[at-l] MATC and Windmills

[kdpo at pacbell.net (Ken Powers)]

You can really hear the windmills long before you see them. I live near the
Altamont Pass windmill farms east of San Francisco. There used to be
thousands of various designs spinning away in or near the pass. A great many
are now being dismantled. The people who made money on them were the  were
designers and marketers. Others got to write off their losses on their
income taxes.

I don't know how big they are on the PCT, but not 100 meters. The only
commercial windmill I have seen that was near that size was dismantled
several years ago. It was near Fairfield, CA. The torque created by the
blades was so strong it was tearing the windmill apart. They put a governor
on it to gear it down so the blades would not spin so fast. It also proved
to be not profitable.

Ken
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Bob C." <ellen@clinic.net>
To: <Slyatpct@aol.com>
Cc: <at-l@backcountry.net>
Sent: Wednesday, November 26, 2003 7:19 PM
Subject: Re[2]: [at-l] MATC and Windmills


> >"... I guess you'd have to hike the PCT to appreciate this, as in certain
> >sections you're walking amongst them for miles on end."
>
> The developer claims the towers proposed for Maine are the largest in the
world.
> Those I've seen near the Pacific Crest Trail are only a third of the size
of
> those proposed for Maine. But that was years ago. I have no idea whether
newer
> ones might be bigger. If any one knows I'd like to see it posted.
>
>  The last I heard, the Maine developer is proposing 100 meter towers,
(~325
>  FEET) topped with 130 foot radius lighted blades for a total height of
455
>  feet.
>
>  At the closest point, the towers and swirling blades would be about 1,200
yards
>  from the trail over Crocker Mountain, and visible along 50 miles of the
>  Appalachian Trail.
>
>  Weary
>
>
>
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