Wind-Powered Town

I have been wondering... when it comes to wind farms, can too many props actually slow down the wind, and cause a change in weather patterns?

no, it cant

My good friend Jackson Perry just started a blog called "All Good" focusing on "good" things (wellness, green living, wealth, etc.) He wrote an article similar to this one.. http://allgoodblog.wordpress.com/2008/07/22/wind-energy-usa-1-producer/#comment-5

Enjoy.

Omer
www.universoulproductions.wordpress.com

In Carson County Texas they built a slew of them and promised jobs and cheap energy...got niether.

I was wondering the exact same thing, aaronmrosen. Since energy cannot be created or destroyed, and we are gaining energy from the wind, then the wind must be slowed down to some degree. It might not have a large effect at first, but a fifth of the nation's energy is an enormous amount, and I would think that might affect wind speeds and weather patterns.
Also, to uocotp, why don't you give an explanation as to why you think this wouldn't happen? Your comment wasn't helpful in the least.

I read about MagLev Wind Turbines on this website. If these turbines can do what they say they can do, they should be everywhere.

According to Popular Science, ONE maglev wind turbine can power 750,000 homes. I read one of these turbines cost under $55 Million to produce.

I figure there are 100 Million USA households. It would take about 135 of them to power every house hold. It would cost 8.1 Billion dollars. Twice as many turbines could perhaps fulfill this countries (USA) energy needs. These cost are nothing compared to cost such as war in Iraq...over $500 Billion.

I read about MagLev Wind Turbines on this website. If these turbines can do what they say they can do, they should be everywhere.

According to Popular Science, ONE maglev wind turbine can power 750,000 homes. I read one of these turbines cost under $55 Million to produce.

I figure there are 100 Million USA households. It would take about 135 of them to power every house hold. It would cost 8.1 Billion dollars. Twice as many turbines could perhaps fulfill this countries (USA) energy needs. These cost are nothing compared to cost such as war in Iraq...over $500 Billion.

aaronmroser, turbines do slow down the wind and therefore can effect aspects of the area around the wind farm - (ie. slowing down the wind will have an effect on evaporation of water in the area, this is the concept a a wind break ) , however, wind itself is not a localized phenomena it is much big than you may be thinking!
wind turbines are of a rather sleek profile so that the overall effect would not be that great on weather patterns - certainly the cities they power which are much greater wind blocks are a bigger concern. Also we must remember that great deforestation has occured in most areas. Much wide open space/and desertification is the result of deforesting , farming etc....so the wind has increased in that sense! Slowing it down a bit can only be benificial for these areas.
For excellent wind info look on WIKI - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wind

to fat onion , you are absolutly correct we can obviously afford to be smarter in this country and use our best technology. Cost is an excuse for certain others to make money at the expense of all of the whole world! however your math is slightly off - wind is unpredictable and blows from all directions this is why you'll notice turbines facing slightly different directions & and some will turn while others will not and any one time. Also there is the problem of moving that energy to where it will be used. Electric lines create resistance so over a distance of 100's or 1000's of miles much of the original energy is lost thus more wind turbines are needed again to account for this. Ideally the closer they are to the users the better but small minded citizens have the not in my back yard attitude - which is sort of hilarious because they say its an eyesore or its loud- maybe within a couple of acres you can hear it ...but the interstate is louder, your a/c is louder, cars passing your house..you get the point......and as for the visual as if the nuc facillites with their mushroom plume fogging the sky or any other facility is so beautiful! A least is won't have the chance of exploding and causing widespread sickness and death - worthless land and poisoning the water supply for generations......but they cant see them unless they drive to the poor unfurtunate town who got stuck with it........turbines are beautiful they signify a future for our children and theirs...... anyway this has made it difficult to place them where they need to go :( And thousands will be needed accross the country)

robert, sorry bout the jobs and cheaper energy , however , costs should remain more stable without the extra issues....and overall the area must be benfiting in ways yet unseen -over time you should see less pollution? fewer medical bills? less burden on the taxpayers ? perhaps these will draw jobs to the area from green companies who value those things and want to use green energy... maybe some of those companies need to know your town can offer.....let them know!!

As for long-distance power transmission... What if you put a relatively-small turbine on each long-distance transmission tower? How many towers are there? How much power could they generate? Would that possibly offset the loss due to resistance?

well, to be honest, the wind farms are being carefully planned and all aspects are being considered (including ecology) before the farms are actually built.

however we might compare wind turbines with water turbines, aldough the last ones have a more obvious impact on the (nearby) ecosystem.

to answer your question, i'd have to say "i don;t think so" but the wind farms do impact the environment in different ways.