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ORIGINAL: Musicmystery

Ha!

Did you read this??? What a comedy. They can't meet their deadlines.

Hey, if Idaho can't figure it out, the rest of the country already has--and successfully.

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ORIGINAL: Musicmystery
Hey, if Idaho can't figure it out, the rest of the country already has--and successfully.

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ORIGINAL: DarkSteven

Actually, this article is good news. There are companies commercially installing wind farms, and the government isn't just handing out money with no strings attached like they did with TARP. They're requiring milestones to be met and tying payments to them.

That said, I haven't been to Idaho, but after visiting Wyoming, I don't know why a wind farm would get built anywhere else. Lotsa wind, low population (so fewer complains about RF interference from the wind machines), and land is cheap.

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ORIGINAL: mnottertail

So, the issue is not that it isn't a good deal, its that nobody is letting the corporations run slipshod over the laws, or contractual obligations.  Must be a state thing, hah?

http://www.wday.com/event/article/id/67660/

but around here Minnesota, Iowa, North Dakota and South Dakota
wind farms are working and providing us electricity and jobs.  There are places around here build those things, sell those things, install those things, maintain those things.

I am not going to look up all the tremendous amounts of information on it, and what the fuck is any imbecile talking about views that dont meet your delusions, when the fucking OP is a delusion, the goddamn corporation failed.  not the wind farm.

This is viewing your delusions in a joe the plumber contrived bundle of asswipe designed to dupe folks into believing the anecdote serves for the syecdoche, and so we do have that, already.... ALL OFFSHORE DRILLING FAILS. (see exxon valdez, see BP oil spill)

NO.  THE CORPORATION FAILED. CLEAN IT UP (not done) and fix it so it doesnt fail again (maybe done), and move on (certainly done).

the objection is the delusion.

And by the way, hold your delusional view, its a free country, but by the same token in that free country we are going to tell you its fuckin stupid.

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Just out of curiousity, Muse, how many large scale alternative energy projects are going on in your immediate vicinity?

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ORIGINAL: Musicmystery

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Just out of curiousity, Muse, how many large scale alternative energy projects are going on in your immediate vicinity?

Three. One five minutes from here, the other two 15 minutes.

I live on high ground, up in the hills. Lots of farms here. The wind farms lease the space, which can still be used for farming (and is), per windmill. The farmers are happy because the leases are generous. The wind farms are successful because each windmill pays for itself in 6 months. The downsides are the time and cost of construction, but once up, the investment returns quickly.

Downsides? If you're right under one, they go "shoosh." This pisses off some people. But you'd have to be right under it, on the farmer's land. And as always, there are some neighbors who get pissed. Here, anyway, that's a tiny minority. A sign here and there. I haven't seen the bird thing, except in the national press. But then, most of the time they aren't exactly spinning. 8 mph is sufficient for operation, and that's a slow, gentle turn. They are white, not in regimented clusters, but one here, one there, over a region. You get used to them quickly, and they largely blend in.

There's a big push by a few solar companies here, but that's really a non-starter. Just not efficient in this area.

Passive solar heating, with partial earth-sheltering, however, is perfect for this area--hence my own house's design. And it's essentially free.

Here's an aerial view of one arm of it.

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If it pays for itself, I'm all for it. If it requires subsidizing, sorry.

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ORIGINAL: Politesub53

Except its been shown household bills in the UK will rocket, in times of cutbacks and austerity.