Overall Criticisms of Wind Turbines

1. Overall Criticisms of Wind Turbines • wind power is an intermittent power source. The production from a wind turbine may increase or decrease dramatically over a short period of time with little or no warning. In the absence of large scale energy storage, the balance of the grid must be able to quickly compensate for this change. A proposed solution is a super grid of wind farms. • Economics: high quality wind resources are often located in areas inhospitable to people, logistics and transmission capacity can introduce significant obstacles to new installations. • The impact of wind turbines on wildlife has often been cited as a disadvantage of wind installations. Wind turbines can pose a danger to birds and bats, though the magnitude and gravity of this danger may be much less than threats such as house cats or plate glass.

2. Wind Turbine Syndrome A condition which may be related to prolonged exposure to the low frequency sound waves (Infrasound) that come from wind turbines. Symptoms of wind-turbine syndrome might include: • headaches • sleep problems • night terrors or learning disabilities in children • ringing in the ears (tinnitus) • mood problems (irritability, anxiety) • concentration and memory problems • issues with equilibrium, dizziness and nausea NO conclusive evidence that this is real. Note that all of these symptoms are also produced by not sleeping well

3. Infrasound • Sound at frequency lower than 20 hz. • Humans do not hear this, but the ear senses it. Known to cause feelings of awe and fear in humans. • No agreement among scientists as to the extent and impact of such noise from wind turbines. • Modern turbines are being engineered with dampening systems to reduce such noise.

4. Wind Farms • A group of turbines in the same location • 3 types: • Onshore- within 30km of the shore line • Near shore -within 3km of the shoreline or 10 km offshore • Off shore -more than 10Km from land • Noise is a big issue for onshore and near shore, as is aesthetics

5. Offshore wind farms

6. Offshore wind farms • less obtrusive than turbines on land • apparent size and noise is mitigated by distance. • the average wind speed is usually considerably higher over open water. • Offshore installation is more expensive than onshore • Offshore towers are generally taller than onshore towers once the submerged height is included. • Offshore foundations may be more expensive to build. • Power transmission from offshore turbines is through undersea cable • Offshore saltwater environments also raise maintenance costs by corroding the towers, but fresh-water locations such as the Great Lakes do not. • Turbine components (rotor blades, tower sections) can be transported by barge, making large parts easier to transport offshore than on land, where turn clearances and underpass clearances of available roads limit the size of turbine components that can be moved by truck. Similarly, large construction cranes are difficult to move to remote wind farms on land, but crane vessels easily move over water. • Offshore wind farms tend to be quite large, often involving over 100 turbines.

7. Cape Wind Project • Approved offshore wind farm off of Cape Cod, MA. • 130 wind turbines would produce a maximum of 454 MW enough power for 420,000 homes. • Would provide 75% of the electrical needs to Cape Cod. and the Islands • Concerns included ruining the views from people's private property. • Views from public property such as beaches (even though it would be about twenty or so miles offshore, people complained it would ruin their views of the horizon). • decrease property values. • ruining popular areas for yachting. • the proposed wind farm would be located near shipping lanes. • Local fishermen, cite the fact that for many of them, up to 60% of their annual income comes from catch caught on Horseshoe Shoals, which they claim would disappear and would have to be replaced by steaming to fishing grounds farther out to sea if the project is completed. • Some who oppose the project are concerned about the corporate privatization of public property. • Geological testing of the offshore site has begun.

8. Interesting co-generation idea with cars and wind turbines • Turbines suspended over highways. • Each turbine can light a medium size apartment

9. TVA wind farm near Oak Ridge

10. Ocean Thermal Energy • Energy is available from the ocean by • Tapping ocean currents • Using the ocean as a heat engine • Tidal energy • Wave energy

11. Energy from ocean currents • Ocean currents flow at a steady velocity • Place turbines in these currents (like the gulf stream) that operate just like wind turbines • Water is more than 800 times denser than air, so for the same surface area, water moving 12 miles per hour exerts about the same amount of force as a constant 110 mph wind. • Expensive proposition • Upkeep could be expensive and complicated • Environmental concerns • species protection (including fish and marine mammals) from injury from turning turbine blades. • Consideration of shipping routes and present recreational uses of location • Other considerations include risks from slowing the current flow by extracting energy.

12. VIVACE-Alternate to turbines

13. The ocean as a heat engine • There can be a 20° difference between ocean surface temps and the temp at 1000m • The surface acts as the heat source, the deeper cold water acts as a heat sink. • Temperature differences are very steady • Florida, Puerto Rico, Hawaii and other pacific islands are well suited to take advantage of this idea. • Called OTEC (Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion)