Puff

[threemonkeys]

Living in one of the worlds windiest cities has its interesting side. One thing that has been a hot topic of discussion recently is the use of wind turbines to generate electricity. It isn't new technology, but in recent years it has become mature enough and cost effective enough that it is a real and obvious option as this country starts to approach the limits of current power generation capacity. And of course it has all kinds of ecological advantages over other power generation methods.

In Wellington, you can't easily escape the thought of it - not least because there is a wind turbine right on the skyline on one of the highest points near the city. It does not generate much power - it is as much about publicity as real power generation. To get real benefit you need great farms of these devices.

Finally plans are under way to build several such farms in the Wellington area. The first of these is planned to be at Makara out to the west of the city. It is running into problems with the nimby ("not in my back yard") syndrome from the small community that lives out there. The residents don't want these devices on their skyline - some are planned to only be a kilometre or so from the nearest house.

I don't hear much sympathy around town for the Makara residents. It seems most people think that wind power is a very good idea and that the objections of the residents are horribly overstated. I tend to agree. While I wouldn't want one of these things right next door I don't think I would have a problem with one a kilometre or two away.

My opinions might be tested however. One of the possible sites for future development is in the Belmont regional park. A corner of that park is only a kilometre or so from my place and an exposed ridge ideal for wind generators not that much further. Watch this space.

Comments

[mashugenah.livejournal.com]

Yeah, the objections are mostly about 1. The Look, 2. The Noise.

I was reading in e.News, the IPENZ news thing (I think) that in general, they're actually a popular visual thing. People want to have that unusual view of the turbines. So it's concievable that it will actually raise house prices.

Secondly, I've been out to the turbines in the Wairarapa, and was there for some of the construction in the Manawatu Gorge about 7 months ago, and you can't actually hear them when it's windy enough fo rthem to be working. Which is a huge percentage of the time now. :)

[threemonkeys.livejournal.com]

I am very encouraged by what you say about the noise level - or lack of it. If I was likely to have any objection to having them near my place then it would be because of the noise.

[tikiwanderer.livejournal.com]

If done well, noise is barely an issue. I loved the ones at the Albany wind farm for that and their beauty. I wrote to the main designer about it, the guy who'd been in charge of the overall aesthetic, and he told me how that was something they'd worked very hard on to end up with a place that was beautiful so that the people of the town would be happy. You could be only a couple of hundred metres away on the other side of a dune, so they were just out of sight, and you couldn't hear them to know they were there. The designers chose a type that had no gearbox, because that cuts down the noise dramatically, and they also went for fewer-but-taller turbines because it made the space look less cluttered for the same amount of power (and the community had input on that choice).