Wind farms waste tax dollars
I read with dismay the letter to the editor Dec. 13 (“Wind farms are helping the planet”) by Jack Walts. I drive by Houston-based Chevron Global Powers wind farm weekly and it is not a thrill to see massive blades spinning in the wind. Not so much for the towers’ 280-foot height or the 120-foot blades, but more for their waste of tax dollars and minuscule contribution to the reduction of greenhouse gases.
Each spinning windmill generates noise, flashing shadows, constant thumping as massive blades slap the air at top speeds of 150 to 200 miles per hour, giving them the ability to throw huge shards of ice long distances, ecological damage, blinking lights day and night, reduction of property value and some electricity.
The manufacture, transportation and installation of that small wind farm of only 11 towers has already left behind a large carbon footprint. The completely unpredictable and variable output of wind-powered generators on the power grid only reduces the fuel-burning power plants’ efficiency and raises the price of electricity.
I do agree that “those” windmills are not contributing to our demand for Mideast oil or to “wild-eyed killers” simply because the percentage of electricity produced in the United States by oil is in the single digits. The production of electricity with the power of the wind has no relevance to oil.
It is my opinion that had Natrona County’s development department, Planning and Zoning Commission, and the county commissioners followed their own regulations, the subject of Natrona County’s first wind farm would be a non-issue.
SAMUEL J. FLEETWOOD, Casper
24 December 2009
Tags: Wind power, Wind energy
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