The Tulsa Forum by TulsaNow

https://newsok.com/article/5581518/oklahoma-moves-into-no.-2-spot-for-wind-power-capacity-in-the-nation-association-says

Wasn't sure where to post this but I was curious what everyone's opinion on wind power for the state is. It certainly is good from a business attraction perspective. Is the wind catcher project still happening?

Edit: didn't realize this article is nearly a year old. Still a relevant topic though

Migratory bird killers.  Nothing is free from adverse effects.  They are UGLY when flying about the area but.... as long as they aren't in my back yard they are probably better than burning coal.

They aren't as efficient as you think. It takes 60 windmills to power the Google server farm at MAIP in Pryor. A single turbine generates 2.5 MW. Google Purchased 3 Gigawatts which is 1200 turbines.


https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.newsweek.com/google-will-be-powered-only-wind-and-solar-citing-massive-savings-728745%3famp=1 (https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.newsweek.com/google-will-be-powered-only-wind-and-solar-citing-massive-savings-728745%3famp=1)

Does anyone know what sort of money the leases pay farmers and ranchers who agree to host wind farms?  I'm more than certain they don't just allow windmills on their property.

I'm really surprised we don't have wind farms here in NE NM, we have plenty of that resource to drive them.  Solar farms seem to be in favor in this area.  I'm planning to build in the neighborhood of a 2000-2400 square foot shop on our property and very seriously considering wind and solar power exclusively for that structure.  If it works well enough, I may consider it eventually to power our entire inn.  My big goal is to see if I can get us off natural gas for our heating needs including our pool.  At one point, a previous owner did have a solar heater for the indoor pool, no idea why it was taken out and replaced with a gas heater unless freezing was an issue.  I think if we ran glycol through the panels (which does cut efficiency a little) and used a small heat exchanger it would be a reliable system.

If we could get off commercial gas and electric, our savings would be around $500/month.  If I had to guess, it would be a four or five year payback.

You should see the Archimedes Death Ray solar farm.

https://www.latimes.com/local/california/la-me-solar-bird-deaths-20160831-snap-story.html (https://www.latimes.com/local/california/la-me-solar-bird-deaths-20160831-snap-story.html)


(https://www.latimes.com/resizer/d1QXoTep4sHu7DrI4AnnISDxCDY=/fit-in/800x600/filters:fill(black)/arc-anglerfish-arc2-prod-tronc.s3.amazonaws.com/public/SZ4KVCDMAVDN7NS2LTUWR5WCWM.jpg)

Maybe it's just a plot to get rid of all the extra snow geese.  Daily limits are 50 a day through 2 seasons, with a special season after the end of the regular season with no daily limit.  Not enough hunters out there any more, so just use windmills!!

The neighborhood cats kill a lot of birds as well.  Unfortunately they don't seem to generate much electricity.

I drove by that thing not long ago.  It is an amazing facility.   The tower is so bright, it's like it's not even there.   The top just kind of fades into this massive glowing spot that blends in with the sky and kind of looks like a second sun.  Pretty cool.

.
Finally figured this out - the way windmills destroyed Texas, by providing over 25% of the states electrical power!   The more windmills the state gets, the worse acting it becomes!  Must be the electric fields generating brain destroying microbots that started out with Abbott and Paxton and moved throughout their legislature!

Interesting article for the Oregonian on issues the state is having with turbines operated by PG&E, yes, the same PG&E that deferred maintenance on transmission lines in Northern California.

https://projects.oregonlive.com/wind-farms/ (https://projects.oregonlive.com/wind-farms/)

It's time to rewrite the contracts to the land owners such that poor maintenance and tax credits elsewhere do not reduce payments to the land owners.  It's also time for utilities in general to face financial responsibility (they might lose money) for incompetence.

Didn't you know - windmills cause cancer. I guess brain cancer specifically.

Everything causes cancer.   ;D

The reason cancer kills so many people now is that people didn't used to live long enough to get cancer.   ;D

Several years ago I saw a report from the FDA that showed test results proving saliva causes cancer!   But only when swallowed in small amounts over a very long time....!

And Oklahoma is number 2 in wind power, so that explains the Failin' Stitt years.

We never seem to make it to #1 or even #50.  We need to try harder.

There is zero point in for-profit utilities - that crap needs to be government-run. Private industry proves over and over again they put profits over quality / maintenance and that's fine for widget factories and widget companies and so on but not for utilities.

Hard to beat Texas - they have so much wind!    Old saying about summer/winter in Oklahoma - summer wind from south because Kansas sucks, and Texas blows.  Reversed for winter.

If wind power is so good, why does it need at the very least another farm of solar panels to get them kicked off (started)?  They don't start themselves, even in the middle of a tornado.

Whoa

Awww...back to the Russian Troll Moment!   Again.


You know nothing about any of that.

I've driven by newly installed wind farms.  None of the blades were moving.  Until acted upon.

Can a car go without a starter?

Oh wait, and electric one can. Whoa.

You have no clue about anything you have talked about here so far.   You should at least make an attempt to learn something.



Side note;  I just drove by thousands of them on the way to CA a week ago.  Most were turning, with a few stopped, probably for maintenance of load balancing.   And flew back over several thousand more, most of which were turning.  Very cool to see those from 30,000 ft.!

Even more impressive from about 2000 to 6000 ft.

Be careful getting too close to them - I heard they'll give you cancer!  ;D

Only in California.   ;D 

ah yes - ol' Prop 65. Good intentions gone awry.

Florida, maybe.

For the uninitiated, Trump’s comments about wind energy at a Republican fundraising dinner Tuesday night must have seemed like a non sequitur, at best.

“Hillary wanted to put up wind. Wind!” Trump said, referring to the energy policies of his 2016 opponent Hillary Clinton. “If you have a windmill anywhere near your house, congratulations, your house just went down 75 percent in value. And they say the noise causes cancer. You tell me that one, okay?”

He imitated the blades of a wind turbine turning.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2019/04/03/trump-claims-that-wind-farms-cause-cancer-very-trumpian-reasons/

It's still an eye-roller how idiots like TFG and MTG seem to be confused on how batteries work.

Saw quite a few in CA, but I think there were more in that little no man's land strip of TX.


I did get to stop at the free 72 oz steakhouse-if you eat it all - place!   Second worst steakhouse we have ever been to.   Colton's in AR was the worst.

But I did get a hat with a very wide brim for farm work at a good price!

There's a bunch between Tulsa and Dodge City, KS as the private airplane flys.


I don't think I ever could have eaten a 72 oz steak, even when I was a bunch younger.  And that's not to even mention the potatoes.


A good hat can be a good deal.  I still use sun-block in the summer.

Park on a hill with manual tranny in an old car and you are golden.  You could even have a battery that needed to be charged.

Sorry, just had to say it.

 ;D

Real men (and women) don't need starters, clutches, or electric windows!

In that case the buddy that shoves the car out of the parking space on the hill is your "starter"

Well, no buddy required but you could consider gravity your starter.  But that's a bit of a stretch.

 :D

My sister would debate the issue of clutches. (Edit)  She would say real men (and women) don't need automatic transmissions. (/edit)  She looked for quite a while to find the sport sedan she wanted with a 6 speed manual tranny.

Having said that....  automatic transmissions have internal clutches, just not one you need to manually operate.  Not too sure here how CVT works from a stop.  

Just my high school experience with a friend with a Le Car with no starter.

LeCar was light enough you didn't really need a buddy to push it.  I had a friend with one.

Wrong!!   I NEED electric windows!   Everything else is an option....

If you kept your air conditioning working, you wouldn't need to roll down the windows from the driver's seat.

 ;D

None of our cars have electric windows or doors. I have nothing against either or technology in general, I just try to avoid things that I can see breaking and being real expensive to fix. Like refrigerators with internet in the door - who thought this was a good idea?

Same here but sometimes the simple approach is no longer available.

I have occasionally mentioned my fleet of Merc Grand Marquis.... NOTORIOUS for failed electric window mechanisms!!   I have had to replace 4 window regulator/motors on each of 4 different cars!   I have become very fast at this and can change them out in about 40 minutes each.  Parts cost just under $100 each window.

Not too bad given the benefits of the car.  Last trip to east coast we averaged 26 mpg riding in a big ole luxurious mush-mobile!  Best cruiser available since the 1966 Buick Electra 225.!!

Mush-mobiles give me motion sickness. 

 :(