Wind Farm coming to Crab Orchard (Oak Ridge: power lines, leasing, house)

[llsmith42]

This is some interesting news for the area.

UCBJ – Upper Cumberland Business Journal » BREAKING: Wind farm coming to Cumberland County

[OutOfTownTownie]

Very exciting for Cumberland County. It would be nice for more jobs to be created (only ~50 construction and ~operating jobs as mentioned in the article below), but it's nice to see a $100 million investment in an area that could use some good news. Apparently the farm will be visible from I-40, hopefully boosting Cumberland County's profiled to interstate travelers and perhaps more future investment.

Location of Tennessee's largest wind farm announced | Times Free Press

[Jumeby]

A wind farm would ruin the natural beauty of Tennessee landscape.

[JMT]

Somebody is making a lot of money off of wind farms, and it's not the good people of Cumberland County. The notion that wind farms are an environmentalist's answer to fossil fuels has been disproven over and over. Wind farms severely lower property values, they can catch fire or even explode and spread debris over 1/4 mile, they cause the earth around them to vibrate, they kill millions of birds and bats, and in the winter some have been known to sling refrigerator-sized chunks of ice hundreds of yards away. They get a lot of ice up there on the plateau; I wonder how far these turbines will be from the interstate?

In addition, since wind power is very unreliable, "traditional" power plants have to continue operating at full power even when there's a wind farm just a few miles away. Governments in Europe have reached the conclusion that wind turbines are notoriously unreliable and cost way too much. On average, they've generated less than 20 percent of the power they were supposed to, even as low as 14.7% in Germany. The governments of Denmark, Spain, Switzerland, Germany, Australia, and the Netherlands have either ceased subsidizing or have severely reduced their subsidies of wind power. The U.K. Telegraph reports that wind power costs more than three times the cost of conventional power.

And, ironically, wind turbines have to be turned off in high winds because the blades are easily damaged and liable to break off and fly away. Anyone who's driven past the wind farms out west might recall that the turbines sit motionless on windy days. And let's not forget just how big they are; the blades of a typical turbine have the diameter of a Boeing 747, and the towers themselves are often taller than a 30-story building. Each turbine weighs in excess of 160 tons.

Now for the fun part. Wind farms are devastating to the land on which they are built. A typical wind turbine sits on top of a hole large enough to fit three double-decker buses. That hole is filled with steel rebar-reinforced concrete. At the Buffalo Mountain wind farm near Oak Ridge, each turbine sits atop a foundation that's 30 feet deep and contains 3,500 cubic yards of concrete. In addition, approximately 4-5 acres of trees need to be cleared for each turbine in order for them to run more efficiently. And because of the depth of their bases, explosives are usually used to blast open each hole. Erosion, disruption of water flow, and destruction of wild habitat and plant life would continue with the presence of access roads, power lines, transformers, and the tower sites themselves

The Spanish estimate that 11,200 birds of prey, 350,000 bats, and 3 million small birds are killed each year in Spain by its wind turbines. Even the publication Windpower Monthly admits that the number of bats killed by wind turbines is "shocking." A visitor to the Backbone Mountain wind farm in West Virginia wrote, "I looked around me, to a place where months before had been prime country for deer, wild turkey, and yes, black bear, to see positively no sign of any of the animals about at all. This alarmed me, so I scouted in the woods that afternoon. All afternoon, I found no sign, sight, or peek of any animal about."

And as far as the number of jobs created, the announcement for Crab Orchard says there will be between 5 and 15 permanent jobs created. It'll most likely be closer to 5. The Top of Iowa wind farm has 89 turbines but only 7 employees. Globally, the average is just 1-2 jobs per 20 turbines. The Crab Orchard farm will have no more than 23 turbines.

So, in other words, someone has sold the good people of Cumberland County a bill of goods.

[OutOfTownTownie]

Interesting points, JMT. I have never heard of turbine related seismic activity. It seems like you have knowledge on the matter and really do not like wind. May I inquire as to the basis of your knowledge? After searching for information online, I’m having a difficult time finding major news outlets discussing seismic effects.

As with anything, there are costs and benefits. On the whole, I think the benefits of wind energy substantially outweigh their effect on birds, accompanying noise, and aesthetics. I understand others feel differently, but I’ve never been aesthetically annoyed by billboards or other man made objects in the outdoors (and I consider myself an outdoors lover).

While wind (and solar) is intermittent, storage technology will eventually allow these sources to use far more of the energy they produce. As for stress on the electricity grid: the grid definitely needs an overhaul, especially with the growth in solar and wind. I don’t pretend to purport that solar and wind can replace traditional energy sources, but I think we can and must use every available technology to lower carbon emissions and address climate change (which I do believe is caused at least in part by man).

As for the devastating environmental effects of constructing wind turbine bases and access roads, doesn’t that literally happen any time something is constructed on undeveloped land? If I build a house on a plot, haven’t I destroyed the ground that is now the house’s foundation? How is that a mark against wind? Again, wind has costs, and nothing truly has zero effect on the environment. But I think the positives of wind far outweigh the negatives, and I am still excited the farm is coming to Cumberland County. But to be fair, this wind farm is not in my back yard. And I have not before heard of many of the points you raised.

[Jumeby]

Originally Posted by OutOfTownTownie

Interesting points, JMT. I have never heard of turbine related seismic activity. It seems like you have knowledge on the matter and really do not like wind. May I inquire as to the basis of your knowledge? After searching for information online, I’m having a difficult time finding major news outlets discussing seismic effects.

As with anything, there are costs and benefits. On the whole, I think the benefits of wind energy substantially outweigh their effect on birds, accompanying noise, and aesthetics. I understand others feel differently, but I’ve never been aesthetically annoyed by billboards or other man made objects in the outdoors (and I consider myself an outdoors lover).

While wind (and solar) is intermittent, storage technology will eventually allow these sources to use far more of the energy they produce. As for stress on the electricity grid: the grid definitely needs an overhaul, especially with the growth in solar and wind. I don’t pretend to purport that solar and wind can replace traditional energy sources, but I think we can and must use every available technology to lower carbon emissions and address climate change (which I do believe is caused at least in part by man).

As for the devastating environmental effects of constructing wind turbine bases and access roads, doesn’t that literally happen any time something is constructed on undeveloped land? If I build a house on a plot, haven’t I destroyed the ground that is now the house’s foundation? How is that a mark against wind? Again, wind has costs, and nothing truly has zero effect on the environment. But I think the positives of wind far outweigh the negatives, and I am still excited the farm is coming to Cumberland County. But to be fair, this wind farm is not in my back yard. And I have not before heard of many of the points you raised.

The points that JMT makes are backed by numerous articles in print and on the internet. A simple search will results in what you request from various sources in the USA and global. Just search failed wind farms and failed energy polices. This is similar to the failed solar industries that usually involves funding from crony political corruption using public tax dollars to line the pockets of the politically connected.

[OutOfTownTownie]

Originally Posted by Jumeby

The points that JMT makes are backed by numerous articles in print and on the internet. A simple search will results in what you request from various sources in the USA and global. Just search failed wind farms and failed energy polices. This is similar to the failed solar industries that usually involves funding from crony political corruption using public tax dollars to line the pockets of the politically connected.

I'm finding articles, but they overwhelmingly seem to be either editorials or published by outlets with right-of-center agendas. It's also easy to find "articles" detailing the ongoing growth in wind energy investment worldwide that are clearly produced by interested organizations. In short, I'm having trouble finding this information from a news outlet from which I don't sense an overt slant or agenda. Having never heard of problems associated with seismic activity (and I like to think of myself as a bit of a news junkie), I'm curious to learn more. I just find it difficult to completely trust what I've found thus far.

[Jumeby]

The fact that climate change and renewable energy are political agendas and pro/con divided along political lines should speak volumes.

[Lyndarn]

Originally Posted by Jumeby

The fact that climate change and renewable energy are political agendas and pro/con divided along political lines should speak volumes.

I have watched this huge majestic tall tower visible from highway on commute for many decades...It created electricity all that time to many thousands of businesses and community all that time....It's still there..so fossil fuel ( dirty energy) has been on the wane for a very long time.

Our Canadian Government has been giving subsidies to regular folks to upgrade their homes to insulate and depending on investment..get wonderful benefits of reducing demand on energy ...SO I have no issue with Wind Farms..not to mention those farmer's with LAND..gain more income for leasing out their land for such thing..

There has been a few posts about failures of Solar Energy Failures...Only the debunking Climate change post such lies!!! Denier's and high paid debunking Climate change ( usual subjects ..Oil Industry and Politicians padded pockets) who have bought and paid for those law makers, who continue to deny an obvious symptomatic weather changes....

Sorry..I've lived long enough to see the changes..and desires can talk to the hand for those unfortunate folks being directly affected by it!!!

[OutOfTownTownie]

Originally Posted by Jumeby

The fact that climate change and renewable energy are political agendas and pro/con divided along political lines should speak volumes.

I agree. And that troubles me, especially because the scientific community is hardly divided at all.