Are Wind Farms an Eyesore?

By DIY Maven

Yesterday, while traveling through southwestern Minnesota, we came upon several clusters of wind generators nestled in among red barns and stands of maple and pine. The scene reminded me of Jason Jones’s report last month on The Daily Show in which he investigated the brouhaha over the proposed wind farm off the shore of Cape Cod. (Opponents claim it would ruin their view of the cape; although, if I remember correctly, in an artist rendering of the project, the turbines were barely visible from shore.) Be that as it may, I thought an informal poll regarding the subject might be warranted. So, fellow Curbliers, how do you feel about wind farms? Would you live next to one? Do you consider them an eyesore?

Jason Jones of The Daily Show

Windfarm pic courtesy of Wikipedia.

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renewable energy wind_farms wind_turbines alternative

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September 17, 2007

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DIY Maven

September 20, 2007

Uncle "Teddy"....heh heh.

asilnnigcm

September 20, 2007

Gets my vote! Beautifully sculptural, an update to the Windmill. It's to bad that Uncle "Teddy" is apposed. ;)

atrophie

September 19, 2007

i think they're beautiful. they were one of my favourite sites to see when i drove cross-country.

bruno

September 17, 2007

I think they're pretty cool-looking, but then again, I don't have one in my back yard. I was in northern spain a few years ago and remember seeing hundred of them lined up on the gold-colored hilltops ... beautiful.

DIY Maven

September 17, 2007

Never thought about them making noise, but the wind in the tree analogy sounds like a good one. And from the standpoint of erecting a wind farm in the middle of the ocean, I'd think the waves would make more noise than the turbines themselves.

interlock

September 17, 2007

We have a site for them in Saskatchewan. From a travelers perspective they are captivating, but apparently they make a low constant noise. This noise has turned people who opt to have large wind farms built around them very vocal about them being an "eye sore" and "loud". Honestly, it's as loud as wind in the tree AFAIK. It's just not a sound someone is used to. The farmer I talked to said it took a month to get used to hearing them on the quitest of nights.

Seems like a vocal minority people are not willing to give up much for a green solution these day

DIY Maven

September 17, 2007

I'll cast my vote along with you guys. I think they're beautiful too. Not to mention that there is something about harnessing the wind that gets me jazzed. It's like that moment when a boat's sails fill with wind and all that power is captured by mere cloth.

ruajennie

September 17, 2007

The nearest windfarm to where I live is about 20-30 minutes north on I-35. Instead of being an eyesore, I've always thought of them as being quite majestic. They're so huge, and the slow movement of the spinning blades can be almost hypnotic. I especially like the look of them at night when they're winking with their red glowing eyes (the lights on top)...but I've always been on the odd side.

Chrisjob

September 17, 2007

I think they're beautiful.

Watch Volver by Pedro Almodovar for some fantastic shots of modern windmills from the La Mancha region of Spain. (A la Don Quixote)