RE: GP: tick tock

["Tom Gray" <tomgray@igc.org>]

> -----Original Message-----
> From: John D'Angelo [mailto:johnd@beutilityfree.com]
> Sent: Thursday, October 10, 2002 1:03 AM
> To: kirk; green-power@crest.org
> Subject: Re: GP: tick tock
>
>
> on 10/9/02 20:58, kirk at kirk@3rivers.net wrote:
>
> > Encouraging green power is a good thing-- and certainly people in cities
> > have to import power. Unfortunately it leaves the centralized
> power paradigm
> > intact--and that is not a good thing. Even structures in the
> city can use
> > the sun. Using electricity and fossil fuel for low grade heat
> such as space
> > heating and hot water is misapplication.
> >
> > We often see gas burned to heat living space and offices when
> it would be
> > far better to cogenerate with that fuel. Electricity could be
> generated and
> > what is burden in a power plant--the bottom end heat--becomes
> useful load in
> > a cogen application.
> >
> > We better use our resources utilizing a system approach or we deserve to
> > suffer the cosequences. We can no longer turn a blind eye to waste.
>
> Wonderfully said. I am not a big believer in the "central power" concept
> either. But it is a necessary evil for the foreseeable future
unfortunately.
> Once PV becomes so cheap then there will be NO need for central power. It
> will die. May take the next 50 years, but it WILL die!

I'm an agnostic on centralized power--seems to me like a good example of
something that I would be actually be willing to let the market decide on.
If it can stand up economically without subsidies, I don't have a problem
with it.  I don't build my own roads, cars, schools, sewers, Internet, etc.,
etc., and have no particular desire to generate my own electricity unless
there is some compelling reason to do so.

> Also proponents of large wind farms seem to forget there are a lot of
people
> who do not want visual pollution and that is EXACTLY what a wind farm
does,
> it changes the visual landscape until the wind turbines are removed form
> sight which could be quite a number of years.

There are also many people who are happy to have the extra income from
wind leases, and many people who find them attractive.  As you probably
know, they are tourist attractions in many locations, and they are also
frequently pictured on post cards.

See http://www.awea.org/policy/opposum.html

> OF course hard to argue with a clean energy source vs a dirty energy
source.
> A dirty energy source causes visual polution also but not to the some
extent
> a wind farm does because a wind farm is spread out over many miles where a
> coal fired plant or a nuke plant has a small foot print.
>
> John D'Angelo

Correct.  All they do is change the climate, generate mountains of waste,
pollute and poison the air and water, spoil the pristine views with haze . .
. but
that small footprint, ya gotta love it.

Meanwhile, the clock ticks on.  I buy green tags.

Tom Gray
American Wind Energy Association


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