What does a wind turbine contribute to a community?

[Maximilian]

I don't really know... the electricity prices for a community living near a wind turbine wont go down will they? They would be getting power even without the turbine nearby... so it dosent really contribute power, what does it contribute to a community?

Note: This isn't a bash on windpower or some kind of environmental debate im trying to start, just a simple question that i would like answered.

 

[hanoverphist]

define wind turbine. is it a wind power farm generating for the utility corp?

 

[Maximilian]

Originally posted by: hanoverphist
define wind turbine. is it a wind power farm generating for the utility corp?

A small scale turbine of up to 1MWp in capacity. Apparently they can go as high as 6MWp, so we're talking about 1MWp or less, and maybe a field with 3 of these turbines, small community stuff, no massive wind farm projects.

 

[Demon-Xanth]

That depends on the arrangement. If a community fronts the costs they can sell power to the grid or not buy power. It effectively is a local government own power company.

 

[bsobel]

Originally posted by: Soviet
I don't really know... the electricity prices for a community living near a wind turbine wont go down will they? They would be getting power even without the turbine nearby... so it dosent really contribute power, what does it contribute to a community?
Note: This isn't a bash on windpower or some kind of environmental debate im trying to start, just a simple question that i would like answered.

If this is a coop then they own/use/sell the power. If not, the investor/owner of the turbine gets benefits but its hard to argue the land around it does. Not much of a halo effect...

 

[Snapster]

Directly there is probably nothing other than maybe rebate for the eyesore that is the turbine itself. I would suspect that they'll pay the same rate for electricity as the rest of us unless it's a special setup where the turbine is the power source for the whole community and they drop back to the national grid if the production falls below consumption. In this case they might pay a 'green' rate for power used from the turbine and a higher rate from the grid.

Home turbines on the other hand are another alternative, and you can even sell energy back to the national grid.

 

[edro]

They chop up birds, so probably a pile of dead birds.

 

[MmmSkyscraper]

You can tie chavs to the blades and use them for target practice.

 

[mugs]

A renewable source of energy to replace a source of energy that is a FINITE natural resource and will need ot be replaced eventually anyway. So to answer your question - the community around a wind turbine gets a head start.

I'm pretty sure they don't kill birds in any significant numbers. The blades don't move very quickly. How often do you see a bird run into an opaque, slow-moving object?

 

[hanoverphist]

ah, i see. if its like here, the utility co puts out marketing about using wind/ solar/ alternative methods to generate power to save the environment and save costs . savings they can pass on to the community! then send out notices every january about necessary rate hikes due to rising production costs. assholes.

 

[OrganizedChaos]

tax revenue from a property thats unlikely to put any drain on city services? sounds like a benefit to me.

 

[FoBoT]

hey OrganizedChaos, is your avatar borked?

 

[OrganizedChaos]

Originally posted by: FoBoT
hey OrganizedChaos, is your avatar borked?

turned it off, going to start a trend.

 

[So]

Originally posted by: hanoverphist
ah, i see. if its like here, the utility co puts out marketing about using wind/ solar/ alternative methods to generate power to save the environment and save costs . savings they can pass on to the community! then send out notices every january about necessary rate hikes due to rising production costs. assholes.

Wind turbines don't actually offset the need to build other power plants, and give minimal return on investment. Utilities are legally obligated to build them, and also must keep the lights on while the wind isn't blowing (most of the time in a lot of places), using costly natural gas fueled plants that still have a rising energy cost.

 

[HardcoreRobot]

it slows down the wind, which makes the weather late. hence 70+ degrees in DC in january

 

[Epic Fail]

The employees building and maintaining the turbines will contribute a little to the local economy.

 

[SampSon]

Not sure. My area has recently invested heavily into wind turbine farms in various areas.
The areas they have put these windmills in were not being used for much at all, so I don't see it as a bad thing.
Ironic thing is that I live in an area that has the best source for natural power generation, niagara falls.

If anyone would like to post some actual figures for windwill power generation that would be cool.

 

[dudeman007]

Originally posted by: edro
They chop up birds, so probably a pile of dead birds.

hahaha

 

[mrSHEiK124]

Originally posted by: HardcoreRobot
it slows down the wind, which makes the weather late. hence 70+ degrees in DC in january

:laugh:
I almost woke up my roommate laughing at that.

 

[PowerEngineer]

Originally posted by: So

Originally posted by: hanoverphist
ah, i see. if its like here, the utility co puts out marketing about using wind/ solar/ alternative methods to generate power to save the environment and save costs . savings they can pass on to the community! then send out notices every january about necessary rate hikes due to rising production costs. assholes.

Wind turbines don't actually offset the need to build other power plants, and give minimal return on investment. Utilities are legally obligated to build them, and also must keep the lights on while the wind isn't blowing (most of the time in a lot of places), using costly natural gas fueled plants that still have a rising energy cost.

Yes, "So" very correct. :thumbsup:

And anyone who's under the impression that wind power "saves costs" is the real... well... what hanoverphist said. :laugh:

The feds wouldn't have to hand out tax credits and the states wouldn't have to mandate renewable energy targets if renewables like wind power were actually the cheapest alternative for generating electricity. The "fuel" may be free, but the cost of building a wind turbine is very high for the energy it produces. If you want to "save the planet" with today's renewable technologies (which I agree is a reasonable thing to do!), then you will have to be ready to pay for it (through higher taxes or deficit spending to offset tax breaks and through higher utility rates to cover the higher $/Mw cost [even after tax breaks] of renewable generation).

Many utilities are setting up "green" energy options for their customers that allow them to sign up to receive electricity from renewable generation. The "green" energy rate is invariably higher than the standard electricity rate. The people who sign up for "green" programs understand that they're making an investment for the future by volunteering to pay more.

So, to the OP's question, the community benefit is likely limited to "green" pride.

 

[SampSon]

I can't wait until this "being green" fad is played out.
Along with organic food.