Wind farms wtf

[Cain]

Uh...

http://www.nrel.gov/docs/fy10osti/49229.pdf

The gross resource has been quantified by state, water depth, distance from shore, and wind class throughout a band extending out to 50 nautical miles from the U.S. coastline.

This total gross wind resource is estimated at more than 4,000 GW, or roughly four times the generating capacity currently carried on the U.S. electric grid.

Now, obviously, not all of this is going to be harvested efficiently, it may be the case that only 60% of this energy is available.

Which is why Google is trying to get in on the ground level of this project

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/10/12/science/earth/12wind.html?pagewanted=1&_r=1

Google and a New York financial firm have each agreed to invest heavily in a proposed $5 billion transmission backbone for future offshore wind farms along the Atlantic Seaboard that could ultimately transform the region's electrical map. The 350-mile underwater spine, which could remove some critical obstacles to wind power development, has stirred excitement among investors, government officials and environmentalists who have been briefed on it.

All in all, awesome news.

[LMNO]

Until you google "Cape Wind Project" and read how some rich NIMBY fucks have delayed getting this started for a decade.

[Cain]

Cant we pay Obama to hire the New Black Panthers to go round and rough them up a bit?

[Faust]

Holy shit, has it finally become viable and cost effective?

[LMNO]

Cant we pay Obama to hire the New Black Panthers to go round and rough them up a bit?

I'm not sure you understand how happy I would be if that really was the kind of president I helped elect.

[Richter]

Until you google "Cape Wind Project" and read how some rich NIMBY fucks have delayed getting this started for a decade.

CoughCAPECODELITISSTFUCKERScough.

[Nephew Twiddleton]

Ah Cape Cod, the part of Massachusetts that is virtually dead after October....

[LMNO]

Which reminds me, I'm off to Spooky Bear weekend tomorrow!

[Kai]

Uh...

http://www.nrel.gov/docs/fy10osti/49229.pdf

The gross resource has been quantified by state, water depth, distance from shore, and wind class throughout a band extending out to 50 nautical miles from the U.S. coastline.

This total gross wind resource is estimated at more than 4,000 GW, or roughly four times the generating capacity currently carried on the U.S. electric grid.

Now, obviously, not all of this is going to be harvested efficiently, it may be the case that only 60% of this energy is available.

Which is why Google is trying to get in on the ground level of this project

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/10/12/science/earth/12wind.html?pagewanted=1&_r=1

Google and a New York financial firm have each agreed to invest heavily in a proposed $5 billion transmission backbone for future offshore wind farms along the Atlantic Seaboard that could ultimately transform the region's electrical map. The 350-mile underwater spine, which could remove some critical obstacles to wind power development, has stirred excitement among investors, government officials and environmentalists who have been briefed on it.

All in all, awesome news.

Dude...


If this works out, we not only won't need any new coal, hydroelectric or nuclear plants, we'll be able to REMOVE some. 

[Requia ☣]

on the NIMBY thing, I've been to the wind farms in Wyoming, and they are very noisy, even when the nearest windmill is a mile away (Or maybe I'm misunderstanding how close to residential areas they want to install the things).

[Faust]

(Or maybe I'm misunderstanding how close to residential areas they want to install the things).

You are, and its good news: They are at sea.

I can see that being horribly unreliable in the long run but will be a huge boost when the weather suits.

[Nephew Twiddleton]

NIMBY aside, lets hope that this is one of those beginnings of "Let's pull ourselves out of this pile of shit at the last possible moment sort of things.

Blight,
-Fingers are slightly crossed.

[Bruno]

Prediction: The government will declare this "money in the bank" and immediately take out loans against it.

[Reginald Ret]

Windmills kill migrating birds.
Just assume that whenever something sounds good it will be worse than you can imagine.

[Eater of Clowns]

Windmills kill migrating birds.
Just assume that whenever something sounds good it will be worse than you can imagine.

I know this is a problem for land based wind farms.  Do offshore farms have the same effect, with migrating birds sticking closer to shore?