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Windmills Here? Don't Hold Your Breath

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The Tampa Tribune

Published: November 26, 2007

TECO is seeking government grants to build a giant wind turbine somewhere near Tampa.

The company is right to be doubtful that wind will play a major role in the region's future energy needs, but with Gov. Charlie Crist discouraging the use of coal and no rivers suitable for hydroelectric dams, the electric utility is running out of options.

Wind power is clean, but it has a few downsides. For one, to replace the capacity of the coal plant that TECO has postponed indefinitely, it would have to erect 250 windmills, each taller than the Statue of Liberty. And on the hottest days, when electric demand is high, winds tend to be calm, so TECO would need backup sources for power.

In a brisk breeze, the blades rotate more than 15 times per minute, which means the blades are traveling at more than 100 mph, a speed that kills birds. Thus their nickname: "Avian Cuisinarts."

The bigger challenge is that Florida is classified as a low-wind state, with the best breezes generally found near the beaches. But public opposition to coastal wind farms would be fierce. A plan announced in 2001 to put windmills offshore in Nantucket Sound has so far been stopped by complaints from area residents, including Sen. Edward M. Kennedy.

Kennedy says it's not the view he's worried about: "Such a project should not go forward until national standards for off-shore wind farms are in place to protect coastal communities."

TECO doesn't disagree, which is why it is wise to plan only one turbine until it knows which way the wind is blowing.

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