We need to see more of this -
Ocean Gate New Jersey constructed the first of 2 - 50kw Wind Turbines
to supply electricity to their municipal building and water treatment plant.
This was accomplished over the objections of a few ocean front millionaire property owners who complained that the turbines would "ruin their view".
Well, they were voted down and no doubt stormed away in their Hummers and Escalades. A small victory for Democracy.
Here is the article from The Asbury Park Press:

That's good! We have a similar problem here in our region. The suggestion of wind turbines has been bounced around a few times but shot down due to asthetics.
I'd much rather see a few wind turbines than this dog's breakfast:

Our current gas-fired power station. Currently shut down due to asbestos.

Oh yes. So asthetic.

 

Wind turbines in New Plymouth were turned because of asthetics? They can't be half as ugly as that "wind wand" thingy down on the water front.

 

LOL
You've got no argument from me!

 

-for those who have no idea what our "Wind Wand" is. It's a fibreglass stick with an empty ball on top. It's art.

(Crowd goes, "Ohhh, right.")


Looks like a giant cat's toy in my opinion.

 

Whoops. Posted twice.

 

Its no joke. People love the idea of clean green power as long as they don't have to look at it. Campbell River had the chance to have a wind farm just off the shore in the Discovery Passage. The local newspaper splashed an artist's rendition of what it "could" look like on front page. The reaction from the town was swift and nearly unanimous.

Everyone hated it. They look bad. They ruin ocean views, and therefore reduce property value! They'll ruin the sport and commercial fishing. They'll kill birds. They're bad for the environment, and so on..

In reality, the company was only applying for permission to install a small pole mounted weather station to see if there was even enough wind to warrant a complete wind farm. The CEO pulled out before a single shovel was over turned saying he didn't want to do business in a town were they were not welcome.

That same newspaper has since gone to the other extreme and become the most biased and uncompromising environmentalist rag in town. They alway seem to publish my letters that promote green ideas, but refuse to publish anything that even hints of climate change skepticism (like questioning the carbon tax).

"There is no such thing as public opinion. There is only published opinion"
-Winston Churchill

A few years later, city council decided it would be a cool thing to blow up a pile of dirt on a barge near the waterfront of downtown. naturally that went over budget, but it goes to show you how pointless the priorities of influential people can be.

 

Sometimes I think, where a community refuses clean power generation then they should place a waste incinerator power station there instead. If that is also refused then disconnect the community from the grid and tell them to make their own electricity.

The place would be full of diesel smog for a while before the wind turbines start appearing.

 

Ocean Gate's first Wind Turbine was constructed on municipal property which I'm told is not even near the ocean front and their second one will be installed on the water treatment property, again away from the ocean front. So who's view is being "ruined"? The workers at the water treatment plant? I doubt they complained. A savings in the town budget helps to insure their job security.
If I lived in that town I would be proud to brag and show pictures of our new wind turbines to all my relatives. I'm glad the middle class residents stood up to the big money boys.
Not only do the turbines indirectly reduce green house emissions, they save the taxpayers money in the long run.
Think 10 or 15 years from now when electricity rates have increased by 50%. The higher the rates, the greater the savings.
As for property values, I would think Ocean Gate increased everyone's.
Lower tax rates = higher resale value.

 

Actually, it was the middle class that lead the charge against the idea in my town. Simply put, if they can see it, then its considered unsightly. But in many cases, they won't admit that so instead its more like; if the can see it, then it must be "unsafe".

We have a hydro/electric dam here however, and there seems to be the opinion that it provides enough green power anyway. In reality its not nearly enough to power the town on its own, and indeed all of vancouver island has to import power from mainland BC (some comming from fossil fuels).

Wind turbines can't power the world on their own, but they can reduce consumption of fuels like CNG (along with diesel and coal). I don't have a problem with throttling up the power plants on days when the wind doesn't blow, but its possible to reduce consumption of that limited resource right here and now.

The added competition against fossil fuels will also be good for electricity rates.

 

Hehe at least the neighbors to wind turbine parks around here got a real thing to complain about.
I would have some seconds thoughts living next to a park of 250m high 6MW+ turbines..

 

Ocean Gate is a snob town. LOTS of rules, like no driving your car on Sunday, and other stuff. It's always been that way, for the 60 years I know about.

Isn't it strange that most folks don't complain too much, about those nice looking CellPhone repeater towers ???

 

Personally I like the look of wind farms.

This was taken from the Edwin B Forsythe National Wildlife Refuge just outside of Atlantic City, NJ. It not only features the first wind farm in NJ, but also the first coastal wind farm in the United States and a Double-crested Cormorant.
http://www.njwind.com/project.html

 

They are silent too from what I've been told. People stood under them in a 25 MPH wind and all you hear is the wind. It seems to be a myth that they make a loud Wump................Wump.................Wump sound. At least the modern ones with all composite blades seem to be pretty good.

I would almost donate my back yard to having one of those larger ones installed, but the neighbors up the hill would probably blow a gasket over how the view of my back yard would be ruined.

 

Harold
You are thinking of Ocean Grove, "snob town" in Monmouth County - no driving cars on Sunday, no hanging out wash, no public car washing and a thousand other annoying ordinances.
I live about 20 minutes west of there.

Ocean Gate, however, is much farther south in Ocean County.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Ocean_gate_nj_029.png

 

The ones I've been to you can't hear the blades for all the other noise in the area. The older ones may have been a problem, but with every generation they get better.

Current wind farms put out about 35-46 dB at 1,000 ft. That's about what you would get standing next to a stream or sitting in a library.

I'd have put some in my backyard years ago if it wasn't for the tall trees and the road being too close.

 

What is wrong with people in the west?
Is there something wrong with our DNA?
Is it a mental problem because when we are born the first thing that happens to us is the doctors slaps our silly little arse for no reason?


I just do not understand!?

People keep screaming about

green house gases,
climate change and the raise in sea and air temperature,
raise in the sea level,
pollution from coal burning power stations,
complaining about the waste from nuclear power stations,
the noise from wind farms,
the unsightly look of solar farms,

yet they all want clear energy as long as it does not lower the cost of their properties, make noise next to their home, obstruct the ocean view on their beach etc etc.

People in the west want clear energy as long as it is produced about 2000kilometer away from where they live and does not effect their life.

Hello!! not going to happen without sacrifice . You want clear energy then you have to give up something to get it, be it ocean views or little whooshing noise.


People in Japan are snapping these Energy Farms up like there is no tomorrow.

​

Natural gas goes in one side then zap, bang, wing diddly dang, electricity and hot water comes out the other side, you have enough electricity for your home to reduce your power bills by 70% a year and all the free hot water you need.
You also have the option to add solar panels to the roof of your home which with the energy farms will produce all the electricity to run your home that you then have the option of being disconnected from the power grid.
Your energy farm runs by mains or cylinder gas.
A lot of people are placing small wind turbines on their homes so during the day while they are at work solar panels and wind turbines are charging batteries so when they come home at night their homes are running off of their own clear energy.

Some people have new DC systems installed so solar/wind energy runs their computers/playstation/Wii and any other home item that uses DC electricity.

There are huge wind turbines going up everywhere along the coasts, on mountains, wind farms being build out on the ocean, anywhere there is strong wind these turbines are going up.
Solar farms being built on any un-useable land, people are having solar panels placed on the roofs of their homes, building in the cities are now placing solar panels on them to run the air-con / heating systems to reduce their reliance on the power grid.

The Japanese cannot get clear energy fast enough and no one is complaining about it.

We now have 2 huge turbines about 5 kilometers from our home that was not there 12 months ago, no one has complain about the noise they make and they do not make that much noise, a gust of wind from your back passage is louder.

People that purchase a BEV or PHEV will have the option to charge them off of Solar/wind/energy farm produced electricity.



Why is it in Japan and the west people want clear energy, but in the west people do not want it if it effects their life style or were they live?

Are we westerns selfish?

We always seem to want, want and want but never want to give!!

 

Voltswagen

Yep, you are correct. Born in Lakewood, and left there 32 years later.

Guess the old brain is leaking voltage faster than I thought