Speaking of Wind Power

Well, I didn't note it in my previous post about agreement with Charlie Daniels on making energy policy a central topic to this year's mid-term elections, but he mentioned that "more and more wind-powered generators are coming on line in rural America" in his column. And today's NYTimes has an article focusing on just that (tip of the hat to Gristmill), focusing on a wind farm in upstate New York:

This new wind farm, called Maple Ridge, is already the largest alternative-energy project east of the Mississippi, and a second phase, which will include 75 more windmills, is scheduled to be built this year, starting in the spring.

[William] Burke, 58, has pinned the security of his fifth-generation dairy farm on the seven turbines that he allowed to be built on his 600 acres last fall. Each one will generate an annual lease payment of $5,000 to $10,000, based in part on the electricity generated, that will allow the Burkes to stay on their land after they retire.

[...]

The 120 windmills are spread out in a jagged 12-mile line through rural Lewis County, leeward of Lake Ontario. Powerful lake-effect winds can generate enough electricity to power about 500 homes from each turbine.

The turbines that have changed the Burkes' life have transformed the landscape and the economy of the county, an area where it seems most barns are as swaybacked as an old mare. Environmentalists say the windmills provide a glimpse of what the future of alternative energy could be in the Northeast.

These new-generation turbines are far larger and more powerful than any others in the region. The blades are 131 feet long, and although they seem to be rotating at a lazy Sunday afternoon clip, they are so large that their tips are actually racing around at 138 miles per hour.

When all 195 towers are operating at full capacity, they would generate a total of 320 megawatts of pollution-free electricity, the equivalent of a midsize power plant.