Does Mason County have active Windmills yet?

[Guidothesemipsuedocaptitalistpig]

Just curious.. Does Mason county have their first installment of Wind Farm energy yet?

Many in this area are taking a low profile dip into renewable energy and slapping solar panels on their homes . If you use micro inverters you can slow down your grid electric use-age by about 1/3rd without mortgaging said home. Whether this translates to the things paying for themselves before they come to the end of their useful life is yet to be determined however.

Please post a few pics if they are up so I can determine whether Ludington should still be a destination for my next great white north trip?

[XLFD]

Willy has put up some pictures in the photo section of some incomplete ones.  There are many fully constructed turbines littering Riverton Township, but none are operating yet.  You can see some of the turbines from the Ludington Lighthouse pier.  The LDN has ran a couple letters in the "from our readers" section expressing similar thoughts to yours, Guido. 

[Dave]

You can see those things from quite a distance... on my way to work they are visible in the distance as far south as just south of Hart. They have potential be a monstrosity, they better hope those things create plenty of energy for all the space they are taking up and scenery they are ruining.

[Willy]

As your driving north on the freeway they are visible from at least 16 miles away. I'll see if I can get some more photos.

[Guidothesemipsuedocaptitalistpig]

Thanks for the updates all. I really am not one who necessarily calls them a sight sore although I will take your word for it that you see them that way.    All you have to do though is compare the max output of those they intend to build? Against any other plants and you see it is easy math they will not reduce our energy dependency on other sources one bit.

[Willy]

What you don't hear is how inefficient wind power is. A study done in Scotland shows that only a 22% efficiency rate is being realized from wind power. So in order to get full maximum use out of wind turbines it is necessary to overbuild the number of turbines needed. Instead of 100 turbines it will take over 400 turbines to meet the needed electrical output. That is why these things must be subsidized with our tax dollars. Imagine having to build 4 coal powered plants instead of 1. We are in for huge electrical rate increases in the near future to pay for this liberal boondoggle.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/earth/energy/renewableenergy/8236254/Win...

[Guidothesemipsuedocaptitalistpig]

True will and solar efficiency's are not even that good. Between 12-18% at optimum angles.

http://sroeco.com/solar/most-efficient-solar-panels

so even if you do have a farm sided lot to place them on you need many. and they are very suseptable to things like Hail wind rain and ummm... of coarse darkness??  lol

[Willy]

More wind turbine photos

[XLFD]

Excellent photos, Willy.  Any idea why, in that last photo, the wind turbine in the foreground doesn't go nearly as high as the other turnines in the background?  It looks like someone could jump and almost touch the rim of it.

Has anyone heard the time when they plan on eventually get these things twirling?

[Willy]

 Funny X. At first I couldn't figure out what you were talking about until I reread your post and the word "rim" stood out. In that photo the occupants of the dwelling, which is out of the picture, had one of the nicest views in Mason county and I'm sure this was their dream home. Needless to say unless your a wind turbine junkie, that view no longer holds much value and the occupants have put their house up for sale. I hope they can get their money out of it because it is a beautiful home on a spacious setting.

[AQUAMAN]

Willy, great pics. and post. I also just made a trip south of town, to eat at Bortell's, perch dinner, what a monstrous sight I saw. These monster size turbines, into the dozens, are now a big eyesore looking north on old US-31 by Kinney and Meisenheimer Rds.. I really feel for the land owners that are going to have to look and hear these things when they are operational. I will try to post pics. too later, as I gasped in anger/frustration when I saw these: (Shutterfly is transferring from old Kodak gallery due to recent sale, more progress I am told). They really ruin the back road farm scenery that we were all accustomed to all our lives, and in the end, was it really worth the cost and bother? I just wonder......sad. If anyone else disagrees, please take a close up look for yourself, and compare to what we have had previously, just gross!

[XLFD]

One can imagine the reluctance of the rural farmers of yore to the aesthetically displeasing look of the electric utility pole back three quarters of a century ago, put up under the Rural Electirfication Act.  Little did they know it would one day allow them to receive the Ludington Torch, free except for a nominal cost on their electrical bill.

[Willy]

X. It's amazing how much work they got done using such equipment.