RoyH Posted January 30, 2008 Share Posted January 30, 2008 Hi All, Went over the Ridgeway today and there in the valley of the Vale of the White Horse are 4 or 5 wind turbines rising. I gather there has been opposition to these from those who don't want the countrside spoilt. I am not going to get into a discussion about the pros and cons about their usefulness, but I had a thought (strange event I know but...). Why are these always painted white, if they were a mucky sort of green then they would blend into the countryside better would they not? Anybody Know? RoyH. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
michele Posted January 30, 2008 Share Posted January 30, 2008 Aerpolanes ???? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Corky 8 Posted January 30, 2008 Share Posted January 30, 2008 michele - 2008-01-30 6:14 PM Aerpolanes ???? 8-) Chele if aeroplanes get low enough to be in danger of wind turbines , they are in Deep deep Trouble already 8-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clive Posted January 30, 2008 Share Posted January 30, 2008 Yes you are correct. Its the Westmill wind farm and I am proud to say we have some shares in it. I fail to see how people can complain about these totally green , quiet gracefull machines. They paint them off white to match the sky (clouds) and keep them cool. Same as most motorhomes I guess. More info on :- http://www.westmill.coop/westmill_home.asp Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davenewellhome Posted January 30, 2008 Share Posted January 30, 2008 Good for you Clive, I'd rather see every hill top in the country festooned with them than a single coal fired power station like the one we have here in Telford. And before anyway says anything about them being noisy I suggest you try living within a couple of miles of a conventional power station, earthmovers shifting the coal around for at least 12 hours a day, coal trains running in and out dozens of times a day etc. D. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
howie Posted January 30, 2008 Share Posted January 30, 2008 Considering the unsightly impact they have on the countryside i,ve often thought a more natural colour would not be asking to much. The same applies to factory units. We have a huge hanger type electronics factory just out of town also in gleaming white that sticks out like a sore thumb, and from its raised elevation can be seen for miles. Any shade of green would have helped it blend into the scenery, but what really gets me is when you try to re-roof any house around here with a shade of tile not exactly matching the surounding area. Double standards, and a chance for the planners to show their powers when it comes to individual householders perhaps. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RoyH Posted January 30, 2008 Author Share Posted January 30, 2008 Howie has brought to mind that beside the M4 between Newbury and Reading (Going East they are on the right) there are two mobile phone masts within 200yds of each other among some fir trees, one has been disguised as a fir tree and is almost unnoticeable the other stands out like a sore thumb. Why didn't the planners make them both blend in? The turbines I mentioned are most obvious from the height of the surrounding hills so stand out against the green countryside. OK if they are on top of a hill then paint them the sky colour. They're a good idea but just this little bit more thought to blend them into their individual sites would be an improvement. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thai Bry Posted January 30, 2008 Share Posted January 30, 2008 My only observation is this:-Whilst I totally agree with us trying to use "Green" and sustainable energy, I never ever see "ALL" wind mills on any farm working.Lucky if I see 1 in 3 on any one farm working, and there are quite a few up here in Yorkshire.Again I feel that we are just paying lip service to the issue.Thai Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
michele Posted January 30, 2008 Share Posted January 30, 2008 Corky 8 - 2008-01-30 6:49 PM michele - 2008-01-30 6:14 PM Aerpolanes ???? 8-) Chele if aeroplanes get low enough to be in danger of wind turbines , they are in Deep deep Trouble already 8-) :D :D :D :$ :$ :$ :$ :$ :$ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clive Posted January 30, 2008 Share Posted January 30, 2008 I believe the colour was agreed with the planners. If an alternative colour was required then surely its at that stage this requirement should have been made clear on the planning consent. But how about the millions of massive galvanised iron pylons that traverse our county. No one complains about these and they are certainly not aesthetic. These turbines are beautiful gracefull bits of architecture. I have stood at the base of some 2.5 MW ones in France and they are almost silent. Only the first generating turbines had noisy winey gearboxes. But they are many times the height of the mobile phone masts and because of this need a different aproach colour wise. Before the plans were submitted a year long survey of wind speed and direction was carried out at the site. It is based on this survey that the economics and projected annual electrical output is calculated. The wind does not always blow, the sun does not always shine but when it does we have something to capture a small part of the energy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CliveH Posted January 30, 2008 Share Posted January 30, 2008 Totally agree with you Clive On a trip to Wales I was mightily impressed with the grace of these huge windmills. Over lunch the locals in the pub were unanimous - they said they were better than flooding the valleys which is what has happened before in the pursuit of hydro electricity. The great thing about these new "windmills" is that they are relatively easy to put up, make little impact on the land use around them and if they are no longer needed - easy to take down and recycle. My only critiscm is that I believe we should be moving towards low energy hardware in our homes with small local wind generators and solar panels rather than trying to get wind power and solar power to produce power to the national grid and pipe it into our homes at 240v and 13 amp. With modern low energy use hardware - we should all be looking towards self sufficiency. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
howie Posted January 30, 2008 Share Posted January 30, 2008 Clive - 2008-01-30 10:29 PM These turbines are beautiful gracefull bits of architecture. Given the state of the markets, now would seem the ideal time to add shares in opencast mining to your portfolio Clive. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BGD Posted January 31, 2008 Share Posted January 31, 2008 Clive - 2008-01-30 10:29 PM I believe the colour was agreed with the planners. If an alternative colour was required then surely its at that stage this requirement should have been made clear on the planning consent. But how about the millions of massive galvanised iron pylons that traverse our county. No one complains about these and they are certainly not aesthetic. These turbines are beautiful gracefull bits of architecture. I have stood at the base of some 2.5 MW ones in France and they are almost silent. Only the first generating turbines had noisy winey gearboxes. But they are many times the height of the mobile phone masts and because of this need a different aproach colour wise. Before the plans were submitted a year long survey of wind speed and direction was carried out at the site. It is based on this survey that the economics and projected annual electrical output is calculated. The wind does not always blow, the sun does not always shine but when it does we have something to capture a small part of the energy. I too totally agree with you. Here in Spain there is a MASSIVE investment in them going on - they are poppoing up like , well, like windmills all over the tops of high hill ranges. There must be thousands of them across Spain now, and I think that's great - (Spain is very Green, and very keen on investing in renewable power: wind and solar energy). We parked up right underneath one in our van a couple of weeks ago in the Andalucia region. As you say, they are almost silent, and (IMHO) very graceful. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mick H. Posted January 31, 2008 Share Posted January 31, 2008 It's good to hear people supporting wind turbines I look on them as giant executive toys, very graceful and extremely relaxing.If I had a back yard I'd have one. Just designed a poster we could put in our vans in support of them.................... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CliveH Posted January 31, 2008 Share Posted January 31, 2008 Sadly NIMBY'ism is rife. A firm that makes wind turbines is based on the Isle of White - a great place for them apparently with steady winds and good locations. But the Local Council refused planning permission for them. So one of the places they are manufactured is not allowed to benefit from them. But still this is the Council that spent over £1M of Council Tax money on renovating a school only to decide that it is going to close it and most of the other rural schools on the island. http://www.islandpulse.co.uk/b2/iw-community-protest-over-weston-school-closure/ God help us the lunatics have already taken over the asylum and I do not think the IoW is that different to the rest of the UK. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crinklystarfish Posted January 31, 2008 Share Posted January 31, 2008 RoyH - 2008-01-30 6:12 PM ...Why are these always painted white... Anybody Know? RoyH.What other colour could a white elephant be?I'd hazard a guess though that it's to give the thousands of birds that they kill a sporting chance of seeing the blades just before they blat them out of the sky. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mick H. Posted January 31, 2008 Share Posted January 31, 2008 crinklystarfish - 2008-01-31 1:19 PMRoyH - 2008-01-30 6:12 PM ...Why are these always painted white... Anybody Know? RoyH.What other colour could a white elephant be?I'd hazard a guess though that it's to give the thousands of birds that they kill a sporting chance of seeing the blades just before they blat them out of the sky.If the birds are so blind that they cant see the blades going that slow they deserve to be blatted. Mick H. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crinklystarfish Posted January 31, 2008 Share Posted January 31, 2008 Sensible. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crinklystarfish Posted January 31, 2008 Share Posted January 31, 2008 I assume you'd extend the same argument to children who are unable to judge the speed of the cars that regularly kill and maim them? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mick H. Posted January 31, 2008 Share Posted January 31, 2008 crinklystarfish - 2008-01-31 1:42 PMI assume you'd extend the same argument to children who are unable to judge the speed of the cars that regularly kill and maim them?Different arguement.Doesn't compute. Mick H. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
michele Posted January 31, 2008 Share Posted January 31, 2008 Ah Mick thats orrible them poor birds. When we visit Le Touquet just before you actually come off at the Peage they have them there we love the noise they make it can be very relaxing . On a windy day raining it can be also good knowing you're inside nice and warm. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
onecal Posted January 31, 2008 Share Posted January 31, 2008 Someone posted they are turning slow, Think again, some blade tip speed is around 180 MPH. Most of the 2 MW turbines only produces a little more than 25% of its rated capacity because of wind speed limitation. If the 2MW wind turbines were to try and replace one conventional coal station of 2000 MW it would take up to 3000/3500 wind turbines spread over 750Km/2 of countryside Even then the coal station would be needed to fill the gaps in the National Grid when the wind turbines are not generating full capicity. Ah yes they are a help. But they are very costly at the moment. Painted white---well what other colour would you paint a white elephant? Regards, Brendan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crinklystarfish Posted January 31, 2008 Share Posted January 31, 2008 Mick H. - 2008-01-31 2:23 PM/> Different arguement. Doesn't compute. Mick H.Same argument, just extrapolated. And if by "doesn't compute" you mean you don't understand, I am singularly unsurprised; yet still disappointed.Why indeed should anyone care about anything as long as they themselves are alright? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Tracker Posted January 31, 2008 Share Posted January 31, 2008 crinklystarfish - 2008-01-31 4:20 PM Why indeed should anyone care about anything as long as they themselves are alright? Why indeed? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
onecal Posted January 31, 2008 Share Posted January 31, 2008 If we close all the Power Stations what about all the people that will loose there Jobs and all the Jobs lost to those who supply the stations. We all Care, Look at the bigger picture, Regards, Brendan. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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