Are Windfarms future 'Clean Superfund' sites?
Are the windfarm operators required to create a bonded fund as a mandatory exit strategy to pay for the removal of all these wind turbines in decades to come, when they become obsolete? Surely advancements in all renewable technologies will improve over the next 3 decades. The windfarms of today are high tech, but in 2 decades they will be low tech.
Are going to be the equivalent of 'clean superfund' sites?
Will the landscape of America look like abandoned WalMart store locations? What's the product lifecycle of Windfarms - regardless of the vendor technology.
Wind energy and the operators are heavily subsidized with tax incentives today. Who ensures that American taxpayers will not get stuck with the mass windfarm removal invoice?
I'm all for clean energy, but we have all can remember Enron and GE's accounting manuevers to reduce billions in retirement guarantees to former employees that were picked up by taxpayers. We must ensure that the windfarm operators / energy companies, not taxpayers, have mandatory funds to remove this technology when the time comes.
Are going to be the equivalent of 'clean superfund' sites?
Will the landscape of America look like abandoned WalMart store locations? What's the product lifecycle of Windfarms - regardless of the vendor technology.
Wind energy and the operators are heavily subsidized with tax incentives today. Who ensures that American taxpayers will not get stuck with the mass windfarm removal invoice?
I'm all for clean energy, but we have all can remember Enron and GE's accounting manuevers to reduce billions in retirement guarantees to former employees that were picked up by taxpayers. We must ensure that the windfarm operators / energy companies, not taxpayers, have mandatory funds to remove this technology when the time comes.
Tags: clean, liability, lifecycle, sites, superfund, taxpayer, windfarm
Views: 6
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Casey L Bartlett on -
www.revolutioninthewind.com/english/faqs1.asp?ID... - 16k what are you worried about we all wont probably be here in 5 years because of the misdirected minds
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Permalink Reply by Dave Haun on -
The metals (copper, steel, titanium) used in the turbines are all recycleable, and will only go up in value over time. Look at spot prices for copper over the last two years.
Also, there is a big difference in tearing down a tower full of treasure, and sifting through tons of toxic dirt.
In the years ahead there will be companies who will pay you to haul away your turbines.
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Permalink Reply by Steve M on -
Dave,
I agree that 'today' the metals (copper, steel, titanium) are all very valuable and one could easily find many people to remove the windfarms and recycle these materials profitably. However in 2 to 3 decades the advancement of carbon fiber and nano-technology in non-metals as building materials will be main stream, cost effective and orders of magnitude greater building materials. There is no guarantee that the metal materials used today will be as valuable in the future. Taxpayers are knowingly subsidizing the creation of the windfarms today. My point is let's ensure we 'knowingly' look at the entire lifecycle and make sure taxpayers are not also subsidizing the end of the life cycle.
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Permalink Reply by Richard Curtin on -
My sister recently took some scrap metal I had. I wanted to insure it was recycled. She was surprised when they gave her over $80 for a compact hatchback full of scrap metal. She went back two days later and got another $70. I do not think there will be any shortage of people willing to recycle the scrap when they need to be removed
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Permalink Reply by Chris Harris on -
I just want to say if you come out to West Texs You'll be excited to see Wind Turbins cause there is absolutly no landscape, and the wind turbins for GE, have 20 to 30 year life expecencys. Also there is a company that removes the towers and is paid for by the company which bought them which would be a customer. I know on my site the land is leased out for 20 years and depending on what happens in that amount of time it is eventually bought from the land owner and the tower is restored.
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Permalink Reply by Dave Haun on
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well, if the metals are no longer valuable, I guess we can just send out the nanobots to disolve the turbines. :)
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Permalink Reply by Paul on -
The most sensitive parts of turbines are the mechanical components that move, specifically the gearbox and the brushes (assuming a wound rotor in a doubly fed induction generator--typical of the large turbines today). The tower itself is mainly steel and concrete and is not likely to wear out in 30 years time. Typically, wind turbines are placed on sites with the best wind resource; this wind resource is also not likely to change in 20 to 30 years time. Therefore, the wind turbines of tomorrow will probably be placed at the same locations of the today. The sensitive components will simply be replaced but the existing tower will remain the same (maybe not, but that's my prediction). Furthermore, it's not likely that tower technology will improve with time; hoisting something 100m in the air is a pretty non-technical task (relatively speaking). What will change will be improvements in generator efficiency and better material composits allowing greater rotor diameter with less weight (however, I don't think we're going to see turbines bigger than about 6MW). I shouldn't think we'd need to tear down a complete wind turbine just to make these improvements--simply replace the outdated nacelle and/or rotors.
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Permalink Reply by Home Wind Turbine on -
The contracts between the landowner and project owners usually have provisions of removal. The windfarms that have been around a long time are simply getting newer larger turbines put in them. The wind blows, the power flows, there is no emmissions liquid or gas that would be any problem. When these things are old, they will still turn & produce, get rebuilt. Nobody has abondoned any turbines that I know of.
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