Cape Cod community considers taking down wind turbines after illness, noise

[TechMan]

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2013/02/26/cape-cod-community-considers-taking-down-wind-turbines-after-illness-noise/?test=latestnews

Going green has a price as well.  Two wind turbines went up in Falmouth, Mass. (Cape Cod.)  Nearby neighbors are reporting suffering headaches, dizziness and sleep deprivation and often leave their property to get away from it.  It cost $10 million to put both turbines up and it will now cost $5 million - $15 million to take down.  Because of the complaints of nearby neighbors, the town is running them only from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. and is operating them at a loss.

[HankB]

. . . It cost $10 million to put both turbines up and it will now cost $5 million - $15 million to take down.

Spending the money was the whole point.

That money isn't literally flushed down the toilet or torched on a bonfire, the important thing to remember is that it ends up in someone's pocket. Whether that "someone" is one of the politicians who approved this, a member of their extended family, a campaign contributor, or someone who in the future may (wink, wink) need a consultant with government budget experience, someone got paid.

In Austin, TX, the power utility (at the behest of the Austin City Clowncil) invested many millions in a "biomass" plant. The electricity was always going to be considerably more expensive than from a natural gas plant, but burning sawdust was supposed to be "green" so the critics - many critics - were ignored.      Well, guess what - burning wood isn't so "green" after all, and the difference in price was even more than anticipated. (Gee, who could've seen that coming?) And as a result, money spent, no power.

Here's just one of the many local stories dealing with it:  http://www.statesman.com/news/news/wood-waste-plant-meant-to-provide-austin-with-rene/nWN5N/

But someone got paid. Which, again, was the whole point.

[AZRedhawk44]

What Hank said, plus...


... sounds like a rich person disease/problem.

People near other magneto-turbine generating stations don't get their feng shui all un-chi'ed by them.  Palm Springs, Kingman, Boulder dam, whatever.  Folks are fine.  Just Cape Cod socialites.

[Boomhauer]

What Hank said, plus...


... sounds like a rich person disease/problem.

People near other magneto-turbine generating stations don't get their feng shui all un-chi'ed by them.  Palm Springs, Kingman, Boulder dam, whatever.  Folks are fine.  Just Cape Cod socialites.

Its not the 'lectricity its the noise of the giant prop (and possibly its gearbox). I can definitely see it causing a problem, even beyond simply loud noise

[charby]

Its not the 'lectricity its the noise of the giant prop (and possibly its gearbox). I can definitely see it causing a problem, even beyond simply loud noise

They are very noisy.

[bedlamite]

There is a 65 MW wind farm about 40 miles west of where I live. I've ridden through there many times on my bike, and stopped a few times. the noise of the wind blowing is louder than anything coming from the turbines.

The fact that they are a scam not withstanding, this is NIMBY at it it's finest.

[Boomhauer]

They are very noisy.

I suspected so. Knowing how aircraft props are very noisy and can create se strange as hell effects depending on blade shape, RPM, amd so forth I could only imagine what a giant one could sound/feel like

[charby]

There is a 65 MW wind farm about 40 miles west of where I live. I've ridden through there many times on my bike, and stopped a few times. the noise of the wind blowing is louder than anything coming from the turbines.

The fact that they are a scam not withstanding, this is NIMBY at it it's finest.

Go stand right by one. It is a rythmic whosh, pause, whosh, pause, etc.

[AZRedhawk44]

There is a 65 MW wind farm about 40 miles west of where I live. I've ridden through there many times on my bike, and stopped a few times. the noise of the wind blowing is louder than anything coming from the turbines.

The fact that they are a scam not withstanding, this is NIMBY at it it's finest.

There's a decent sized windmill farm in Kingman, AZ.  I teach Appleseeds there a couple times a year.  Windmills within sight of the range.

I can't hear 'em at all.

Palm Springs folks ain't exactly known for being low brow trailer trash, and they have a giant wind mill farm on the edge of town.  No sound problems there, either.


These windmills aren't in anyone's backyard.  They are located on the same physical site as a former waste water management station.  Normally not a lot of residential proximity to one of those.

[grampster]

Hey, hey!!  It's green man.  Shut up, racists.

[geronimotwo]

to think, 10-15 million to take them down.  anyone interested in renting a couple of cranes?

[roo_ster]

to think, 10-15 million to take them down.  anyone interested in renting a couple of cranes?

Cranes?  We don't need no stinking cranes.  Detcord or C4 around the base legs on a windy day and let them bring themselves down.

Hey, hey!!  It's green man.  Shut up, racists.

You jest, but I see a lot of that level of "reasoning" on the local alt-news rag. 

[AJ Dual]

The discount turbine could be of some use to a well-heeled prepper... OTOH, I think such a thing standing up that high would be a bit of an OPSEC/PERSEC failure.

The horizontal "egg beater" style of turbines that sit closer to the ground are probably much better, and provide less visual indication to the hordes "there be power". (food, water, supplies... etc.)

[makattak]

Cranes?  We don't need no stinking cranes.  Detcord or C4 around the base legs on a windy day and let them bring themselves down.

You jest, but I see a lot of that level of "reasoning" on the local alt-news rag. 

Well, there is a water treatment plant and residential housing within 400 yards. I'd think we might need a bit more care than that.

Also, I've seen no indication as to the SIZE of these turbines. I know the ones near my parents in Illinois are MASSIVE. I could surmise it might be a little expensive to dismantle those. (But HALF the cost of construction? Doubting that.)

[charby]

There's a decent sized windmill farm in Kingman, AZ.  I teach Appleseeds there a couple times a year.  Windmills within sight of the range.

I can't hear 'em at all.

Palm Springs folks ain't exactly known for being low brow trailer trash, and they have a giant wind mill farm on the edge of town.  No sound problems there, either.


These windmills aren't in anyone's backyard.  They are located on the same physical site as a former waste water management station.  Normally not a lot of residential proximity to one of those.

You need to get fairly close to them to hear them. Also there are different models and manufacturers of windmills. The ones near where I live definitely make noise.

[vaskidmark]

Now that John Kerry is making up names of countries to get insulted by the USA, we can move those windmills over to his place.  Teh-reeza won't mind, as she's a big supporter of "green" - even has ketchup that color.

stay safe.

[AJ Dual]

Well, there is a water treatment plant and residential housing within 400 yards. I'd think we might need a bit more care than that.

Also, I've seen no indication as to the SIZE of these turbines. I know the ones near my parents in Illinois are MASSIVE. I could surmise it might be a little expensive to dismantle those. (But HALF the cost of construction? Doubting that.)

I'd guess that unless you're looking to explosively demolish them, or otherwise engage in some kind of destructive removal, the number of companies with the needed skills and gear is limited, and it's a bit more of a "sellers market" for those kind of services.

Looking at all the various corporatist/green scams that have been going on for the past decade or more, my days of not thinking about how to get into something similar myself are coming to a middle. Unfortunately, without any political connections, or minority status, I can't think of any ways to go about it.

[roo_ster]

Well, there is a water treatment plant and residential housing within 400 yards. I'd think we might need a bit more care than that.

Also, I've seen no indication as to the SIZE of these turbines. I know the ones near my parents in Illinois are MASSIVE. I could surmise it might be a little expensive to dismantle those. (But HALF the cost of construction? Doubting that.)

400yds = 1200feet.  Not sure how tall they are.

Explosives cutting the supports is likely the safest demo possible.  Dis-assembly and/or manually cutting supports includes more risk.

OK, looking into wind turbine heights brings these, biggest I could find images of:


http://www.wind-watch.org/faq-size.php

How big is a wind turbine?

Industrial wind turbines are a lot bigger than ones you might see in a schoolyard or behind someone’s house.

The widely used GE 1.5-megawatt model, for example, consists of 116-ft blades atop a 212-ft tower for a total height of 328 feet. The blades sweep a vertical airspace of just under an acre.

The 1.8-megawatt Vestas V90 from Denmark has 148-ft blades (sweeping more than 1.5 acres) on a 262-ft tower, totaling 410 feet.

Another model being seen more in the U.S. is the 2-megawatt Gamesa G87 from Spain, with 143-ft blades (just under 1.5 acres) on a 256-ft tower, totaling 399 feet.

Many existing models and new ones being introduced reach well over 400 feet high.

If they are that ^^^ big, the Splodey Option might not be practical.

[Hawkmoon]

Just wait for a breezy day and hit the auto-destruct button: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CqEccgR0q-o

[Boomhauer]

You know they put them up with cranes so they take them down with cranes...

[never_retreat]

I road up to a whole field of the in upstate NY. We were ridding snowmobiles. I did not hear the wosh wosh until the engine was off and my helmet was removed. I was standing directly under the blades. You could not even get closer. I don't by the noise bs.

[freakazoid]

I had walked right out to one in a field. Simply made a quite woosh woosh sound. Kind of pleasant actually from what I remember.

[Bigjake]

Palm Springs folks ain't exactly known for being low brow trailer trash, and they have a giant wind mill farm on the edge of town.  No sound problems there, either.

I've driven past those ones more times than I can count,  even pulled over to get a few pics when they were still a novelty to me.  Couldn't hear em'.

[Scout26]

I'd guess that unless you're looking to explosively demolish them, or otherwise engage in some kind of destructive removal, the number of companies with the needed skills and gear is limited, and it's a bit more of a "sellers market" for those kind of services.

Looking at all the various corporatist/green scams that have been going on for the past decade or more, my days of not thinking about how to get into something similar myself are coming to a middle. Unfortunately, without any political connections, or minority status, I can't think of any ways to go about it.

You're married, put the company in her name.