In off-shore wind farms, there are issues with marine wildlife as well as birds. I heard that vibrations in both the water and the ocean floor cause disorientation in large mammals, and maybe other species as well.
There is a project in Massachusetts, USA to install 420 MW (If I remember correctly) of off-shore generation off cape cod, run by Cape Wind. People are trying really hard to be aware of migration patterns of whales and birds, but with the other constraints of water depth, distance from shore, ship routes, etc., there are only a few places that a large farm can be sited along the coast in Mass. There's a big outcry from some, huge support from others, and pretty much lots of people hear something that disturbs or exhilarates them, and it calls them to arms about the issue. There's a website, http://www.safewind.info that gives lots of information, both general and specific to the cape (Mass.) Also, a page with links to lots of other articles by scientists/government/non-profit environmental groups, etc. http://www.safewind.info/who_says_what.htm and http://www.safewind.info/for_more_information.htm ---- I remember marvelling at the slowness of big wind generators in the countryside in German, until I realized how far away they were, how large the blades were, and how fast they must be spinning at the tips of the blades. guesses at numbers: 5 second period in gentle breeze. 60 foot long blades, 120 foot diameter. 120*3.14= 376.8 feet circ. 5/60*60 = 720 rev per hour. 376.8 /5280 = 0.071 mile circumference. 0.071 miles/rev * 720 rev/hour = 51 mph. hmmm. that's fast. (or 83 kph) I wouldn't want to be flying along and hit one. -Aaron On Sun, 11 Jan 2004, Thor Skov wrote: > Wind turbines can kill birds and bats; even the larger > models produce wing-tip speeds over 100mph. But with > proper siting and sizing of wind farms, especially > with respect to migration routes, this issue is mostly > a non-issue. Biofuel at Journey to Forever: http://journeytoforever.org/biofuel.html Biofuels list archives: http://archive.nnytech.net/index.php?list=biofuel Please do NOT send Unsubscribe messages to the list address. To unsubscribe, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] ------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor ---------------------~--> Buy Ink Cartridges or Refill Kits for your HP, Epson, Canon or Lexmark Printer at MyInks.com. Free s/h on orders $50 or more to the US & Canada. http://www.c1tracking.com/l.asp?cid=5511 http://us.click.yahoo.com/mOAaAA/3exGAA/qnsNAA/FGYolB/TM ---------------------------------------------------------------------~-> Yahoo! Groups Links To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/biofuel/ To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
