Why are wind turbines always white

slagger

I would consider this to be a more impartial, authoritave review of the issues:
http://www.sei.ie/uploadedfiles/RenewableEnergy/AssessmentMethodologyBirdsIreland.pdf

Considering the mission statement of SEI one cannot call them impartial!!

Our Mission

Our mission is to promote and assist the development of sustainable energy in Ireland
advancing the development and competitive deployment of renewable sources of energy and combined heat and power

That SEI report is dated from 2003!!

The paper’s to which the report refers too are from 1992 to 2002.
We are now in 2009, having larger wind turbines in greater concentrations. Wind generating power plants were fewer in number the timeframe of the report you have referenced.

http://www.wildlifejournals.org/perlserv/?request=get-abstract&doi=10.21932F2007-032"
http://www.windwatch.org/documents/wpcontent/uploads/barrios_japplecol_04.pdf

Do you have stats to back that up?

http://www.eirgrid.com/EirgridPortal/uploads/Publications/GAR%202009-2015.pdf

Section 2.3(b) page 15 read on
2.3(b) Wind – a variable energy source
The inherently variable nature of wind power makes it necessary to analyse its adequacy impact differently from that of other generation units. The contribution of wind power to generation adequacy is referred to as the capacity credit of wind. This capacity credit has been determined by subtracting a forecast of wind’s half hourly generated output from the customer electricity demand curve. The use of this lower demand curve, (net of wind output), results in an improved adequacy position. The amount of conventional plant which leaves the system with the same improvement in adequacy as the net load curve is taken to be the capacity credit of wind.
Capacity credit of wind is limited
Figure 2-2 Capacity credit of wind generation.

Analysis based on 2006 wind data established that this capacity credit is reasonably significant at low levels of wind penetration, but the benefit tends towards saturationas wind penetration levels increase
Figure 4-7 Average capacity factor for installed wind capacity.
Furthermore the contribution of WPG towards generation adequacy, (i.e. Capacity Credit of WPG), as a percentage of installed capacity has inevitably declined as the installed WPG has grown. In fact, while installed WPG capacity has increased by 36% per annum percentage of installed WPG capacity), has fallen from 34 to 23 %, (see Figure 4-8). As outlined in Section 2.3(b), this is due to the inherent inability of WPG to behave as a number of fully independent power plants.

Explain how wind turbines "destroy" upland environments.

http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg19125591.600-the-hidden-cost-of-wind-turbines.html
http://friendsoftheirishenvironment.net/?do=friendswork&action=view&id=711
http://www.rte.ie/news/2008/0703/derrybrien.html"]http://www.rte.ie/news/2008/0703/derrybrien.html
http://archives.tcm.ie/businesspost/2009/01/25/story38931.asp
http://archives.tcm.ie/businesspost/2009/01/25/story38931.asp

Oh wait...what's this..??
http://www.failteireland.ie/getdoc/33ee5fd0-394a-4a91-a153-77d9b728be29/Wind-Farm-P-D-F

From the findings

Looking across all sites , the numbers claiming a positive impact on the landscape due to the wind farms are greater than those claiming a negative impact, in all cases. However, there is definitely a greater sensitivity with regard to wind farms potentially sited in perceived more beautiful landscapes, identified as Coastal, Mountain or Farmland.

I wonder what the attitude will be when the tourists come back to find 10 wind turbines every couple of kilometres in the above identified sensitive areas?

Cabaal

fatherbuzcagney wrote: »

Five new wind turbines just sprang up out of the ground about a mile from where i live in south kilkenny with the bottoms painted green, it looks like they grew there. They look beautiful and cant wait to see them in action. Much rather be looking at them than ugly grey pylons everywhere. I taught it was the rotating blades that were a danger to birds rather than the white/green towers?

Where in Kilkenny are they?

Macha

slagger wrote: »

Considering the mission statement of SEI one cannot call them impartial!!

Unless you provide concrete proof of any bias, this insinuation is pointless.

slagger wrote: »

That SEI report is dated from 2003!!

The paper’s to which the report refers too are from 1992 to 2002.
We are now in 2009, having larger wind turbines in greater concentrations. Wind generating power plants were fewer in number the timeframe of the report you have referenced.

And? It is hardly surprising that there are more windfarms now than in 2003. It doesn't detract from the findings of the report.

This is ironic because the initial sources you provided were older than mine.

slagger wrote: »

http://www.wildlifejournals.org/perlserv/?request=get-abstract&doi=10.21932F2007-032"
http://www.windwatch.org/documents/wpcontent/uploads/barrios_japplecol_04.pdf

I love it. SEI is biased but you're perfectly happy quoting wildlife organisations and wind farm sceptics?

slagger wrote: »

http://www.eirgrid.com/EirgridPortal/uploads/Publications/GAR%202009-2015.pdf

Thankyou for linking to an 80 page document and not bother to quote the relevant section :rolleyes:

slagger wrote: »

http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg19125591.600-the-hidden-cost-of-wind-turbines.html
http://friendsoftheirishenvironment.net/?do=friendswork&action=view&id=711
http://www.rte.ie/news/2008/0703/derrybrien.html"]http://www.rte.ie/news/2008/0703/derrybrien.html
http://archives.tcm.ie/businesspost/2009/01/25/story38931.asp
http://archives.tcm.ie/businesspost/2009/01/25/story38931.asp

This is just getting lazy. You want to be read through all your links? Why don't you make your argument and use your links as sources.

slagger wrote: »

I wonder what the attitude will be when the tourists come back to find 10 wind turbines every couple of kilometres in the above identified sensitive areas?

Stupid comment and ridiculous scaremongering. Try sticking to the facts - you might hold onto a shred of credibility as someone interested in debating rather than just shouting down the other person.

There is no doubt that the position of windfarms has to be carefully considered. But the idea that tourists and Irish people don't like them is just plain wrong.

fatherbuzcagney

tullagher, if you are going from waterford to new ross you can see them from main road

slagger

Taconnol. Thats an incredible ignorant post. Truth hurts. It shows how much you really know about the wind power generation in Ireland, nada.

Cookie_Monster

slagger wrote: »

Taconnol. Thats an incredible ignorant post. Truth hurts. It shows how much you really know about the wind power generation in Ireland, nada.

Take it elsewhere will ya, this is a partially serious debate over the colour not the fundamental principles of wind power:rolleyes:

slagger

Cookie_Monster wrote: »

Take it elsewhere will ya, this is a partially serious debate over the colour not the fundamental principles of wind power:rolleyes:

Yeah your right it is a very deep, serious and meaningful discussion on colour of turbines

I've never gotten why people have such a problem with white turbines. I actually think they look quite good and can actually give the area a look of being modern and green.


Then again there's always some wanker with too much time on their hands to not be complaining about some sort of minor issue. I mean, so what if the sea is black and the sky is brown....****.

Cookie_Monster

slagger wrote: »

Yeah your right it is a very deep, serious and meaningful discussion on colour of turbines

Yes, yes it is:D

Rojomcdojo wrote: »

I've never gotten why people have such a problem with white turbines. I actually think they look quite good and can actually give the area a look of being modern and green.

Then again there's always some wanker with too much time on their hands to not be complaining about some sort of minor issue. I mean, so what if the sea is black and the sky is brown....****.

I've no problem with them just wondering why they are always white. It just seems a bit odd as nearly every other mass produced item/machine comes in various colours.

Dayglow Green FTW:pac:

maniac101

OP, if you get up close to them, you'll see that, more often than not, they're light grey rather than white. Light grey is considered to be the least visually intrusive colour for the Irish environment, according to the IWEA.

Capt'n Midnight wrote: »

Wasn't there a claim that the ESB wind farms took 3 months to break even on carbon

All CO2 calculations carried out by wind farm developers ignore the high concentration of CO2 in peat bogs and omit the release of CO2 resulting from clearing of peat for site works from their calculations. If they included peat in their calculations, the CO2 payback period would be a large multiple of the above figure. In national statistics, the CO2 emissions associated with energy generated from wind are taken to be zero! From a technical view, this is obviously incorrect, although there are some valid non-technical arguments why the zero figure is used.

maniac101

taconnol wrote: »

I would consider this to be a more impartial, authoritave review of the issues:
http://www.sei.ie/uploadedfiles/RenewableEnergy/AssessmentMethodologyBirdsIreland.pdf

The report contains no Irish data whatsoever. Although it's an SEI publication, it was compiled by individuals in the UK and uses data from the UK and the rest of the world. This report inadvertantly highlights the absence of meaningful impartial reseach on the impact of onshore turbines on fauna and on the environment in general in Ireland.

The report doesn't mention that there are fewer than 130 pairs of hen harriers in the south of Ireland, compared to over 300 in 1970, and that their dwindling habitat is now shared with current and proposed wind farm developments. Instead, the report refers to some birds that are not native to this island and are rarely or never seen here.

What the report does give is a meaningful assessment procedure for inclusion in Environmental Impact Assessments. However, the proposed procedure is largely ignored by developers in their Environmental Impact Statements and by councils in their assessment procedures, leaving it to private individuals (whom some here might label "cranks") to appeal planning permission rulings to An Bord Pleanala.

taconnol wrote: »

It's a common myth that wind turbines are dangerous to birds on any significant scale (as compared to all that habitat loss, pollution and er...hunting?)

This is truely a straw man. It's not as if it's a choice between wind turbines and hunting. By that logic, you could compare the number of people who die on the country's roads with the number of people who die from cancer, for instance, and thereby dismiss road safety as insignificant.

Cookie_Monster

maniac101 wrote: »

All CO2 calculations carried out by wind farm developers ignore the high concentration of CO2 in peat bogs and omit the release of CO2 resulting from clearing of peat for site works from their calculations..

Even from all those off shore ones?:D