Wind turbine accident

[LMagic007]

I think either way the ecology would be effected, but obviously chopping down trees would have a far greater impact. It really does sound strange cutting down a carbon capturing forest to install wind turbines.

I guess one might hope they have done some calculations and arrived at some conclusion that the net result is a net carbon reduction and that such calculations are accurate. i.e. including coal or gas fired power substitution effects. However again the question of why cut down a forest to install wind turbines. Surely there is plenty of open land available in Ireland ?

[macgardener]

I used to be a fan of windpower (oops, no pun intended) but I'm becoming increasingly concerned. I've bookmarked wind-watch.org and will do more reading. I have no objections to windfarms aesthetically, though I understand that there are places of, say, historic importance where they just do not belong. I am worried about the noise aspect, and not just the measurable decibels. Having experienced the nerve-racking effects of doof doof music a few years ago I don't think it's enough to say something is acceptable just because it isn't deafening.
Has there been any work done on utilising wind energy in other ways that don't require towers and blades I wonder?

[LMagic007]

Not that I'm aware of. I can't much comment on the noise, other than to say that, I have read that the newer blade designs are less noisy than the older designs.

[Besoeker]

Originally Posted by LMagic007

Not that I'm aware of. I can't much comment on the noise, other than to say that, I have read that the newer blade designs are less noisy than the older designs.

I can't say that I have found the audible noise from wind turbines particularly intrusive. But I think that concerns have been raised about infrasound outside the audible range.

[James Murphy]

Originally Posted by forfi

I take it then that you have never been to Ireland Spadlet? Think of roads 8 feet wide bounded by stone walls that date back thousands of years.Roads which wind between tiny fields and which have many sudden sharp bends.Think of a place where the bog covering the mountains is only a few feet deep at best and which clings precariously to the rock and which can and has,slipped and left enormous damage behind.Think of a place of exquisite beauty with skyscapes to die for and then imagine the destruction caused by windfactories which are not even needed as there are plenty of non-destructive,non intrusive ways of generating power.The backlash in Ireland is growing in spite of the backhanders to politicians and the rush to appear greener than everyone else on earth.

I take it that you dont know that a significant percentage of Irelands electricity is generated by cutting up peat bogs and burning them in power plants.
I personaly prefer the idea of wind turbines to stripping the

Originally Posted by forfi

bog covering the mountains (which) is only a few feet deep at best and which clings precariously to the rock and which can and has,slipped and left enormous damage

to burn for electricity.

As for the "backlash in Ireland" ? What backlash ?
I dont know of any myself and I live here.( in Feakle actualy)

Originally Posted by forfi

As part of the plan, the developers would remove 172 hectares (425 acres) of forest.

This is somewhat misleading as what is being discussed is forestry (Sitka Spruce ?) plantation not high forest.
As there is only (approx) 1% of ancient forest coverage in Ireland there is no way that this would be cut down for wind turbines.

Also (being somewhat pedantic here) you are unlikely to find stone walls dating back "thousands of years " in many places in Ireland. If you are lucky you may find some dating back 500 years. There are certain places where ancient structures exist but they are few and far between.

[prashamk]

This may put some light about forests in Ireland!

Republic of Ireland published a strategic plan for the forest sector (Dept. of Agriculture, Food and Forestry, 1996) which involved increasing the forest cover dramatically. Ireland is one of the least forested countries in Europe, even though forestry plantations have increased forest cover from less than 1% of land cover to about 10% in the last century. The new plan aims to increase this to 17% by 2030, mainly by planting new commercial forests at approximately 20,000ha per year. This increase represents a huge change in land use and land cover across Ireland, and has far-reaching economic, social and ecological consequences.

The most widely planted species in these commercial forests is Sitka spruce (Picea sitchensis), a non-native conifer, and many forest industries are associated with this species. Having changed some funding policies in the late 1990s to promote the use of broadleaves in plantations, the planting of ash (Fraxinus excelsior) increased significantly and broadleaves now constitute 20% of new plantings.

Source: http://bioforest.ucc.ie/pages/background.htm