🚀 go-pugleaf

davie@primenet.com (Dave Easton) wrote:
>
> Sorry, I just can't agree on this one. 
> 
> I drive through Palm Springs all the time and I think the windmills are the 
> worst looking mess I have ever seen. They are just a visual horror. Esp. the 
> miles of cheap ones with open towers and every 10th unit broken with big 
> pieces missing, etc. And, I am an engineer and support wind power!!

Sounds as though you have lots of time to look them over.  I only
get to Palm Springs once every couple of years.  I agree, they could
look much better, but they don't strike me as horrible.

Making them look better, though, will take considerable investment
($), and is likely to be a slow process as long as utilities are
driven to the lowest possible power prices.
 
> I really think these things need to be placed in areas out of sight. Of 
> course, I could also say the same for a lot of the construction along 
> Interstate 10.   Dave in Phoenix

This is fundamentally difficult in California.  The windfarms have
grown up in areas where there is (1) lots of wind and
(2) transmission lines.  Why?  Because wind generation is more
economical if the resource is larger and you don't have to build a
long transmission line.

These criteria in turn mean mountain passes, which also contain
highways . . .

For windfarms to be installed "out of sight," the economics will
have to change.  If power plants were paid for environmental
benefits, it would become more possible.

At the same time, I'd like to think that windfarms can be made
more visually attractive.  Some suggested aesthetic guidelines
are available through our Web site, http://www.igc.apc.org/awea/.

Tom Gray
Northeast Representative
American Wind Energy Association
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Tom Gray <tomgray@econet.org>