. Smaller wind generators can and will operate at higher wind speeds than the large mills. They are nearly all self steering when the wind gets above 50 MPH, (used to be the speed)? ???
  If one happened to need repairs, the other(s) would still be cranking out Kwh's. Unit prices for smaller mills are more reasonable for the first investment and lets you see if you want to pursue more generation of power.
  A bit of info for ANYONE thinking about wind generators; they need to be a MINIMUM of 30 feet ABOVE any surrounding trees or buildings that are within 150 feet of the generator. The wind gets "spoiled" or turbulant when it travels directly over trees or other objects. 30 feet or more above, and you get smooth steady flow.

  I have stood behind a 15 foot rotor (my set of blades), when it was running in a 28 MPH wind. It will NOT blow yer hat off yer head.  The air (wind) strikes the face of the blades and is thrown outward, away from the generator, NOT through the blades. Most blade systems are VERY efficient.

  Makes ya wonder about them BIG units sitting near each other, on them "wind farms". Where does THEIR air go??? Up and over??? ;D :D :D

  A case in point; In Fayetteville, Arkansas, an Engineering Class was chosen to direct an installation of a Wind generator, on TOP of a tall building. They KNEW the wind was sufficient. After the installation, the generator NEVER cranked out much electricity. The wind, blowing directly at the building, was diverted up and over the roof AND subsequently up and OVER the generator.

  We worked like crazy, trying to get a taller tower put on the roof, but, the sheepskin crowd was adamant that the wind power would never be practical. We even offered to do the work for free and offered to buy the unit and move it. NO WAY !!!

  That did more harm to our business than any other publicity could ever do.  Near as I know, it's still there. : : :

[Furby]

I've been kicking around the idea of this for about ten years or so. After looking into the reg. of selling back to the power company and the cost involved, I just pushed it aside.
People can complain all they want and make up reasons not to have windmills, but when given the alternative of having more nuke plants the choice seems pretty clear to me.

I do however want to build a little 12v system to run a little pump in my indoor pond (small). I was hoping to get an old power pole to stick it on.