Small Wind Turbines Towers [RE-wrenches]

[David Blecker]

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I agree.  We can't avoid the bird issue.  But it sure gets my goat (do 
turbines kill goats too??) that we have to answer ALL these issues while 
the utilities continue to operate and build coal and nuclear plants and 
they get away with dismissing the environmental impacts with a wave of the 
hand.

As Matt pointed out, homeowners don't think twice about their (fill in the 
blank) windows, cats, SUV, cell phone, hot tub, etc, but get all riled up 
about birds.  I approach this as gently as I can with customers and explain 
that as long as we live in an electrified society and want the benefits of 
such, there are tradeoffs to make and one of the tradeoffs is accepting 
local and small (and often controllable) micro-environmental impacts such 
as aesthetics, birds, EMI in order to reduce the large macro-environmental 
destruction associated with central station generation and long distance 
power transmission.  Then I slip some demoral in their latte and get them 
to sign a contract.

It occurs to me that this would all be easier if there were no people 
involved.  <grin>

David


At 01:02 PM 12/6/2002, you wrote:
>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

----------------------------------------------------------
David Blecker, P.E., Director
Seventh Generation Energy Systems
608-424-1870 (ph)  424-1810 (fax)

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