ALTERNATE ENERGY: Wind: Forceful, invisible, clean and abundant

Wind turbines

Mighty friend that is mine,
can you give me a sign?
He’ll leave nothing but only to hear him
— “Lonely Wind,” Kansas, 1974


If anything can shudder the imagination, it is the force of something that you can’t see. Like the wind.
Contrary to what one might think, wind is predicable — not minute by minute but month to month. Years ago sea captains relied on the winds. They set sail only when the wind conditions were right. They had no GPS; they were guided by the stars and the wind. Seafaring was our first attempt at harnessing the wind’s energy. Over 5,000 years ago, sails were first used on the Nile River and there is some evidence that it was used by the Chinese then, too. The wind turbine for grinding grain first was used in Persia about 3,500 years later. Sir Earnest Shackleton used a windmill on his ship, the Endurance, for electricity on his historical trip to the South Pole.
Today, wind is harnessed to produce electricity. Wind towers now exist with a height of over 500 feet and with 600-foot diameter propellers. Wind towers produce up to 15 megawatts of power. Theoretically, to power the United States entirely by wind, we would need an elaborate grid system and about 4 million wind turbines running 24 hours daily at 10% capacity. But it is possible!
Wind flows in predicable patterns throughout the world. It shapes the seasons, spreading seeds and pollen to spawn growth. It carries the smells that certain animals use to find mates. It ensures the air maintains its “Goldilocks’” composition, a composition that is necessary for all living things. Wind can be tapped for energy with hardly any effect except for too many wind turbines in one area (but that’s a problem for engineers to correct.)
The best place to mount a wind turbine is in the ocean not more than three miles out from shore. The constant change of temperature morning, noon and night creates the winds needed by these turbines. Wind is the result of temperature differentials. Nature has this need to equal everything out and to stabilize the temperature, so the air masses battle it out.
Wind turbine technology also is improving. New materials make the longer propellers possible. These wind turbines can produce tip-speeds that will soon exceed the sound barrier.
Wind turbines also are simple. By that, I mean their engines are devices that can capture the movement of air and convert that to a rotary motion. The rotary motion then drives a generator. There are no dangerous boiler pressures, no toxic fuels, no radiological material used — they’re not likely to be terrorist threats but just safe, clean power.

So why isn’t the obvious being done?
Home units are possible but unless you are zone 6 or higher, it’s probably not worth the expense and effort.
Wind turbines have a maintenance issue that solar does not. They must be cleaned regularly, lubricated, checked for cracks and any structural compromise. Because they are a power generating station at least 300 feet above the ground, leverage on such a structure is immense. They do, on occasion, catch on fire if the lubricants leak, but this is extremely rare. Other than damage to the turbine the effects of the fire are minimal, and the fire will burn itself out. It is not a worthy terrorist target as they are generally far from civilization with virtually no collateral damage possible, and repairs can be accomplished in short time.
What about the birds?
Yes, wind turbines do, on occasion, kill birds. But they can be located out of the path of migratory birds and are not a major killer of birds. The number one killer of birds are tall stationary buildings. And Fluffy, that cute little kitty that sits in your window space, is a not-too-distant No. 2 in the bird killing category. Some turbines now have bird perches that allow migratory birds to take a break on their long flights, which aids their survival.

What about the noise?
Unless you live near a wind turbine, and unless you align yourself with the path that the noise emanates from, wind turbines, are fairly quiet. You have to be still without a whisper of wind in your ear and you can hear the turbines. Since they are wind turbines, the ambient noise is often masked by the very wind that is making the turbines spin in the first place. Can the tip-speed break the sound barrier? Theoretically, yes but they are “feathered” when the speed gets to high. Tip-speeds do reach around 600 mph before the propellers are feathered.
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What about the view?
Wind turbines are best positioned near the shoreline of coastal areas, but these areas are also the most picturesque as well. So what to do? Well if we have 4 million wind turbines to install, some people will object. It took over 10 years for the Nantucket Sound area, popular with many celebrities, to have wind turbines installed. They were the NIMBYs, the “Not In My Back Yard” group.
No doubt wind turbines are volumetric. They are colossal structures of amazing architectural engineering and minimal environmental footprint. That is my view. The old adage: “Beauty is in the eye of the beholder” must be a beauty beset by insight and reason.

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