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New York, 9:47 AM
Thu Nov 26
51 posts in the last 24 hours

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  • posts about #windmill more →

    K3 Harnesses the Power of the Sun, the Wind, and the Electric Grid

    This Thing Is Just Too Damn Huge to Be Real—But It Is

    U.S. Flew to the Top in Wind Power Production Last Year

    Helicopters Used to Fix Giant Wind Turbines

    Army Keeps Military Green Push, Embraces Solar, Wind, and Bio-Fuel Power

    Queen of England Buying the World's Largest Wind Turbine

    6.5-foot Nendo Kazadokei Is Son of Clock and Wind Turbine

    Desk Wind Turbine: Symbolic Talisman Runs on Solar Energy

    Stormblade Turbine is More Efficient, Quietly Neighbor-Friendly

    Grad Student Creates Micro Windmill
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    Dsmvwl  Admin  Promote to frontpage Approve user Ban user ×
    Image of GitEmSteveDave_ForgotNametag GitEmSteveDave_ForgotNametag
    04/24/09

    In reply to K3 Harnesses the Power of the Sun, the Wind, and the Electric Grid
    So when will Obama mandate these for the Seante/Congress/Supreme Court/Oval Office to capture all that wasted breath?
     Reply
    GitEmSteveDave_ForgotNametag was starred GitEmSteveDave_ForgotNametag was unstarred
    Image of FredicvsMaximvs FredicvsMaximvs
    04/23/09

    In reply to This Thing Is Just Too Damn Huge to Be Real—But It Is
    One thing that puzzles me about big turbines like this is that I don't see any sort of vane to keep them pointed into the wind. Do the blades adjust on each trip around to help the thing swivel, or does the wind just always blow the same direction at that altitude?


    Regardless, I want to live in one of those - kind of like the modern-day equivalent of a light house keeper.

     Reply
    FredicvsMaximvs was starred FredicvsMaximvs was unstarred
    Image of theorieofself theorieofself
    04/23/09

    In reply to This Thing Is Just Too Damn Huge to Be Real—But It Is
    i wonder how much it cost to build and install that thing. only 6 megawatts?


    man, a decent nuclear plant is rated at 1000 megawatts and higher.

     Reply
    theorieofself was starred theorieofself was unstarred
    Image of EBone EBone
    04/23/09

    @theorieofself: That machine goes for around 4 million US dollars. Nuke plants cost in the billions.
     Reply
    EBone was starred EBone was unstarred
    Image of accordionhero accordionhero
    04/23/09

    @EBone: you have to think about that in terms of cost per kw... wind is generally competitive (as of 2 yrs ago at least when i looked last) once you add in the production tax credit which is a govt subsidy for every MWh produced. that said wind is a joke, until they figure out how to efficiently store electricity. never blows when you need it, and people generally don't live where its windy enough... and the intermittency means you can't rely on it as firm grid capacity, its just a side resource that sometimes generates a bit. and you can't really compare a nuke to any other plant in terms of cost to build bc it takes a huge capital commitment and there are long lead times for permitting...


    anyway wind won't ever replace a baseload generator (like nuclear or coal) without a natural gas fired plant nearby that can turn on when the wind stops blowing. just annoys me that so many people think wind is the answer. it'll be solar (prob thermal), if anything, once they get cost down.

     Reply
    accordionhero was starred accordionhero was unstarred
    Image of EBone EBone
    04/23/09

    @accordionhero: Thanks, I never think of those points in my position as the VP of Development for a national wind energy company.


    //Just being a smart ass.

     Reply
    EBone was starred EBone was unstarred
    Image of accordionhero accordionhero
    04/23/09

    @EBone: ah fair enough, i shouldn't have assumed you weren't aware.. apologies for the condescension, the aforementioned annoyance took over i guess.


    anyway for what it's worth, sounds like obama and the rest of the country seem pretty convinced on wind's viability... as a genuine question for curiosity's sake, has your company ever seriously explored pairing a wind farm with a pumped storage facility? i've kinda always wondered whether that was even possible, geographically or cost-wise.

     Reply
    accordionhero was starred accordionhero was unstarred
    Image of EBone EBone
    04/24/09

    @accordionhero: No worries. We're actually exploring a number of different storage and pairing options right now. One of our Texas projects is about to be supplemented by a 25 MW solar PV facility. It works great since TX gets lots of sun during the day and the wind blows pretty steady in the evening. And a CA project is tied to the LADWP's Castaic Lake pumped hydro project for load balancing.


    We're also exploring battery storage, compressed air storage, and spinning flywheels. Right now none of those technologies are perfected or cost effective, even with the PTCs in place currently. We expect these technologies to be more mainstream in the next five years or so.

     Reply
    EBone was starred EBone was unstarred
    Image of SaralaDog SaralaDog
    04/23/09

    In reply to This Thing Is Just Too Damn Huge to Be Real—But It Is
    It still boggles the mind that humans can design and build gigantic structures and machines such as this. What's even more unbelievable is that some of the largest structures were built before computers existed, such as the Hoover Dam.
     Reply
    SaralaDog was starred SaralaDog was unstarred
    Image of EBone EBone
    04/23/09

    @SaralaDog: Ever see the PBS special on the building of the Brooklyn Bridge? It's amazing how it was done without even the aid of a slide rule!
     Reply
    EBone was starred EBone was unstarred
    Image of strider_mt2k strider_mt2k
    04/23/09

    In reply to This Thing Is Just Too Damn Huge to Be Real—But It Is
    They don't need a Weatherman to know which way the wind blows...
     Reply
    strider_mt2k was starred strider_mt2k was unstarred
    Image of illegalprelude illegalprelude
    04/23/09

    In reply to This Thing Is Just Too Damn Huge to Be Real—But It Is
    im curious. So how much power is 6 megawats? A lot? A little?
     Reply
    illegalprelude was starred illegalprelude was unstarred
    Image of EBone EBone
    04/23/09

    @illegalprelude: Enough power for around 1,800 average-sized US homes.
     Reply
    EBone was starred EBone was unstarred
    Image of madog madog
    04/22/09

    In reply to This Thing Is Just Too Damn Huge to Be Real—But It Is
    I want to see the crane that's lifting that giant thing up (that's what SHE said!).


    Seriously though, it's gotta be HUGE! (that's wha.....)


    /me gets punched in the face

     Reply
    madog was starred madog was unstarred
    Image of OrlenaPlover OrlenaPlover
    04/22/09

    In reply to This Thing Is Just Too Damn Huge to Be Real—But It Is
    i work with a company that makes the bolting that goes into those wind towers... next month is a trade show in Chicago for the wind industry .... and they have the blades and hubs they go on ... and i can tell you they are as big as some homes
     Reply
    OrlenaPlover was starred OrlenaPlover was unstarred
    Image of EBone EBone
    04/23/09

    @OrlenaPlover: I'll see you there!
     Reply
    EBone was starred EBone was unstarred
    Image of Hello Mister Walrus Hello Mister Walrus
    04/22/09

    In reply to This Thing Is Just Too Damn Huge to Be Real—But It Is
    So how many megawatts exactly does it take to travel in time?
     Reply
    Hello Mister Walrus was starred Hello Mister Walrus was unstarred
    Image of GitEmSteveDave_ForgotNametag GitEmSteveDave_ForgotNametag
    04/23/09

    @Hello Mister Walrus: Uncle Rico's ran on 120v.
     Reply
    GitEmSteveDave_ForgotNametag was starred GitEmSteveDave_ForgotNametag was unstarred
    Image of GitEmSteveDave_ForgotNametag GitEmSteveDave_ForgotNametag
    04/22/09

    In reply to This Thing Is Just Too Damn Huge to Be Real—But It Is
    Smithers, i've designed a new plane, I call it the Spruce Moose, it will carry 200 passengers from New York's Eidlywilde to the Belgian Congo in 17 minutes!!


    It's a nice model.


    Model?

     Reply
    GitEmSteveDave_ForgotNametag was starred GitEmSteveDave_ForgotNametag was unstarred
    Image of Kaiser-Machead Kaiser-Machead
    04/22/09

    @When'sUranusDay?_GitEmSteveDave:


    *pulls out gun*


    I said, get in.

     Reply
    Kaiser-Machead was starred Kaiser-Machead was unstarred
    Image of spannu spannu
    04/22/09

    In reply to This Thing Is Just Too Damn Huge to Be Real—But It Is
    Can't wait til the wind speeds go higher than what they planned for and we get a video of it taking off with a piece of land attached to it.
     Reply
    spannu was starred spannu was unstarred
    Image of Kaiser-Machead Kaiser-Machead
    04/22/09

    @spannu: Lol'd at the image.
     Reply
    Kaiser-Machead was starred Kaiser-Machead was unstarred
    Image of GitEmSteveDave_ForgotNametag GitEmSteveDave_ForgotNametag
    04/22/09

    @spannu: Windmills do not work that way. Morbo will crush you!
     Reply
    GitEmSteveDave_ForgotNametag was starred GitEmSteveDave_ForgotNametag was unstarred
    Image of madog madog
    04/22/09

    @When'sUranusDay?_GitEmSteveDave: Ahhhhahahaha.


    I miss Morbo....

     Reply
    madog was starred madog was unstarred
    Image of Shadowlayer Shadowlayer
    02/05/09

    In reply to U.S. Flew to the Top in Wind Power Production Last Year
    Thats enough to power more than 20 DeLoreans!
     Reply
    Shadowlayer was starred Shadowlayer was unstarred
    Image of EBone EBone
    02/04/09

    In reply to U.S. Flew to the Top in Wind Power Production Last Year
    I'm proud to say that 252 megawatts of that new power was developed, constructed, and is managed by my company. In case you're curious, that's enough energy for about 100,000 homes annually.
     Reply
    EBone was starred EBone was unstarred
    Image of Lite: hates Illinois Nazis Lite: hates Illinois Nazis
    02/04/09

    In reply to U.S. Flew to the Top in Wind Power Production Last Year
    Wait, this can't be true! We became #1 in Wind Power production while Dubyah was in office! But, that's not right! Awwww people of Sherwood Forest we've been had, bamboozled, flimflammed... We didn't land on wind power, wind power landed on us.
     Reply
    Lite: hates Illinois Nazis was starred Lite: hates Illinois Nazis was unstarred
    Image of Luke Thornton Luke Thornton
    02/04/09

    In reply to U.S. Flew to the Top in Wind Power Production Last Year
    This is great news! Obama is going to DOUBLE the production of renewables...so in the next few years it's going to be very promising, slowly releasing our thirst for oil.


    I just can't wait for a time when electricity and clean energy are rife, clean air....mmmmmm. Knowing that using energy is not damaging anything, so i can use things without any 'guilt'.....twenty years from now the world will be a very different place, especially when considering China is making HUGE efforts to come out of the recession in a 'green' way

     Reply
    Luke Thornton was starred Luke Thornton was unstarred
    Image of VakeroRokero VakeroRokero
    02/04/09

    @Luke Thornton: double? he barely can get money to lend people, where is he going to get 30 trillion to spend on energy?
     Reply
    VakeroRokero was starred VakeroRokero was unstarred
    Image of GitEmSteveDave_ForgotNametag GitEmSteveDave_ForgotNametag
    02/04/09

    @VakeroRokero: I can't pay the mortgage on the terms I agreed to, but I can afford a windmill for my house!
     Reply
    GitEmSteveDave_ForgotNametag was starred GitEmSteveDave_ForgotNametag was unstarred
    Image of Lite: hates Illinois Nazis Lite: hates Illinois Nazis
    02/04/09

    @Luke Thornton: People keep talking about reducing the thirst for oil, but there really aren't enough electric powered vehicles on the market to do this, or even coming to market in the next 4 years.


    Most plants are coal or natural gas powered in the US. Not OIL powered anyway.


    I think you mean cleaner energy sources here. It's going to be a LONG time until we're really off of oil.


    But, what about the noise pollution from windmills? Or, you know, the fact that they kill birds? Even wind power isn't perfect here.


    I'm glad we're pursuing alternative fuel sources, but I can tell you that ethanol is a sham and yet another way to starve poor people.


    What we need, is energy from space!

     Reply
    Lite: hates Illinois Nazis was starred Lite: hates Illinois Nazis was unstarred
    Image of GitEmSteveDave_ForgotNametag GitEmSteveDave_ForgotNametag
    02/04/09

    @Lite: must go faster.: OK, seriously. If a bird can't spot a whirling 150 foot blade, perhaps it's good we eliminate that bird. It seems that's the kind of bird who would ignore a plane flying at it until it gets sucked into the engine.
     Reply
    GitEmSteveDave_ForgotNametag was starred GitEmSteveDave_ForgotNametag was unstarred
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