Small Wind Turbines Towers [RE-wrenches]

[matthew tritt]

Good figures David!

Many of the potential wind customers I have seem to be less concerned about
their picture windows and house full of cats than possible problems from a
small turbine. I always tell them just what you listed in your reply (but I
didn't know so many died from car hits), the purpose is to see the
technology expand, not contract, right?

I can tell you that I have seen bird accidents involving small turbines
resulting in the destruction of the bird and the turbine rotor. I have seen
guy wire hits as well. This is not made-up stuff. Customers ask about this
kind of thing all the time; we all know this. Having a really good "question
and answer" booklet for them would be a very useful tool for people like us
I think. Ignoring the issue or dismissing it out-of-hand doesn't work for
me.

Matt
----- Original Message -----
From: "David Blecker" <blecker at seventhgenergy.org>
To: <RE-wrenches at topica.com>
Sent: Friday, December 06, 2002 10:42 AM
Subject: Re: Small Wind Turbines Towers [RE-wrenches]


> Avian mortality is one of the biggest red-herring issues thrown up as an
> obstacle to siting small wind systems!!!  Do birds die from running into
> turbine blades and towers and guy wires?  Yes.  But let's consider the
fact
> that birds die all the time.  To wit....
>
> Communication towers (TV, radio and cell) kill as many as 40-50 million
> birds per year
> Windows - not the operating system: 100 million to 1 billion per year
> Electric power lines:  150 million per year
> Cars:  60-80 million per year
> Muffy the house cat:  > 100 million per year
>
> Furthermore, I recall reading several years ago that it would take 867
> years of wind turbine operations at Altamont Pass in order to equal the
> number of birds murdered by the 11 million gallons of oil spilled by the
> Exxon Valdez.
>
> Residential size turbines and towers do not pose a significant risk to
> birds. Period. The towers are too short to interfere with normal avian
> activity.  Migratory flight altitudes are much higher than the towers we
> put up.  Song birds and most raptors don't fly at night.  Fog and storms
do
> increase the risk factors but again, the numbers are so small as to be
> laughable were it not for the hysteria of "bird-lovers" who we typically
> find are the cranky neighbors of a proposed wind system.
>
> Utility-scale wind farms are another story.  For those of you who haven't
> seen it, the National Wind Coordination Council has prepare several good
> documents on wind farm siting and bird issues.  See
> http://www.nationalwind.org/
>
> David
>
>
> At 12:00 PM 12/6/2002, you wrote:
> >My long-term info from "a major windfarm" indicates very few actual blade
> >strikes. Most hits are involving guy wires on anemometer towers and the
old,
> >guyed turbine towers. Like it or not, guy wires, because they are
virtually
> >invisible at dusk and in fog, contribute greatly to the problem. Birds do
> >not hit monopole towers.
> >
> >Matt
> >----- Original Message -----
> >From: "Michael Welch, Home Power" <michael.welch at homepower.com>
> >To: <RE-wrenches at topica.com>
> >Sent: Friday, December 06, 2002 9:50 AM
> >Subject: Re: Small Wind Turbines Towers [RE-wrenches]
> >
> >
> > > matthew tritt wrote at 09:05 AM 12/06/2002 -0800:
> > >
> > > >1. Bird kills. Guy wires are responsible for at least as many bird
kills
> >as
> > > >rotor blades, most probably many more. The wires become invisible to
most
> > > >birds in heavy fog.
> > >
> > > I did some looking at this issue awhile back and discovered it is the
> >towers that birds run into. And it did not matter what the tower was
doing,
> >whether it was for a wind machine or antenna.
> > >
> > > We in the industry need to be careful not to perpetuate the bird in
the
> >blender myth.
> > >
> > > Michael Welch
> > >
> > > ------------------------
> > > "The California crunch really is the result of not enough
power-generating
> >plants and then not enough power to power the power of generating
plants."
> > > Resident George "Dubya" Bush
> > >
> > > Michael Welch, michael.welch at homepower.com
> > >      Home Power magazine
> > >      www.homepower.com
> > >      To reach me: 707-822-7884
> > >      To reach Home Power: 800-707-6585
> > >
> > > - - - -
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> > >
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> >
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>
> ----------------------------------------------------------
> David Blecker, P.E., Director
> Seventh Generation Energy Systems
> 608-424-1870 (ph)  424-1810 (fax)
> --
> [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
>
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