I went to a place called Ellenburg Depot the other evening. I call it a place because there's nothing commercial there except for a diner where they sell a few things, like an Ellenburg version of a Cumberland Farms. Anyway, I went there to pick up something I got on Freecycl*, where everyone swaps out stuff. I like the site because I've been able to unload a fair amount of crap, crap that other people want and are excited to get.
Sometimes I'm one of the people who picks up the crap and is excited. I have an almost new, beautiful sewing machine that a nice woman from Dannemora wanted to get rid of.
ANYWAY, let's go back to Ellenburg. It took me an hour to get there from work, and I had a little trouble finding the house until I got her directions right.
There was a big fuss about wind power in the area, and the windmills won. There are ridges, and lots of flat windy land in the area, so this is what most of the people in the country see.
I love these windmills--they're probably not called windmills anymore.
They're huge, just huge. At least 6 times the size of a telephone pole. I made that up, I have no idea. I love the idea of wind power, clean, an endless supply. Would I want to look at these from my land? Probably not. Sometimes we talk about wind power and say "What would it be like if there were windmills along the ridge of the mountain across the lake?" Of course it would ruin our view. Oh, we're so self-centered and greedy.
Ellenburg Depot truly is a lovely place to live. I moved up here from Huntsville, AL when my hubby's job brought us back to his hometown.
ReplyDeleteThe wind turbines are huge. They tower over anyone who stands under them. Most of them tower over an empty expanse of land--they need a lot of space to operate properly--but some tower over local prisons.
They are an impressive site, especially when there are 15-20 turbines simultaneously turning slowly in the wind. They are a delight to small children when driving through the mountains ("I see windmills" in a sing-song style every time).
They are very impressive when seen in parts, whether those parts are on the ground or are loaded, one part at a time, on a flatbed semi.
Do they help the state's energy service to the big cities as promised? Who knows. But they do help the farmers who either leased or sold land for the big wind turbines.