It's amazing how many windfarms there are now on the east end of the county. We are lucky to have options for clean energy here in Klickitat, with our hydropower and and stiff breezes. Our speaker for this week's meeting will discuss the electric power grid and how our electricity is distributed. How much power can the grid handle? If more wind generators come online, can the grid handle them all? It will be interesting to know how this all works.
The Whistling Ridge Wind Energy Project is a contentious one. This writer is undecided at this point as to whether this is a good or a bad idea. Part of me agrees with Jesse Burkhardt's editorial in this week's Enterprise. He makes some good points. From my viewpoint, I believe I'll be able to see the tops of some of the turbines, at least that's what I think from this simulation. That doesn't particularly disturb me. I'm willing to deal with that in exchange for cleaner energy.
But part of me distrusts that this will be the whole project, that it will grow to be even bigger, with more impact on the aesthetics of the area. What's the impact on the birds in this major flyway? People who live near the proposed development in Underwood and Husum are definitely impacted. Giant turbine towers were not in their vision of what the neighborhood would look like down the road.
How can we make this Wind Power option win/win?
This week's meeting about the power grid is very timely as we all gather information to help make important decisions about the future. We need to be informed, and we need our elected officials to make good choices on our behalf. Join us on Friday in Goldendale!
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In general I support wind energy, for sure it is cleaner and less harmful than nuclear and I don't want any more dams. A friend recently had a wind tower built by her home, very close to her home. The noise bothers her and she feels her property value is reduced and she gains nothing... maybe there needs to be some sort of distance away from private homes established.
ReplyDeleteMy other concern is the focus on producing more energy with no talk of conservation. So even though we accept some compromises with wind energy, the big energy suck just keeps happening leaving the planet vulnerable to more development, nuclear, coal or what have you.
While you may or may not see the wind turbines, the strobe lights are another matter. In some locations, trees may block the direct glare in summer but winter may be another matter.
ReplyDeleteIt's all well and good that you won't mind the constant pulsing of the strobe lights, but tourists who come to the gorge may feel differently. Go out east some evening and just hang around. If you enjoy dancing to the beat of those harsh laser lights, then you'll have no problem. Otherwise you'll need blackout curtains.
The Klickitat County Planning Dept. is happy to allow turbines everywhere the wind blows, including on top of golden eagle and spotted owl nests on public lands. It is sad that people care way more about their views than about God's creatures great and small. Here's how to make wind power a "win-win": put turbines on top of every Wal-Mart, Safeway and outlet mall instead of in remote rural areas. Plenty of wind there, and no need for roads and transmission lines through the forest. And then plant some trees on Whistling Ridge to soak up carbon dioxide. Conservation and carbon sequestration are much cheaper than building renewable energy power plants. But not so lucrative for the Wall Street investors behind most of these wind projects.
ReplyDeleteWe have to be realistic. No energy project is ever fully a win/win situation - but Whistling Ridge is about as close as you can get: both the wind and the transmission lines already run through the property!
ReplyDeleteYes, views will be altered - for better or worse, depending on how you feel about wind turbines - but if you consider it a sacrifice, it's a worthwhile one.
The same goes for birds: undoubtedly, a few birds will be killed by the turbines, but the end game is more important. Climate change is far more dangerous to bird populations than the turbines.
We also have to recognize that wind projects are sited in certain areas because that is where the wind blows. It would be lovely to put turbines on top of Safeways and Walmarts (as the above Anonymous commented), but that just isn't going to happen. I agree that carbon sequestration is a great idea, but it needs to be in conjunction with real-life, clean, renewable energy projects.
For more information about wind power in the Northwest, check out www.wwnw.org.