Would you live beside a Wind Turbine?

Stovepipe · 27-05-2021 09:59PM

burning torches. I love them. Always at hand in the movies,easy to light, easy to make and always give off a great amount of light and can be used as a weapon. What's not to love?

Muahahaha · 28-05-2021 12:13AM

I dont mind the look of them but wouldnt live near one either. I think the flicker from them when the sun is getting low would drive me demented. Even if it only lasts an hour as the sun moves past it Id still have to leave the room and head to a north facing one.

Id also question why we need so many on land when the wind industry themselves are saying you can use much bigger turbines at sea that give way more bang for buck than land based ones. The UK are currently building the worlds biggest off shore wind farm called Dogger Bank https://doggerbank.com/ It is 130kms off the north west coast so well out of view. It will be operational in two years and will number only 300 turbines but the span on the blades is huge at 220 metres, meaning they are so big that just 300 turbines will be able to power 6 million homes. Meanwhile here onshore we already have 300+ wind farms with multiple turbines in each one.

I think we've got wind power all wrong, mainly because of the Greens pushing it with government incentives galore for onshore wind farm operators when the technology was too new and too expensive. Waiting for off shore technology to develop (which it now has) was the better option. Instead we've littered the countryside with thousands of turbines when it could have all been done off shore with just a couple of hundred turbines.

Markcheese · 28-05-2021 12:23AM

In terms of bang for your buck - on land is way way more cost effective , and that's with buying or leasing the land - dealing with planning and modeling - dealing with objections and delays it's still cheaper -
But the good news is that the price of offshore is dropping - places like dogger bank in the north sea are shallow - allowing you to anchor a turbine directly on to the sea-bed - we have a little of that off the east coast- but not at the scale of the north sea -
The next big advance is floating offshore - turbines on huge floating platforms , there's a huge push on it in the Celtic sea , but it'll take years to get the finances and approvals in place, and then construct them - and it's not going to be cheap ..

Swindled · 28-05-2021 12:28AM

The worst as well as the noise and look of them would the be the blade shadows constantly moving across your garden and rooms, and also the strobe effect if the sun was low enough. Would I live near one, no. Thousands of tons of concrete goes into the foundations alone, they are far from environmentally friendly.

appledrop · 28-05-2021 12:36AM

inforfun wrote: »

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-PTzq_vRe1U

The sound is bad enough but this would drive me insane.

I would genuinely go insane with that flickering. I haven't lived near one so don't know if sound would bother me but guessing it would.

I used to visit a family that lived beside ESB sub station and I could here the buzz inside the house and it would give me awful headaches until I left. Other people didn't notice it as much but I did.

On other hand I live near airport and planes taking off doesnt bother me in slightest, but that's because they are not a contionus non stop sound like a fridge buzzing etc.

Junkyard Tom · 28-05-2021 01:00AM

How much do they cost to run when the wind isn't blowing?

bb1234567 · 28-05-2021 01:23AM

Really don't get the fuss. I am completely indifferent to them, I don't think they look good or bad . They're just there. I actually think it looks cool seeing them in super remote areas ,like our science and human creation has sort of conquered nature or just managed to exist within it and use it. I'd put one in my back garden if it meant free power. As long as it wasn't like so noisy I couldn't sleep or something.

28-05-2021 02:43AM

inforfun wrote: »

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-PTzq_vRe1U

The sound is bad enough but this would drive me insane.

I like how they look and noise would probably be fine. But that video is horrific. I could barely stand watching it. Just waiting for the next shadow is all you can think about it. Heavy construction outside would be preferable because you can at least cover your ears. You can't cover your eyes.

Like you could not add that to a scene in a TV show or movie without it being the main plot point. It would be absurd for characters to not notice it.

Rubberchikken · 28-05-2021 02:56AM

Definitely, yes. I'd take living beside a whole farm of them over one painful neighbour any day.

From our garden we can see a fair amount of them in the distance. I've seen them up close and they're very impressive.
Got to hand it to whoever came up with them.

snoopy84 · 28-05-2021 04:09AM

First time we drove up by the wind farm in Galway I felt so queasy and my little one vomited all over the car. We started taking walks up there and eventually realized we never hear any birds, was a bit sad really. There is a couple of small ones outside a nearby business and we did spot a dead bird under one a couple of weeks ago.

ILoveYourVibes · 28-05-2021 06:28AM

Nope.

Banana Republic 1 · 28-05-2021 08:15AM

Stovepipe wrote: »

burning torches. I love them. Always at hand in the movies,easy to light, easy to make and always give off a great amount of light and can be used as a weapon. What's not to love?

The fumes from burning give you cancer!

Banana Republic 1 · 28-05-2021 08:19AM

Muahahaha wrote: »

I dont mind the look of them but wouldnt live near one either. I think the flicker from them when the sun is getting low would drive me demented. Even if it only lasts an hour as the sun moves past it Id still have to leave the room and head to a north facing one.

Id also question why we need so many on land when the wind industry themselves are saying you can use much bigger turbines at sea that give way more bang for buck than land based ones. The UK are currently building the worlds biggest off shore wind farm called Dogger Bank https://doggerbank.com/ It is 130kms off the north west coast so well out of view. It will be operational in two years and will number only 300 turbines but the span on the blades is huge at 220 metres, meaning they are so big that just 300 turbines will be able to power 6 million homes. Meanwhile here onshore we already have 300+ wind farms with multiple turbines in each one.

I think we've got wind power all wrong, mainly because of the Greens pushing it with government incentives galore for onshore wind farm operators when the technology was too new and too expensive. Waiting for off shore technology to develop (which it now has) was the better option. Instead we've littered the countryside with thousands of turbines when it could have all been done off shore with just a couple of hundred turbines.

As apposed to the $500 billion subsidies the fossil fuel industry get world wide every year.

Cookie_Monster · 28-05-2021 08:22AM

I wish they would paint them in colours other than white. Multi coloured wind farms would be amazing

Banana Republic 1 · 28-05-2021 08:22AM

Swindled wrote: »

The worst as well as the noise and look of them would the be the blade shadows constantly moving across your garden and rooms, and also the strobe effect if the sun was low enough. Would I live near one, no. Thousands of tons of concrete goes into the foundations alone, they are far from environmentally friendly.

I looked at one one day, burned the eyes clean out of my head that’s why I have to dictate this post.

Capt'n Midnight · 28-05-2021 12:16PM

A Lamb Named Miltiades! wrote: »

Very well, but what if someone is wrong on the internet?

They must be harangued, pursued, chased into the small hours for absolutely no material benefit. This requires electricity, absolute terawatts of the stuff to power boards alone.

Amen brother.

Capt'n Midnight · 28-05-2021 12:23PM

Cookie_Monster wrote: »

I wish they would paint them in colours other than white. Multi coloured wind farms would be amazing

They should paint a psychedelic spiral pattern and work on the infra-sonics ?

listen to my voice ... you are feeling sleepy ... you love wind turbines ...

Gregor Samsa · 28-05-2021 12:33PM

Cookie_Monster wrote: »

I wish they would paint them in colours other than white. Multi coloured wind farms would be amazing

Seemingly they're painted white to make them less obtrusive from the ground, more visible from the air, and to increase the lifespan of the components by reflecting UV light that could cause heat, expansion and cracking.

https://interestingengineering.com/why-are-wind-turbines-painted-white

Muahahaha · 28-05-2021 12:56PM

Markcheese wrote: »

In terms of bang for your buck - on land is way way more cost effective , and that's with buying or leasing the land - dealing with planning and modeling - dealing with objections and delays it's still cheaper -
But the good news is that the price of offshore is dropping - places like dogger bank in the north sea are shallow - allowing you to anchor a turbine directly on to the sea-bed - we have a little of that off the east coast- but not at the scale of the north sea -
The next big advance is floating offshore - turbines on huge floating platforms , there's a huge push on it in the Celtic sea , but it'll take years to get the finances and approvals in place, and then construct them - and it's not going to be cheap ..

Yeah offshore wind definitely seems to be the future. The Dogger Bank site in the North Sea uses water that is 40-60 metres deep to plant the turbines in the sea bed. Its a pretty amazing project which will deliver power to 6 million homes using less than 300 offshore turbines.

I wonder why we didnt hold off and do similar here. There are over 300+ wind farms in Ireland now with thousands of turbines all spread out across hills and mountains across the country. Whereas with offshore you could generate enough wind power for the whole country with much fewer turbines and in fewer locations. Putting it offshore seems a more sensible approach in the long run.

Capt'n Midnight · 28-05-2021 01:02PM

Muahahaha wrote: »

Yeah offshore wind definitely seems to be the future. The Dogger Bank site in the North Sea uses water that is 40-60 metres deep to plant the turbines in the sea bed. Its a pretty amazing project which will deliver power to 6 million homes using less than 300 offshore turbines.

I wonder why we didnt hold off and do similar here. There are over 300+ wind farms in Ireland now with thousands of turbines all spread out across hills and mountains across the country. Whereas with offshore you could generate enough wind power for the whole country with much fewer turbines and in fewer locations. Putting it offshore seems a more sensible approach in the long run.

Offshore turbines have to be stronger than land based ones because of the waves and vibration. And there is the cost of getting the power back to land.

And the cost of providing a platform for the turbine to stand upon.

There's plenty of sand banks and shallows off the east coast. It's just a matter of money and planning permission.

the beer revolu · 28-05-2021 01:20PM

snoopy84 wrote: »

First time we drove up by the wind farm in Galway I felt so queasy and my little one vomited all over the car. We started taking walks up there and eventually realized we never hear any birds, was a bit sad really. There is a couple of small ones outside a nearby business and we did spot a dead bird under one a couple of weeks ago.

I'm going to suggest a slight variation of your story.

You were driving in your car and your little one, suffering from travel sickness, vomited in the car. This, in turn, made you feel queasy.
There were some wind turbines nearby.

Muahahaha · 28-05-2021 01:35PM

Capt'n Midnight wrote: »

Offshore turbines have to be stronger than land based ones because of the waves and vibration. And there is the cost of getting the power back to land.

And the cost of providing a platform for the turbine to stand upon.

There's plenty of sand banks and shallows off the east coast. It's just a matter of money and planning permission.

yeah off shore has its challenges but also seems to have much bigger advantages in terms of just having a few concentrated sites with less turbines but much bigger ones than what are permitted on land. The GE turbines they are using in Dogger Bank have blades 110 metres long and just a half revolution of the blades can power a house for a day. In their case the wind farm is 130kms offshore of the north west coast of England whereas here it can be done just a few kilometres offshore, the Wicklow coast already has some out there and Id imagine we have a good few other suitable locations with water just 40-60m deep.

I wonder in a few years when off shore wind really takes off will we look back and think what were we doing putting thousands of turbines all around the country on land when holding off and putting it out to sea looks like being the better option of the two.

JustAThought · 28-05-2021 03:56PM

Muahahaha wrote: »

yeah off shore has its challenges but also seems to have much bigger advantages in terms of just having a few concentrated sites with less turbines but much bigger ones than what are permitted on land. The GE turbines they are using in Dogger Bank have blades 110 metres long and just a half revolution of the blades can power a house for a day. In their case the wind farm is 130kms offshore of the north west coast of England whereas here it can be done just a few kilometres offshore, the Wicklow coast already has some out there and Id imagine we have a good few other suitable locations with water just 40-60m deep.

I wonder in a few years when off shore wind really takes off will we look back and think what were we doing putting thousands of turbines all around the country on land when holding off and putting it out to sea looks like being the better option of the two.

Sounds impressive but if you look at the livliehoods of all the fishermen destroyed and the following generations of fishing families who will be ‘done’ out of a living by them and the court cases that have been dragging on for DECADES against them you start to get an idea of how fractious it is for all kinds of other reasons.

I remember sailing down by them under a
full moon a few years back - incredible sight and feeling.

The Continental Op · 28-05-2021 04:20PM

JustAThought wrote: »

...

I remember sailing down by them under a
full moon a few years back - incredible sight and feeling.

For some reason my first thought was of a frog in a blender, even though I know the blades don't come anywhere near down low enough.

Banana Republic 1 · 28-05-2021 04:28PM

JustAThought wrote: »

Sounds impressive but if you look at the livliehoods of all the fishermen destroyed and the following generations of fishing families who will be ‘done’ out of a living by them and the court cases that have been dragging on for DECADES against them you start to get an idea of how fractious it is for all kinds of other reasons.

I remember sailing down by them under a
full moon a few years back - incredible sight and feeling.

The fishing trade is destroyed by industrial fishing and The overfishing associated with it, not to mention that the it’s the largest source of plastic waste pollution afflicting the seas.

The stone age didn’t end for the lack of stone.

archer22 · 28-05-2021 05:00PM

freshpopcorn wrote: »

In a strange way I actually find them rather attractive.
My only issue would be noise but in my experience noise can travel funny.

Spot on there, it all depends on the local topography, for example I live in a valley a mile away from wind turbines and at times the noise is a tremendous "whomp, whomp" type sound which you never get used to.

Yet if you are up near them the sound is much more mellow and less disturbing.

YFlyer · 28-05-2021 05:15PM

My problem is that they reduce the number of turbines at night time. Instead of either cutback the power stations output or sell the excess energy for pittances. Or send it to Turlough Hill.

Sooner we get smart meters, the better.

YFlyer · 28-05-2021 05:29PM

[Deleted User] wrote: »

Yes, I would. Same as I would live near a halting site. Oh wait, the latter was deposited on my doorstep by the local council. Nimbyism is alive and well, upper-middle class folk can fend off these "appalling eyesores" with their prestige and it's the regular Joe who is stuck with them.

We had a project funded by a woman in Tipperary to reduce ammonia and methane from cow manure. All in favour in reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Yet she was against wind turbines.

YFlyer · 28-05-2021 05:34PM

Harry Palmr wrote: »

How did such a tall structure get PP in this suburban location?

edit is it the IT turbine you saw?

Vistacon in Limerick have one. It is not functioning most of the time. Must be to receive some green energy certification.

snoopy84 · 30-05-2021 01:14AM

the beer revolu wrote:

You were driving in your car and your little one, suffering from travel sickness, vomited in the car. This, in turn, made you feel queasy. There were some wind turbines nearby.

I felt queasy long before he vomited but to be fair the sight of anything going around in a circle makes me queasy

Would you live beside a Wind Turbine?

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