Do you live near a wind farm? Would you?
May 17th 2013, 4:33 am
#136
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Joined: Nov 2002
Location: Where bad things rarely happen in movies
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Re: Do you live near a wind farm? Would you?
On a slight tangent...have noticed a couple of rather largish solar farms cropping up in the area. The one in the Concord/Lincoln area is expanding quite a bit and is massive and the one near Framingham was pretty large too, but that was was at least by the side of the motorway.
On a tangent, and in the "you learn something new every day" category, did you know that Archimedes apparently used his soldiers bronze shields as reflectors to concentrate the suns powers to set fire to roman galleons? No, nor did I, but apparently he did!
Solar power though....like it, wish we could install it here, but not cost effective (for us) yet. Apparently it's not as green as its touted though, due to some nasty processes and by- products of manufacture....
May 17th 2013, 12:32 pm
#137
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Re: Do you live near a wind farm? Would you?
What is very green in comparison is a mirror farm, doing the thing with the shield, to reflect light into a central drum as a big steam boiler.
May 17th 2013, 1:00 pm
#138
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Joined: Nov 2002
Location: Where bad things rarely happen in movies
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Re: Do you live near a wind farm? Would you?
It's pretty nasty process, but in places like Spain/Greece etc it pluses out just on economies of scale. It probably could if used more widely over here in TX/NV kind of places.
What is very green in comparison is a mirror farm, doing the thing with the shield, to reflect light into a central drum as a big steam boiler.
What is very green in comparison is a mirror farm, doing the thing with the shield, to reflect light into a central drum as a big steam boiler.
I thought it would be a shoe-in for us here (Texas) but even with the subsidies and tax breaks, the payback is just too long (or our existing power too cheap) to justify from an economic point of view.
Did you see about that new hotel that opened in Vegas a couple of years back? The Aria or something like that. Mirrored windows, built in a curve, and they hadn't reckoned on the focused reflective power....all sorts of stories about people getting burned and their Raybans and cellphones melted because of the heat generated by the building
May 17th 2013, 1:08 pm
#139
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Re: Do you live near a wind farm? Would you?
Did you see about that new hotel that opened in Vegas a couple of years back? The Aria or something like that. Mirrored windows, built in a curve, and they hadn't reckoned on the focused reflective power....all sorts of stories about people getting burned and their Raybans and cellphones melted because of the heat generated by the building
May 17th 2013, 1:31 pm
#140
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Joined: Nov 2002
Location: Where bad things rarely happen in movies
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Re: Do you live near a wind farm? Would you?
OK, it was the Vdara, not the Aria - I knew it had a couple of a's in it....
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1315978/Las-Vegas-hotel-death-ray-leaves-guests-severe-burns.html
http://abcnews.go.com/Travel/las-veg...4#.UZYwnr4o7GIhttp://abcnews.go.com/Travel/las-veg...4#.UZYwnr4o7GI
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1315978/Las-Vegas-hotel-death-ray-leaves-guests-severe-burns.html
http://abcnews.go.com/Travel/las-veg...4#.UZYwnr4o7GIhttp://abcnews.go.com/Travel/las-veg...4#.UZYwnr4o7GI
May 17th 2013, 2:26 pm
#141
The worse half of Weeze
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Re: Do you live near a wind farm? Would you?
They did a Mythbusters on the shield thing - I'm sure it's on YouTube. There are large pilot reflector power stations (a particularly large one in Spain I think) and they use molten salt in the closed loop to create the steam, if memory serves. That's pretty damn warm!
May 17th 2013, 2:32 pm
#142
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Re: Do you live near a wind farm? Would you?
[QUOTE=Mr Weeze;10712514]They did a Mythbusters on the shield thing - I'm sure it's on YouTube. QUOTE]
That's a shame - I kinda liked that one!
Son got it from here...http://www1.eere.energy.gov/solar/pd...r_timeline.pdf that reckons the Greek navy (so no vested interests there then!) managed to replicate it in 1973. Government website, and they surely wouldn't lie....
I'm gonna let him include it and they can duke it out in class
That's a shame - I kinda liked that one!Son got it from here...http://www1.eere.energy.gov/solar/pd...r_timeline.pdf that reckons the Greek navy (so no vested interests there then!) managed to replicate it in 1973. Government website, and they surely wouldn't lie....
I'm gonna let him include it and they can duke it out in class
May 17th 2013, 3:01 pm
#143
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Re: Do you live near a wind farm? Would you?
The Spanish PV system collapsed, it was based on very high buy in tarrifs, now cut retrospectively. Leaving a lot of people in a hole.
PV obviously has a lot of embedded energy, but the vast majority of panels are manufactured in 'developing' countries so the CO2 impact on the US is pretty negligible.
My supplier does not subsidise the cost, well not yet, there is legislation going through at State level that might make this happen. Good if you can afford them, not so good if you can not and end up paying higher rates.
Solar hot water makes the most sense.
PV obviously has a lot of embedded energy, but the vast majority of panels are manufactured in 'developing' countries so the CO2 impact on the US is pretty negligible.
My supplier does not subsidise the cost, well not yet, there is legislation going through at State level that might make this happen. Good if you can afford them, not so good if you can not and end up paying higher rates.
Solar hot water makes the most sense.
May 17th 2013, 4:05 pm
#144
The worse half of Weeze
Joined: Mar 2012
Location: Back in TX
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Re: Do you live near a wind farm? Would you?
http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/PS10_Solar_Power_Plant
A link to the plant I mentioned. I remembered incorrectly about the salt though.
A link to the plant I mentioned. I remembered incorrectly about the salt though.
May 18th 2013, 1:15 pm
#145
Mouthy Yank
Joined: Oct 2012
Posts: 2,229
Re: Do you live near a wind farm? Would you?
I'd much rather live near a wind farm or solar plant than as close as my husband's home is to the dirty methane plant they're proposing to build in Sion Mills... http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-22565518 ruin the mill and the countryside more like... they're creating a whole TWO jobs
May 21st 2013, 4:25 pm
#146
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Re: Do you live near a wind farm? Would you?
http://www.energycentral.com/generat...s-a-nuisance-?
Selectmen placed a question on the May 21 election ballot that asks voters to allow a Proposition 2 1/2 debt exclusion to fund the decommissioning, dismantling and removal of the turbines and to repay grants, prepaid renewable energy credits and other costs associated with removal.
If voters say yes, any debt incurred to remove the turbines would be exempt from the limits of Proposition 2 1/2 , which caps property tax increases at 2.5 percent above the tax base.
The question does not specify the cost of removal.
State officials last month told the town there would be no forgiveness for about $1 million in prepaid renewable energy credits and nearly $5 million in stimulus grants used to construct the turbines.
Town Manager Julian Suso has estimated removing the turbines will cost a total of $14 million.
Selectmen placed a question on the May 21 election ballot that asks voters to allow a Proposition 2 1/2 debt exclusion to fund the decommissioning, dismantling and removal of the turbines and to repay grants, prepaid renewable energy credits and other costs associated with removal.
If voters say yes, any debt incurred to remove the turbines would be exempt from the limits of Proposition 2 1/2 , which caps property tax increases at 2.5 percent above the tax base.
The question does not specify the cost of removal.
State officials last month told the town there would be no forgiveness for about $1 million in prepaid renewable energy credits and nearly $5 million in stimulus grants used to construct the turbines.
Town Manager Julian Suso has estimated removing the turbines will cost a total of $14 million.
May 23rd 2013, 12:46 am
#147
Under blue skies
Thread Starter
Joined: Mar 2011
Location: East Anglia->New England
Posts: 3,624
Re: Do you live near a wind farm? Would you?
And the result of the vote on whether or not to dismantle the two wind turbines causing so much controversy in Falmouth MA is a resounding no, by around 2 to 1. So it seems the turbines will stay where they are. 
May 23rd 2013, 8:19 pm
#148
Member
Joined: Apr 2001
Posts: 14,049
Re: Do you live near a wind farm? Would you?
But sitting idle, not operating, I expect?
Thanks for following up and reporting on this.
Regards, JEff
Thanks for following up and reporting on this.
Regards, JEff
May 26th 2013, 12:01 pm
#149
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Location: East Anglia->New England
Posts: 3,624
Re: Do you live near a wind farm? Would you?
Interesting question! And one that I find Google struggles to answer....apparently the operational status of the turbines ATM is not such big news.
