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Wind farm
Credit: San Antonio Express-News | December 21, 2012 | www.mysanantonio.com ~~
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Re: “Wind project generates wildlife concern,” Business, Dec. 15:
A few months ago, the San Antonio Express-News ran an article on the front page about a proposed off-shore wind farm to augment our limited electrical generating capacity.
I had hoped that sanity would somehow prevail and the project would be abandoned. However, in the business section of the Dec 15 Express-News, I find that the project is alive and well and that Baroyonyx’s three-turbine proposal has won a $4 million federal grant from the Department of Energy as a demonstration project for the larger wind farm.
If the demonstration is successful, a total of 300 turbines could be built, which would be unsightly and result in unduly restricting fishing, shrimping and other sports activities in our near coastal waters. These same concerns successfully halted a similar proposal several years ago off the Massachusetts coast.
At a time when ERCOT is warning that our state’s marginally adequate electrical transmission capacity could result in rolling power failures in the near future, gambling on such a risky venture appears to be folly.
If the demonstration is successful and the 300-turbine farm is built, what will happen when the turbines have to be shut down due to an approaching hurricane? Or worse, a Category 5 hurricane might reduce the turbines to scrap metal.
Since South Texas currently has a surplus of natural gas from Eagle Ford wells, doesn’t it make a lot of sense to build additional natural gas generating plants in South Texas rather than proceed with the off-shore wind farm?
Electrical power produced by a natural gas generating plant is about 20 percent less costly than that produced by wind turbines.
Oh wait, our Congress will probably pipe our natural gas to Massachusetts so that they don’t have to build any off-shore wind turbine farms there.
Alton Samsel
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