Opened in 2001, the Mill Run Wind farm in Fayette County, Pennsylvania was one of the Commonwealth's first wind farms. It had 10 turbines, each with 1.5 Mw of capacity.
http://www.nawindpower.com/e107_plugins/content/content.php?content.12507.
I say it "had" 10 turbines, because on January 15th one collapsed--one could say that it had a meltdown. The cause of the collapse is unknown at this time.
A collapse of a wind turbine is as bad as it gets at a wind farm. But wind at its worst does not cause 300,000 customers to lose water service. It does not cause a fireball that levels homes and kills 47 people sleeping in their homes, as happened with an oil train explosion in Canada. Wind at its worst does not cover vast portions of the Gulf of Mexico with oil.
The turbine collapse in Pennsylvania is wind at its worst. Yet, another of wind's strengths is that, when wind is at its worst, the consequences do not threaten the health safety of thousands and vast areas.
It also doesn't meltdown, causing large-scale (and long-term) contamination of soil, water, and air, or sicken nearby residents.
ReplyDeleteWind has sickened nearby residents and could injure or kill them if they are close when one explodes!
ReplyDeleteAgreed- wind needs to be part of the package - this includes wind development in national parks, state forest, and off of our coast. No NIMBY !
ReplyDeleteBut it is also not available 24/7 - Need investment in smart grid, putting electrical lines underground, battery and storage technology, and energy efficiency.