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The First U.S. Town Powered Completely By Wind

livescience.com — Rock Port, Mo. has an unusual crop: wind turbines. The four turbines that supply electricity to the small town of 1,300 residents make it the first community in the United States to operate solely on wind power. "That's something to be very proud of, especially in a rural area like this — that we're doing our part for the environment,"

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  • ItalinJoe, on 07/15/2008, -3/+12One step forward in helping solve possibly the biggest global crisis humankind will face.
    • doctechnical, on 07/16/2008, -7/+4Even a small meteor impact can make global warming look like a very wonderful thing indeed. I'd rather take the money we'd piss away on CO2 reduction and put into place some more NEO detection and deflection technology.

      Now let's see the space geeks and greens go at it :)
      • MacEnvy, on 07/16/2008, -0/+1Why can't we do both? It's a drop in the bucket of our national wealth. Let's cut funding for corporate welfare and bailouts and put it toward science and tech research (including both green energy and space).
    • sleze, on 07/16/2008, -0/+9It's great that they are being green and blah, blah, blah. I think the real benefit is that their electric bills won't increase with the cost of fossil fuels. IE - people will save MONEY in the long term.

      Everyone wants to be "green" unless it costs more than coal/oil.
      • gameboyhippo, on 07/16/2008, -0/+3Ah yes... It's nice living in Rock Port. (Maybe I should start untrue rumors about us getting free electricity and stuff.... Nah...) But I wonder why it took so many tries to get this to the front page. I've seen people submit and resubmit this story in the upcoming section for several months after we went all green.
      • zacharytelschow, on 07/16/2008, -0/+4"Everyone wants to be "green" unless it costs more than coal/oil."

        Bingo.
    • cvindustries, on 07/16/2008, -0/+3I dunno. While the consequences will run far and deep, it's still hard to top the Black Death: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Black_Death

      Life for life is hard enough to top, but topping the Black Death in terms of % of world's population, that'll probably take a small meteor impact like doctechnical said.
  • irishjays, on 07/15/2008, -5/+8What happens when the wind breaks, can you break wind?
    • iMattK, on 07/16/2008, -4/+2You'll have to log off of your computer, take out the wash out of the conked out washing machine, read by candlelight or sit around in the dark.
      • Anpheus, on 07/16/2008, -0/+3They haven't quite figured out how to grow batteries as part of their crop in Rock Port, Mo.?
    • TheInformer, on 07/16/2008, -1/+2The backup power supply consists of twenty cans of refried beans and one spokesperson each for the Obama and McCain campaigns.
    • etx313, on 07/16/2008, -0/+1I break it daily.
  • upick, on 07/16/2008, -3/+4With global warming what would happen if the wind stopped?
    • freexe, on 07/16/2008, -1/+6Stopped? How could it stop?
      • doctechnical, on 07/16/2008, -1/+3Ask a sailor.
      • freexe, on 07/16/2008, -0/+3Well if you're thinking on a day to day basis, then use some of the $ they save when it is blowing to buy from near by electrical providers.

        In the future, I'm sure that they will invent a cheap battery technology to store the power for a time. Generating heat in rocks seems to be a favorite.

        If you're asking if because of global warming, the wind will forever stop blowing, I think it's very unlikely even in a localized areas.

      • cdigioia, on 07/16/2008, -0/+2He means if global warming causes global air currents to change.

        I'm pretty sure that's what he meant at least, but I don't know much of anything about the subject.
    • GalacticRerun, on 07/16/2008, -2/+7Electric wind generators.
  • doctechnical, on 07/16/2008, -9/+11I call *****. If the wind stops blowing, do the city's lights go out?

    They are on a grid that supplies power when the wind doesn't blow, or I'm a vermiscious knid.

    Not that wind power is is a bad thing, but I'd like to see a cost-benefit analysis on how much their juice costs per KwHr vs more mundane forms of power generation. For example, have the turbines paid back the energy costs of their own manufacture yet?

    The devil is in the details.
    • argo2d, on 07/16/2008, -1/+14there's nothing that claims the town is off grid. They could simply be doing a net sum and have worked out that they are putting in just as much as they are taking out. And probably making money too if there's more wind at peak hours when demand is high.
      • doctechnical, on 07/16/2008, -4/+8You're absolutely right, but the headline is misleading. "Completly" implies they're off grid.
    • SoulDrift404, on 07/16/2008, -1/+5I would assume they store power - wind is the generator.
      • doctechnical, on 07/16/2008, -1/+5Ah, there's the rub. How do they store it? Lead-Acid batteries? Flywheeles? Pump water uphill? One of the major problems with wind based power is storing that power until you need it. How green and/or economic will the storage be?
    • kaihh, on 07/16/2008, -1/+1not really living up to your name there are you doc?
    • gameboyhippo, on 07/16/2008, -0/+12We are in fact on a grid. No our power doesn't go out when the wind stops blowing. However, most days when the wind does blow our city's meter runs backwards. That means we produce more energy than we use. Basically our net usage is less than the amount of energy we produce.
      • raybury, on 07/16/2008, -0/+3Good for you, but it cannot be universalized. Storage remains the problem, one you don't have to deal with since you can draw off the grid when the wind slows.
      • sleze, on 07/16/2008, -1/+1@raybury - for wind it depends on the location. There are a lot of places on earth when there is high-speed, consistent wind like 95% of the year.

        Any place that paragliding is big usually has these constant currents of air. Look at Interlaken, Switzerland as an example.
    • oldman, on 07/16/2008, -0/+2And if they instead bought a nuclear reactor, How long would it take till the cost of electricity produced would pay for itself then?
  • ridelesteambolt, on 07/16/2008, -6/+0so this is it? rural america? our planet is screwed.
  • poidh, on 07/16/2008, -1/+5So do the economics of this stack up?
    • gameboyhippo, on 07/16/2008, -0/+1As far as I know a lot of the cost came from companies such as John Deere.
      • poidh, on 07/16/2008, -0/+2So, how will the cost of John Deere's contribution be recouped? From the consumer?

        If "green technology" cannot reduce CO2 emissions as a comparable or lower cost than present "dirty£ technology, then it's not worth employing.

        The most important consideration with green-tech is that it can be done in a way which doesn't harm the economy. Otherwise, people are just swapping a high quality of life but a poor envirnomental record for the opposite.
  • computershack, on 07/16/2008, -8/+0Wow, 1300 people move to part wind power when 2 billion Chinese and Indians are increasing their pollution on an exponential scale. I wonder if the 1300 residents are using SUVs or Priuses.

    Way to go for pointless gestures.
    • doctechnical, on 07/16/2008, -0/+5I wouldn't call it a pointless gesture, think of it as R&D.
    • freexe, on 07/16/2008, -1/+5"exponential scale" I call bull ***** on that for a start.

      They might be increasing their pollution, but on a per capita bases, they are way way less than the average American.

      Second there is a argument that says as energy becomes more expensive, having cheaper energy in your back garden will mean that you are more economically competitive. So for America to stand a chance against China and India you need to reduce your costs. Reducing the $800B a year to foreign countries on fuel imports is a good start.
    • smitha89, on 07/16/2008, -0/+5Sounds to me like you're just a negative person. Change doesn't happen all at once. We've got to start somewhere.
    • Rotzooi, on 07/16/2008, -1/+1You sound like the least fun person to hang around with, ever.
    • gameboyhippo, on 07/16/2008, -0/+1As one of those 1300 people, I drive a Saturn Ion. Most people around town drive pickup since it is a farming community.
  • Equinox1, on 07/16/2008, -1/+12I'm glad someone's making a difference. Now matter how little.
  • s4g4n, on 07/16/2008, -7/+2In soviet Russia you power wind turbines.
    • easypie, on 07/16/2008, -0/+1I am in ur winds powering ur turbines!!
  • growler1, on 07/16/2008, -2/+1D.C. ?
  • koft, on 07/16/2008, -0/+3They're not off the grid, they're just generating more power via wind then they consume otherwise. Good deal all around, larger cities can't do that with this technology.
  • xerofilter, on 07/16/2008, -8/+3BREAKING NEWS - Rock Port, Mo.
    Storms erupted in the midday heat spawning an F4 tornado that plucked the newly installed wind turbines from the ground and leveled the small community of 1300 residents.

    "We heard the tornada coming and then I saw them blades zippin and spinnin inside that thing and I knew we were goners".
    -- Thelma Glenn survivor of the Rock Port tornado.
    • skoles, on 07/16/2008, -0/+2....the town briefly lit up like the sun before going out like a candle.
    • gameboyhippo, on 07/16/2008, -1/+1Actually there are safety mechanisms that will lock the wind towers if the winds exceed what they can handle.
  • mal1964, on 07/16/2008, -0/+2The state of Missouri has two things to brag about, A town powered by wind, And getting the Osmond Brothers back together in Branson.
    • fizzak, on 07/16/2008, -0/+2So where do you live hotshot?
      • mal1964, on 07/16/2008, -0/+2Minnesota
        The state of Minnesota has two things to brag about, Ever-Green Energy affiliate, District Energy St. Paul, operates the largest, most successful, hot water district heating system in North America., And Bob Dylan (born Robert Allen Zimmerman, May 24, 1941 in Duluth, Minnesota) is an American singer-songwriter, author, poet and disc jockey, who has been a major figure in popular music for five decades.
        PS, I'm not a hotshot I just made a light hearted joke, I'm not a mean person and i don't hate states. Peace
        http://www.ever-greenenergy.com/clients/districten ...
        http://www.google.com/search?q=bob+dylan&ie=utf-8& ...
      • waldo686, on 07/17/2008, -0/+1As for famous people minnesota has produced a few:

        John Madden was born in minnesota
        Prince singer-songwriter
        Judy Garland - wizard of oz
        Sean william scott (stiffler) is from MN
        Vince Vaugh also was a minnesotan
  • Parkergibson, on 07/16/2008, -2/+2It's so beutiefull to see that the world is trying hard to change back to green, after everything that is happening and happend out here.
    i love it that even mainstream titles like disney made an enviorment movie like wall-e.
    Say i even put a bet on it through this link http://www.zoomabet.com/bets/group392.html called wall-e will save the world
  • easypie, on 07/16/2008, -1/+0Kudos to the town for developing wind turbine energy.
  • samsam123, on 07/16/2008, -0/+3um, i can see 5 turbines there
    • gameboyhippo, on 07/16/2008, -0/+21) that's not a picture of Rock Port's turbines. 2) There is a nearby wind farm that has quite a bit more wind turbines.
  • valis, on 07/16/2008, -0/+9Washington, DC has been powered by hot air for a lot longer than that.
  • funkymoose, on 07/16/2008, -0/+2population 1,395 at the 2000 census.

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rock_Port
  • leladax, on 07/16/2008, -0/+2In Crete,Greece we have a Wind Farm in an area of about 10-15,000 people, but it's not capable to be the sole source, some oil generators are still used.

    I think individuals installing their own Turbines but with profit from a local government's electric company is the way to go.
  • rrife, on 07/16/2008, -1/+0I'm no expert on this, so correct me if I'm wrong, but something doesn't seem right....those look like 1MW tubines so 5MW total power, most turbines get 35% efficency, so about 1.7MW total output...that's doesn't seem like much considering they'd have to power all of their homes, businesses, street lights, etc.
  • EEdesigner, on 07/16/2008, -3/+1Completely? The wind blows all the time? And enough to totally supply the town? Hmmmm, sounds like some public school grads out there wrote the article. Oh, forgot, they're "journalists"....you know, the ones that think one plus one is three for large values of one.
  • zacharytelschow, on 07/16/2008, -1/+3For the umpteenth time with these alternative energy articles, what is the comparative cost? Is this twice as much as coal, 20% more, the same, cheaper? There's a reason turbines aren't everywhere I look (besides some areas being windier than others). Why?
    • funkymoose, on 07/16/2008, -0/+3Well I hear that here in California the ones we got break all the damn time. When you drive past them to see a lot of them not working. Constant repairs. Plus you need to build them in places that are fairly windy nearly year round. I've heard the company that owned most of them sold it because they were losing money. People have a false perception that these things are one time costs that will constantly produce energy. Still a move in the right direction though.
  • lasterisk, on 07/16/2008, -2/+0once again:

    real energy prices have been depressed by the large-scale availability of a *uniquely* concentrated store of energy that took *millions* of years to develop. due to rampant use and destructive side-effects, this cheap source will soon be done with. put that in your budget.
  • Rotzooi, on 07/16/2008, -2/+2Wind and solar are the future for non-mobile power use. Jay Leno powers his 150+ car garage on solar and wind power - and gets paid $25,000,- a year for putting a lot more back into the grid than he uses.
  • Fallout911, on 07/16/2008, -0/+3Solar power PLUS wind is the way to go.
    • Barackalypse, on 07/16/2008, -2/+1Then what do you do on those calm, still nights? Sit in the dark?
      • cnosal, on 07/16/2008, -0/+2use the excess energy stored earlier? nuclear baseload?
  • paystolivegreen, on 07/16/2008, -0/+0Great story. It's great to see that an entire town is committed to using wind energy as their primary source of energy.
  • deathsythe, on 07/16/2008, -0/+1Fallout911 - "Solar power PLUS wind is the way to go."

    Indeed, but you have to throw some Hydroelectric into there as well.

    What happens during a still overcast day?

    All 3 of these alternative energy sources will virtually be foolproof - the only problem is the resources it will take to create them, as well as the space they will have to take up in order to generate enough power.
    • cnosal, on 07/16/2008, -0/+1Ah but then what happens on a still overcast day in the middle of a drought? Storage is key, coupled with any combination of renewables.
      • deathsythe, on 07/16/2008, -0/+1I never said it was perfect - almost every system will have its flaws - such is reality.

  • kidathinnes, on 07/16/2008, -0/+11,300 down, 6 billion to go.
    • gameboyhippo, on 07/16/2008, -0/+1I wouldn't say that. There are other towns around the world that use renewable resources. In fact, during the green switch ceremony, one such town wrote us a letter congratulating us. It's been awhile, so I don't know who it was, but I'll see if I can't look it up.
      • kidathinnes, on 07/16/2008, -0/+1alright. 100,000 down (at best), 5,999,900,000 to go.
  • stealthc, on 07/16/2008, -0/+1...and that town's name is Washington, D.C.
  • kcflyer, on 07/17/2008, -0/+0While this is a great accomplishment, the fact remains that Rock Port still needs to depend on big power plants whenever the wind doesn't blow. These turbines have not replaced a single kilowatt-hour of generating capacity requirement. The local electrical coop still needs to have enough generators spinning to handle the city's needs. We do have calm days here in Missouri. What they have saved is some amount of fuel that won't need to be burned.

    People also need to get over the cost comparison hurdle. Renewable energy is going to cost more than coal, oil, or nuclear. At least for the short term. We need to invest in renewable today, 'cause by the time we figure out how badly we're screwing up the environment in the name of saving money, it will be much too late.
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