My friends are getting their windmill fixed today. It's a pretty big ordeal. The tower is 100 feet high, it requires replacement parts, a crane, a fork lift and many hands on deck. Luckily for everyone, today was a fairly still, clear, sunny day. There was wind, but it wasn't too bad. Anne had her coffee friends over (and included me!) so that we could eat, drink coffee and watch the work being done.
My green-minded friends put the wind turbine up to help off-set the electricity requirements to have a farm with animals throughout the year. Originally, Farmer Bill had thrilled at the prospect of popping open a beer and watching his energy meter run backwards on windy days! Whatever extra energy the windmill generated would go back on the grid, and NYSEG would pay them for it. What a sweet deal! It took them several years from the conception of their idea to actually building the tower and operating the system, so they were pretty disheartened when it broke down some time early this year. It had only been up and running for a relatively short time, when the equipment that was supposed to turn the fan blades out of very high winds didn't work, and the engine burned out. Apparently very strong gusts are bad for the turbine and the whole thing is supposed to turn parallel with the wind instead of directly into it. It can only stand so much mph.
Today the crew arrived with the new engine and tail pieces and set about taking the old parts down. It was fun to watch, the company was entertaining, the dogs were adorable, the scenery gorgeous and the weather lovely. We left before the job was done, but I expect that Farmer Bill will be dancing a jig one of these days as he again pops open his beer and sees that ol' meter spinning backwards. We should all be taking a page from farmer Bill's Book.
There are giant wind turbines up on the Tug Hill region of NYS. They are an awesome and beautiful sight. My eyes see clean, green renewable energy, the elegance of modern technology, sleek futuristic design and a brighter future for our children. For those folks who say, "Not in MY backyard" to wind generated energy, I say, it's just a matter of time. Hopefully soon our generation will aggressively knock down the obstacles to renewable energy and openly embrace the beauty of going green.
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