Tilting at Windmills
To the editor:
The 1605 story of Don Quixote details an event in which he rode with his lance at full tilt against a row of windmills which he mistook for evil giants. This story is the inspiration for the term “tilting at windmills” which means to use time and energy to attack a problem that is not real. Driving around Fayette County, I see many lances at full tilt in the form of red signs littering the right-of-ways.
Humans have been harvesting wind energy for thousands of years. Wind has been used to power ships, grind grain and pump water. Electricity was wind generated during the late 1800s to the 1930s, at which time power lines were extended to the rural areas. Ironically, the erection of overhead power lines was met with the same resistance as we’re seeing with wind turbines in Fayette County. Even our current coal fired power plant was unwelcome.
I’ve heard many excuses and stories as to why Fayette County should not allow electric wind generation. Most of what I have been told is fiction in the form of scare tactics. Some are valid concerns, but answered with misleading or inaccurate information. Are wind turbines 100% efficient? No, but there isn’t any type of mechanical apparatus that is. The average coal-fired power plant, such as the one in Fayetteville, is about 33% efficient at burning coal to make steam to power the three turbines that spin the generators. Add to that, the coal is transported by rail from Wyoming where it is mined. So more energy is consumed just to supply fuel for the power plant. Most wind turbines can extract as much as 50% of the wind that passes through the rotor area. Due to the variable wind speed, the average wind turbine efficiency is about 35%.
Another excuse is that wind turbines will kill birds in large numbers. The tips of the blades can reach about 200 mph and I’m sure some fowl will fly into them. There are also a large number of birds electrocuted on power lines, “sucked” into jet engines and hit by cars. I have a structure on my property that kills birds on a weekly basis and it doesn’t move. Birds strike the windows of my house with deadly force.
What happens when the blades wear out? The fiberglass- epoxy blades are rated for 20-25 years. They can be recycled, but at this time the market does not support that and most of them are finding their way to landfills. I remember a time when the market did not support paper recycling. It wasn’t until consumers were finally willing to purchase recycled paper products that meaningful recycling of paper began. As wind turbine usage grows, there should be an increase in the market for recycled blades.
Wind turbines will create an ugly landscape. Really? Everyone is OK with a towering structure belching smoke from three towers that can be seen from 20 miles away, but not wind turbines. Minnesota, Texas and California are the leading states in total installed wind capacity. In 2022, Iowa generated 62% of its electricity from wind. The real problem is that some people don’t like change; even for the better. Don’t become another Don Quixote.
David McCall Waldeck