CommunityLetters

Friday, July 23, 2010 By Molokai Dispatch staff

Dollars Blowing in the Wind

The undersea cable study to run wind energy from Molokai to Oahu is now underway.  If the state gets the go-ahead, what capacity of windmills will the cable handle?   It takes 12 acres to put one 400 ft. wind tower with a 45 ft. diameter and 10 ft. deep concrete to secure one wind tower.  How are these wind towers transported?
 
According to some experts, the west end is considered one of the best places in the world for a wind project. How many wind towers on the west side would be sufficient to keep the lights on in Oahu?  My $64 billion question is, how would 100, 300, 500 wind towers spread out on the west end affect the immediate residents, the ocean environment, and the entire island of Molokai?   Is it pono (right) for Molokai?  Try figga.
 
Larry Helm
Concerned Citizen

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Wind study resource

Mon, 2010-07-26 07:36 — mark albertazzi

There's an interesting book you can read online from the National Academies Press titled "Environmental Impacts of Wind-Energy Projects." It outlines a number of issues that need to be considered, along with data collected from existing projects. Hopefully it'll help you find answers to some of the questions you have. Here's the link;

http://www.nap.edu/openbook.php?record_id=11935&page=R1

wind generators

Sat, 2010-07-24 09:00 — capret89

Larry: Where'd you get the figures on the wind mills? Those I have observed quite close don't appear to take up that much acerage per unit. True tho, the farms I have seen utilize pretty large numbers of units. I don't know if the towers themselves are transported, but the prop blades I've noticed are transported to site on double long flat bed trucks.