Who Cares About Lead, What About Smoke?

[Outside Bend]

It's true, birds and some bat species are getting nailed by wind turbines in some areas. Birds also smoke transmission lines and radio towers, etc as they migrate in the dark. Turbines tops are also an excellent place for birds of prey to perch and whack songbirds, prairie chickens, etc.

I'm not sure it's comparable to the damage done by, say, a three-month long oil spill, though. And I can say unequivocally I've never been enchanted by the perfume of an oil refinery, or marveled at the aesthetics of an oil derrick drilling platform, pipeline cut, tarballs, oiled wildlife, or slicks measuring in square miles.

There's tradeoffs for every action we take.

[jdmidwest]

I've NEVER seen a wind turbine turn fast enough to hit a bird. If a bird got killed by one, it must have been pretty darn stupid and flew into it.

Migratory birds like ducks and geese fly of a night during the migration cycles, so it could happen since they are in flocks and playing follow the leader. But I doubt it would be that big of a problem, about the same chance of them swallowing my lead sinker.

[Wayne SW/MO]

That would appear to be the Wind Energy's side, but his another side.

http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2005-01-04-windmills-usat_x.htm

My cousins grandson has been involved in a study being done by MSU on a wind farm in north Missouri. They're concern is bats, but he's told me that birds get chewed up also.

Its a myth that the blades are to slow, they are so long the tips are traveling a lot faster than they appear. According to him there's a solution to the bat problem. It requires that they feather the blades at night when power demand is very low, but apparently the industry thinks it's too expensive.

[flytyer57]

It's true, birds and some bat species are getting nailed by wind turbines in some areas. Birds also smoke transmission lines and radio towers, etc as they migrate in the dark. Turbines tops are also an excellent place for birds of prey to perch and whack songbirds, prairie chickens, etc.

I'm not sure it's comparable to the damage done by, say, a three-month long oil spill, though. And I can say unequivocally I've never been enchanted by the perfume of an oil refinery, or marveled at the aesthetics of an oil derrick drilling platform, pipeline cut, tarballs, oiled wildlife, or slicks measuring in square miles.

There's tradeoffs for every action we take.

Ever see the smoke coming from a coal powered electic plant? I mean that orangish/brown stuff?

[flytyer57]

Having driven past many wind farms, I can certainly say that those blades are not moving any more than 15-25 mph even on a very windy day. Now unless you're talking about tornado/hurricane force winds...

Seriously, they do not turn as fast as you are led to believe by the coal and oil industries.

If you want to find out for sure, drive by a wind farm and look for yourself.

If wind turbines are killing birds, bats included, it is most likely because they are flying into them not being chopped up by the blades like some make it sound.

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Edited:

The speed of a wind turbine is no more than 15-25 rpm not mph.

[jdmidwest]

Ever see the smoke coming from a coal powered electic plant? I mean that orangish/brown stuff?

Yes, but it is filtered and scrubbed and regulated by the EPA. Burning fields are raw smoke and lots of it. It darkens the skies for miles and hangs in the air till a good front comes thru and blows it out.

[Wayne SW/MO]

Having driven past many wind farms, I can certainly say that those blades are not moving any more than 15-25 mph even on a very windy day. Now unless you're talking about tornado/hurricane force winds...

Seriously, they do not turn as fast as you are led to believe by the coal and oil industries.

If you want to find out for sure, drive by a wind farm and look for yourself.

If wind turbines are killing birds, bats included, it is most likely because they are flying into them not being chopped up by the blades like some make it sound.

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Edited:

The speed of a wind turbine is no more than 15-25 rpm not mph.

"Modern wind turbines

Three bladed wind turbine

Turbines used in wind farms for commercial production of electric power are usually three-bladed and pointed into the wind by computer-controlled motors. These have high tip speeds of over 320 km/h (200 miles per hour), high efficiency, and low torque ripple, which contribute to good reliability. The blades are usually colored light gray to blend in with the clouds and range in length from 20 to 40 metres (65 to 130 ft) or more. The tubular steel towers range from 60 to 90 metres (200 to 300 feet) tall. The blades rotate at 10-22 revolutions per minute. At 22 rotations per minute the tip speed exceeds 300 ft per second.[15][16] A gear box is commonly used to step up the speed of the generator, although designs may also use direct drive of an annular generator. Some models operate at constant speed, but more energy can be collected by variable-speed turbines which use a solid-state power converter to interface to the transmission system. All turbines are equipped with shut-down features to avoid damage at high wind speeds."

I do feel better knowing the destruction is caused by them hitting the blades, rather than being chopped up. But then again dead is dead.