Slow down on wind energy
Credit: www.trib.com 14 March 2010
Why the rush for wind energy farms? Many will say yes the wind is free, so go for it. True the wind is free, but when the wind does not blow no electrical power is made. When this happens somewhere on the electrical grid coal-fired boilers will pick up the load. If we over-balance the electrical load on the grid with too much or too many wind turbines we may not be able to balance the electrical grid system.
The coal-fired boilers’ optimum operating is at 85 to 90 percent of capacity. This range is where most operate efficiently and with the best pollution control. As it stands now there are several hundred wind turbines running in Wyoming. I think that we need to drastically slow down this process before it gets totally out of control. Look at what has happened in the Pinedale area with the unbridled natural gas and oil drilling.
We also have the factor of wildlife displacement taking place. All you have to do is take a drive out to the sites that are already in existence to see the damage to the habitat. Each wind turbine has a road leading to it; that is a lot of land that is taken up with roads (miles and miles of roads). This factor poses a great threat to the wildlife of Wyoming and all of our Western states.
There are human health issues that are just now being studied and are coming to the forefront.
There is also the beauty issue — the White Mountain Wind Project would not only look terrible, many of the turbines would set on the rim of White Mountain, which has some very pristine areas. It also has herds of elk, deer and wild horses. I think that the BLM needs to take a close look at all of these things when it makes its decision on wind turbines and where they are placed.
Huge corporations are buying up productive ranches and farms so that they will not be subject to state and federal environmental concerns. The people and companies that are pushing the wind turbine farms are getting huge subsidies from us, the taxpayers. I am against placing any more wind turbines in Wyoming without careful and thoughtful study.
I would encourage the BLM and the state of Wyoming and counties and local communities to take a good hard, long look at what we are letting happen to our state.
GEORGE A. MAXON, Fort Bridger
Tags: Wind power, Wind energy
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