Environment & Energy
Related: About this forumState's Largest Wind Power Project Breaks Ground (Hawaii)
http://www.kitv.com/r/30539356/detail.html<snip>
Wind energy company First Wind broke ground Friday, for the state's largest wind project so far.
The company will build 30 wind turbines in the hills above Kawailoa, across from the popular surf spot Chun's Reef.
The new Kawailoa Wind farm is First Wind's fourth project in Hawaii.
It will produce 69 megawatts and generate enough electricity to power more than 14,500 Oahu homes, said Paul Gaynor, First Wind's CEO.
Read more: http://www.kitv.com/news/30539356/detail.html#ixzz1nQLfKuNH
FogerRox
(13,211 posts)I want to see more thinking like the Atlantic Wind COnnection, a 350 long HVDC trunk line from NJ to Virginia to support 1750 4Mw trubines 15-20 miles offshore. 7 gigs
NBachers
(17,006 posts)ellisonz
(27,709 posts)No matter how much we cave to Big Wind it won't reduce our dependence on fossil fuels, bring down overall energy costs, or address the real issue which is increasing demand. We need to focus on demand, and no supply. At least this is hardly virgin land...but it's really not the answer to our problem.
God help us if they turn Molokai and Lanai into batteries for Oahu.
kristopher
(29,798 posts)I'm fairly sure this disproves your rant:
...Michigan's 2008 renewable portfolio standard (RPS) law required the state commission to report on how the law was working in practice. The February 15, 2012 report was a report card on the remarkable success of that state's RPS law. It stands in marked contrast to many of the critics of state renewable laws like Grover Norquist who don't get their facts straight and claim that these laws raise rates, force ratepayers to buy more expensive renewable power, and don't create any economic benefits.
...
First, they said the law has generated over $100 million in investments in the state, spurred manufacturing, and created jobs.
Second, the law has led to more than 100 megawatts of new renewable capacity in the state, putting it on track to meet its 10% requirement. So the law is working.
Third, and this might be the most dramatic point made by the Commission, the cost of these new renewable projects -- including, wind, solar and hydro -- is less than the cost of a new coal plant.
That deserves to be repeated. In contrast to ...
Relevant section starts on page 22
http://www.michigan.gov/documents/mpsc/implementation_PA295_renewable_energy2-15-2012_376924_7.pdf
ellisonz
(27,709 posts)kristopher
(29,798 posts)ellisonz
(27,709 posts)We're in a position where trading off land for wind farms reduces its use-value to tourism. This is a small potato compared to what they have planned for Lanai and Molokai:
Groups fear damage to land by Lanai, Molokai wind farms
Credit: By Alan Yonan Jr., Honolulu Star Advertiser, www.staradvertiser.com 12 January 2011 ~~
The damage that proposed wind farms on Lanai and Molokai could do to the islands natural beauty and cultural sites outweighs the benefits they might have by helping the state reach energy self-sufficiency.
That was the message from several community groups that testified at a legislative hearing yesterday.
The projects, which would deliver a combined 400 megawatts of electricity to Oahu via undersea cables, are a major component of the states plan to generate 40 percent of Hawaiis energy from renewable sources by 2030. The plan calls for the state to reduce its dependence on fossil fuels by another 30 percent through increased energy efficiency.
I support clean energy, but I do not support the current plan, which calls for this mammoth abuse of our treasured aina, said Martha Evans, a member of Friends of Lanai.
More: http://www.wind-watch.org/news/2011/01/12/groups-fear-damage-to-land-by-lanai-molokai-wind-farms/
This plan will never happen. Hawaii is better served through converting old sugar fields to biofuel production, increasing efficiency through solar on homes, and building/improving mass transit. Our land is more valuable than any cost to energy that a massive wind project like those proposed could provide. This is a get rich quick scheme for Big Wind. You can't just apply the same model to all places. Hawaii is a radically different place than Michigan.