In rural New York, windmills can bring whiff of corruption

The facts about the impact of wind turbines have not all been or discovered. Nature is sometimes a subtle foe.
we try to harness water energy and we end up with worse damage and loss of life from flooding. We have not had these installed in our wind enviroment long enough to see the effects. There may be places where these are feasible without impact. On the Tug hill plateau, where snow fall is already extreme, the impact of removing the wind's energy so suddenly may make the whole area uninhabitable in winter months, if too many of these windmills are erected. The increased snow melt may have consequences with spring melt run off. The lack of wind energy to drive the air born snow deeper into the Adirondacks may cause a drought on up the slopes and cause more environmental change. nature is a subtle, fickle, mistress and our ingnorance about her has been revealed numerous times.

Man, you think windmills are bad, you should see the glare off my solar panels...

let's make something of america huh? let's take all the inmates in the us and have them run on electricity generating machines (bike, rowing or running). We all know the inmates love exercise and we could pay them a scant $.50/hr. We wouldn't even have to worry about days without wind. pretty soon criminals could power the world in a good way.

Jubal, I think storage batteries are the answer for total independence. I'd like to have the windmill for the average house with a few solar panels, and backup storage batteries. To start it appears the windmill produces the most power for the money. I want solar panels to make sure there is something producing power. I'm still reading and don't pretend to understand everything yet. It looks very promising.

They shouldn't see it like that but I can understand their concerns. Of coarse windmills will be noisy but it'll be worth it in the long run.

There's a grass roots opposition to wind energy based on the "not in my backyard" everyone for themselves principle. I'd take a windmill over a nuclear plant any day.

I have a question about the windmills.

At our country home there are times when the wind dies down to where it is almost imperceptible, what do you do when that happens? Where do you get your energy from?

Do you have a dual or tri system that can switch from photovoltaics to wind to the grid depending on which is producing?

If somebody knows the answer or an answer (for there are probably several and not all of them will agree.)

An eyesore? Noisy? Oh, please. Can someone please recycle this guy's verbal trash ?...

They are very noisy but I have found most towns and cities have placed them outside the townor city away from the general population. The noise is a big swoosh every half second or so with short or long intervals in between depending on the wind velocity. It could be nerve wracking to some people. I know from what I have seen these generators are placed away from living areas, at least out of earshot. They generate about 50 or 60 decibels of sound. A television is normally around 55 decibels. They are here to stay if we are smart so I hope people will use common sense and realize these generators are necessary if we are serious about cleaning up our planet and using nature the way it was meant to benefit mankind.

Eyesore? I live near a coal plant. Try that on the eyes! Gimme a break. What a bunch of whiners.

Better to look at a clean efficient windmill, than a cancer causing soot spewing coal plant.

http://www.renewableenergyworld.com/rea/news/infocus/story?id=53342

Wind energy is on the rise in the US. So I am sure certain "interests" will be looking for anything to try to discredit it. Personally, I find the windmills beautiful, and there are enhancements that can be made to reduce noise on them. And as to the bullying about them, I think we do also need to be careful as we research just what companies may be behind them...

eyesore? what gives to even say we need them everywhere,
Also in Denmark they found out feather like brissles silences them

I do not think windmills are an eyesore at all!! They look futuristic and cool in my opinion.
My enjoyment of them comes from knowing what good they are doing! I was not aware of the noise factor; however, I do agree with a previous poster that I would rather find ways to deal with a noise issue than continue our oil dependancy!!

I just don't think there is enough data to determine what is an acceptable level of noise and what isn't. This is a lot like beauty, it is not quantifiable in terms of scientific data. It is a matter of opinion, belief and tolerance.

I have lived in Los Angeles, Eugene and Florence Oregon.

Los Angeles has millions of people and is an extremely noisy town with all the freeways, construction, etc.

Eugene has nearly a hundren thousand people and it is not nearly as noisy as Los Angeles, There is still trafic but it is a ride in the park in comparison to the Santa Monica freeway.

Florence on the other hand has nearly 10,000 people and where my father lives, he is out in the country, that place is so quiet that you can hear your heartbeat when you lay down to go to bed. I can hear the animals, birds, insects, and wind all surrounding his home. Usually I can hear this at night, during the day there is a lot more sound vibrations so unless you really concentrate you can't make out the individual sounds.

Sometimes the birds come en masse and you will hear a cacouphany of tweets or caaws' near an open window and it can be quite loud. Also there are bats that have taken up residence in his old fireplace chimney and you can sometimes hear them make their chirping sounds as they prepare to venture out to eat when the sun goes down.

I definetly believe that we need to have laws against certain sound levels and frequencies, but who and when can research into this move forward to determine what is reasonable and enforceable with regard to Acoustic polution.

Looks to me like entrenched interests are making stuff up...again. The upside of wind turbines far outweigh any downsides. I live in an area with lots of hydro-electric power, which may be considered green, but definitely has downsides with regards to our salmon streams, which hurts fisheries and tourism.

If you want to push the "Windmill Movement" forward, you may have to seriously consider buying some stock.

CLNE or Clean Energy Fuels Corporation on NASDAQ

This is the way America works...Invest! Incidentally, in 1980 you could have purchased Exxon Mobil ( XOM ) for $5 a share...You could have sold it for $75-$90 a share recently...Did I buy 1000 shares in 1980? Unfortunately, NO!

Check out CLNE on BigCharts.com--a new company-an interesting owner-thirty years from now you can thank me-I hope!

I have no affiliation with this corporation except I think it might be OK...and that means absolutely nothing..isn't investing fun?

Its all about going "green". And I ain't talking about saving the planet either.

Ahh the sweet smell of corruption... Makes me want to puke.

Shouldn't be surprised that in a capitalist economy that personal freedom goes out the door when there's money to be made. But now it's in the name of 'saving the planet'. Sorry, but a few windmills placed in some poor folks back yard are intended to make a profit...and not profit for those with them in their backyard. Just as with incinerators a few decades ago (to handle all that garbage), the home owners of the area will be stuck with these erections..and their maintanence, long after those that profited are gone.

That is it! I want a honest opinion from people that live near by these wind mills. I am just followed a legal case from a swimming pool pump and other one about a hot tub pump. It is so great and you can relax your body into it but during the night the humming vibration woke me up as sound travels differently in different types of weather and times. Does any body wants of be vibrated for hours and hours, days and days to insanity? Raise your hand!

Eyesore? Says who?

I think they are beautiful!

I'm not familiar with the noise problem. I've never been bothered.

Regulation is inevitable in this fledgeling industry. We just have to be precautious that it doesn't get legislated out of existance. As for as the noise and unsightly appearance, there will probably have to be some sacrifice. Cheaper clean sustainable energy should help salve some bruised feelings. MarilynnMurry's suggestion is one good possible alternative. As we adjust things seem to create their own solutions.

Just sounds like fossil fuel/nuclear energy monopoly standard business operating procedure to me---just trying to move into renewable energy.

At least with a wind generator that causes a problem, it can be taken down and erected somewhere else with a minimum of work and expense. Unlike a coal or nuclear power plant. And the earth, water shed, and atmosphere are not destroyed in the process.

I think complaints need to be investigated by an impartial agency that will base findings on verifiable, objective facts----how MUCH noise is it making? How many birds are killed---if any?

I can see how the noise might bother people, but as for appearance they are not so bad..... Im sure there is some kind of compromise. Upstate NY has alot of open land.

My advice is buy your own small quiet windmill to power your own house. If we all did there would be less need for the big ones. I don't want nuclear or coal power plants. I intend to find a way to afford to produce my own power so I can complain with a clear conscience. Personally I think they are attractive. Don't know about the noise?

I find them rather beautiful, and I prefer their noise to global warming. :)

The NIMBYs will always be the voices of grumpy dissent, but it is disappointing to hear about the shady business practices going on. I think these people are using their 'green credentials' to be bullies, which is making the rest of the industry look bad.