Wind mills and the sun

I have written previously about the concepts for sustainable power. The only real source of sustainable power available to us is the sun. I suppose one must also consider the possibility of generating power from tidal activity, energy that is driven by the lunar-terrestrial system, but I have not seen too many success stories in that area. So I guess it is reasonable to consider the sun for now as the only candidate.

It drives the climate system and thus winds and rain. Rivers may be used for hydro-electric power and winds may be harvested by wind generators. We can use the direct energy of the sun to heat solar heaters and to cook food in the heat of solar collectors, or we can use photo-voltaic cells to change light into electricity. Heliostats can be used to drive turbines for generation of electricity. Quite a diverse range of options provided we are willing to consider them all carefully. It seems though that we have all sorts of issues with some of these options, like the fact that many people dislike wind farms. They claim that it disturbs the landscape. I suppose it is true that one could find it disturbing to see these machines all over the place, but at the same time we have no problem with the aesthetic disaster posed by steel power cable pylons, or coal fired power stations belching smoke. People consider hydro-power, but often forget the impact of building weirs and channeling systems in fragile river eco systems to tap into the energy.

The point is that everything has a price: what we need is to develop an unbiased score card for all these alternatives to fossil fuels. Communities must consider the costs of being completely reliant on the electricity network or to be part of a system that supplies much of what is needed around where they live. The video on this page was recorded close to Shrivenham. It shows the turbines on the Westmill wind farm that belongs to a co-operative of 2400 members. What can we do in our own communities to lighten the burden on our planet?