Windmills for power generation

[goglio704]

Local to me is a place called Windrock mountain. On Windrock mountain are more than a dozen windmills like this for power generation. I often see blades for these monsters on I40. I don't know where they are going, but evidently there are a lot of windmills going up somewhere. I've seen the ones in southern CA, and I know of at least one that looks like an eggbeater in TX. Anybody else with power generation windmills in their area? I've thought about doing it on a small scale and driving the ubiquitous 63 amp Delco alternator(s) coupled to a battery.

[asavage]

For years, the payoff for the capital investment meant that you needed a pretty steady breeze above 8 MPH or somesuch, and not a lot of people have that much where they live.

The Altamont farm was really a sight for me, back in 1985 when I was driving a borrowed Subaru Brat fully loaded and towing a motorcycle trailer with a (BSA Goldstar? Triumph T100? Can't recall) across that pass. Miles of them.

That Altamont (CA) site is the one that gets the bad press for bird kills, I think.

When I travel up 395 toward Stockton, from Riverside area, I often see a hillside of them, couple hundred probably.

[The first time I travelled that highway years ago, I was playing YES 90125, last track "Hearts", conducting it with one hand and tracking the time signature changes, and every time I think of those 395 windmills, now I think of that tune. Like a lot of tunes, I like about half of it. The guitar solo, in particular is really obnoxious, in a heavy-metal kind of way. There's a Queensryche tune, "Silent Lucidity", that has a similar problem, IMO. Hey, it's the Off-Topic forum, right?

(OK, I give in: I'm playing the MP3 of it now; check out ftp://asavage.dyndns.org/temp/09-Hearts.mp3 [07Nov2021 ALS: dead link] the 2:20 transition. And then skip to about 5:30)

No windmills in my area that I know about. I sure like the idea, almost as much as I like the idea of large homeowner PV arrays, but wind is a helluvalot cheaper than PV even now, though the costs keep dropping. Somebody at work today mentioned $2k for 150w, which is pretty damned affordable by '80s stds.

I wish this tech was more affordable. I want a tankless water heater in the worst way but decent ones are terribly expensive, and I am leery of the cheap Pakistani and Chinese ones that are sub-$400. Have you priced a decent-sized Paloma (one of the oldest in the business, my father had one in the early 60's) or a Bosch Aquastar 125HE or similar? I'd have to sell two cars to buy one of those.

[davehoos]

if you live near the coast widmills work,but nobody wants them,they are an eyesaw.

local electricity generator has one on display in newcastle,NSW.it tall enough so that evry one can see that they are doing there bit.it barley pays for it self.

CSIRO [australian government] have a energy department nearby,they have 3 small windturbines,i never seen them going.they have all types of solar sells,a new type is going into production there it is clear so it can be used as a window.

[philip]

if you live near the coast widmills work,but nobody wants them,they are an eyesaw.

Palm Springs and the Altamont California windmill farms are far from ocean coasts. Windmill farms are ... ugly. I remember what the Palm Springs desert looked like prior to 1978 when these "Green" eyesores took over the landscape. ALL of them have electric brakes on them to control output and they are brought on-line to cover anticipated daytime consumption spikes. Palm Springs desert sees several months of temperatures in excess of 100 degrees nearly every day.

http://www.windmilltours.com/ - http://www.mse.arizona.edu/faculty/birn ... bindex.htm

In other southwestern locales ...

http://www.azsolarcenter.com/imagesets/series01.html

In the beginning, the local joke was these "fans" were the State of California's solution to rising air polution levels in the desert. Simply turn the fans ON and blow the smog back to San Bernardino and Los Angeles.

[REDNECK]

I agree the wind mill farms are ugly, but the power generated is clean. The new lg mills need about 3 mph's to run. I live in a place where they are common place along horizion, and the plus's far out the-'s.

I live 2hrs away from pincher creek A.B, their must be 100's of them out their, all the lg, ones...........they put them up, because we get about 3 day's a year we don't get enough wind to turn them.

my only distaste for them is the power generated does not stay in canada, it's sold to the americans, like so many other things.

[asavage]

The new lg mills need about 3 mph's to run.

I Googled "lg windmill" and didn't get anything I understood.

What is an "lg mill"?

my only distaste for them is the power generated does not stay in canada, it's sold to the americans, like so many other things.

It's OK, you'll be the US' 54th state soon , and then you'll be selling it to "yourself"!

In the beginning, the local joke was these "fans" were the State of California's solution to rising air polution levels in the desert. Simply turn the fans ON and blow the smog back to San Bernardino and Los Angeles.

I recall a Beverly Hillbillies storyline (probably episode 251: "The Pollution Solution", 1970) where at the end of the show the fallback proposal by the Clampetts was to build large fans and blow the LA basin's smog away (east or west, I can't recall).

[goglio704]

I would think the "lg" might be large or it might refer to a Korean company that goes by the letters LG. Glad to know I wasn't the only one who bristled about the "the Americans" remark.

[REDNECK]

most americans are........shocked,....lol! BUT it was not ment as a derrogetory remark. The reason the mills are here is because the canadian government lacks the insite you'all have seen regarding wind power. It just drives a man nut's getting a power bill, when you know their is power being generated.........enough to supply most of southern alta......being sent south. I still have to pay for hydro?????? when the mills are.....8mi away???........any power that is not used we should sell but ....we should get first crack at it. its 'all

lg.....large mills,.......most are.....Vestas, and their web site is very good. They are the leaders.......

[REDNECK]

my error.........the city of calgary uses 12 tubines to generate enough power to operate the c-train.....our above ground subay......a person should be able to ride almost for free then.......that is not the case. My point is most of the power goes south......

most of the farmers also have a deal for free power if the mills are on ther land as well.........

I think i heard on the radio, over a avarage year the wind speed is 20kph........

[asavage]

my error.........the city of calgary uses 12 tubines to generate enough power to operate the c-train.....our above ground subay......a person should be able to ride almost for free then...

You're implying that a large portion of the cost of running it is in the fuel, when the largest cost is in labor (hourly, salary, benefits).

[REDNECK]

equiptment cost have been long recovered,.........manpower i'm sure as well.....when the city gloats about how much they are making and the public hardly see's the improvements in town other than the city employee's pockets getting fat.......

oil boom town..........nothing can keep up with the growth they have seen in the last 10 years. But i see alot of government workers getting fat....and 0 breaks for the public.............another discussion.

I know this 'cause the company i work for lost 3 workers to the city and they have the news paper delivered to work, a coffe machine at their box,.....they brag three day's for a brake job on a bus.........it's unreal

the wind power thing.......that is us droping the the ball......

and when were we booted outta the union?. ....this is news!

[davehoos]

wind power costs a lot to produce and distribute.coal is cheep in australia and canada.

lots of companies from here and worldwide have moved into china/india to to set up there to meet demand after there met there target exports of domestic wind turbines will be CHEEP.

countries like New Zealand hope to have 15% wind power.but to us its a JOKE.you can save more money getting rid of alluminium manufacturing.and security lighting.

water and wave power has more future than wind.Geothermol and thermol power plants are going in around this area.small natural gas generators [10000 population] are being installed in towns to cover demand,and underground coal mines use them to cut costs of there automatic machines burning waist methane.

at the end of the day im in a high price electricity area due to small population.
AU$00.1541 per kilowatt/hour.
AU$ 00.08475 Kw/hr Off Peak

[REDNECK]

i think if you buy coal from the mine in elkford it's now about 125$can a ton.......5 years ago it was 40$ a ton.......it's not all that cheap anymore, plus it's a filthy product......

i would rather dam up another river if that was the option

[davehoos]

what i was looking for when i posted was some locals have domestic wind generators.they are used to recharge batteries.i was looking for a costing.
in the past they had been installed due to the cost of running mains power to isolated properties.
most of these systems are in use over a long time,but they use that dreadfull 110Volts.more common now is solar cell,and diesel generator.

problem now is that the turists have moved in and the mains have followed.property owners now charged for this instalation.

NOTE it was common for the hippies to have these systems..as they get older they run computor consultancy and sell electricity back into the grid.
the joke is that government grant normally set them up.

I recently seen it for $40 ton dig it yourself.wood is cheeper.

[glenlloyd]

I would think the "lg" might be large or it might refer to a Korean company that goes by the letters LG. Glad to know I wasn't the only one who bristled about the "the Americans" remark.

LG is Lucky Goldstar isn't it? I bristled a little too btw. If the powers headed south it aint spending much time at my shack. I've got my electric down to $36 a month.

steve a