So, I'm a big advocate for finding ways to limit our dependency on oil, not foreign oil, not domestic oil, but OIL. I personally believe that unless we are putting as much money as possible into researching wind, solar, hydro and geothermal energy we only should be spending as much money on combustible fuels only to sustain us until we are capable of weaning ourselves off of these combustible fuels.
I have attached a couple of articles here that I have read that will help to answer some questions about why Nebraska has the 6th most wind energy producing land, yet is ranks 23rd in wind energy production. The situation seems to be more complicated than just having not yet build wind turbines.
(Yes, I do realize that wind turbines in Nebraska probably will not be submerged in the ocean like this picture may suggest. It's just for aesthetic purposes. People like pictures and I like pictures.)
http://www.omaha.com/index.php?u_page=2798&u_sid=10542824
Although, as I have kept reading articles about wind power generation, there has obviously been some difficulties in the regions that have these turbines. Many manufacturers still have many operational issues, which is probably why I always see wind turbines stopped on windy days (maybe producing faulty turbines would create more jobs?)
Also, in in one of the following articles they showed a statistic from research at Stanford University that of 7500 wind stations, only 13% of them are at altitudes that produce enough wind speed to generate electricity.
http://freeenergy.ca/news/121/ARTICLE/1271/2007-03-17.html
http://www.iht.com/articles/2006/12/28/business/wind.php
I have attached a couple of articles here that I have read that will help to answer some questions about why Nebraska has the 6th most wind energy producing land, yet is ranks 23rd in wind energy production. The situation seems to be more complicated than just having not yet build wind turbines.
(Yes, I do realize that wind turbines in Nebraska probably will not be submerged in the ocean like this picture may suggest. It's just for aesthetic purposes. People like pictures and I like pictures.)
http://www.omaha.com/index.php?u_page=2798&u_sid=10542824
Although, as I have kept reading articles about wind power generation, there has obviously been some difficulties in the regions that have these turbines. Many manufacturers still have many operational issues, which is probably why I always see wind turbines stopped on windy days (maybe producing faulty turbines would create more jobs?)
Also, in in one of the following articles they showed a statistic from research at Stanford University that of 7500 wind stations, only 13% of them are at altitudes that produce enough wind speed to generate electricity.
http://freeenergy.ca/news/121/ARTICLE/1271/2007-03-17.html
http://www.iht.com/articles/2006/12/28/business/wind.php
Sometimes it seems like wind power could be the magic bullet to our energy needs, but there seems to be many things in way. I have always liked the idea of wind power. I have always talked about how someday I'm going to have a radio on my back porch that will be powered by the wind. I actually will probably hope to have that project well under way by the time I have house or even a house with a back porch. With the help from physics and an old beat up box fan, I plan on getting my generator turning lamps on or charging batteries soon.
For your viewing pleasure.
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