Ford Co., IL. (ECWd) –
Around 24 hours after we reported on the “self-decommissioning” wind turbine in Ford County, it was turning on in what we believe was an effort to have it fall over on its own to avoid dismantling costs.
Photos below are from the Ford County Chronicle and are used with permission.
Drone video a reader provided to WCIA can be found HERE.
64 Comments
Jana
Posted at 04:32h, 22 FebruaryI love wind turbines. They are absolutely magnificent and majestic.
Nate Theis
Posted at 18:36h, 21 FebruaryBirds are flying rats but some are pretty. They polinate flowers. The BEST cat could get a handful of birds in a day. Dogs however anything from a Yorkie to any hound could grab hundreds of birds, rats, snakes, and other critters just to settle the no one cares about CATS debate. Turbines are the second WORST next to solar and will be the second most regrettable thing we do before we learn more, finishing a far second behind raping the earth for rare earth minerals for EV’S.
The Engineer
Posted at 12:46h, 21 FebruaryWas 379 terawatt hours of US wind energy in 2021 imaginary?
When those 100 offshore rigs caught on fire last year, were they also “self-decommissioning”?
The Engineer
Posted at 12:38h, 21 FebruaryAmazing comments, Don Quixote is alive and well in Illinois!
Cindy
Posted at 10:55h, 21 FebruaryIt would be hilarious if it weren’t so pathetic that this is causing so many people to come out of their caves to argue ridiculous points over a woke idea that will never become a solution to anything. This is the hill you are picking to die on?
Mitch Trump
Posted at 09:18h, 21 FebruaryWow…so much hogwash posted here! I did enjoy the first comment from a third grade dropout?
“BTW, I’ve been wind energy for 17 years” ROTFLMAO.
Wind works fine. Sweden is generating 40% of their power from wind! So stop the political bullshit. The per KW cost is now cheaper than coal! And far Cleaner! You want to reduce landfill contents do look at wind turbine blades, look at baby diapers, and other disposables! It is farcical to think turbine blades are a major contributor to landfills!!!! Anyone who mentions landfills regarding wind has been completely duped, is a moron, or is just grasping for any reason to simply be anti wind. Sad really. (Guess post #1 is an example of the moron category)
Earl Newcomb
Posted at 08:40h, 21 FebruaryThe oil in wind farms is mostly transformer oil that even transformers in hydro power use I use to pull tankers and. Deliver to wind farms they would always leave a little in the tank for me to use as fuel in my truck it is a high grade fuel oil
Cjmail2
Posted at 07:52h, 21 FebruaryThe foundation likely didn’t meet new code for putting up any new structure it was built eons ago.
James Martin
Posted at 18:42h, 20 FebruaryI have my own wind farm It comes out my butt in the evening right after dinner time.
RJS
Posted at 17:55h, 20 FebruaryWho gives a sh**
Maggy May
Posted at 17:19h, 20 FebruaryAt least cats eat what they kill and bring to you anything that is left over.
Are you aware of the fact that each wind turbine depending on its size are filled with 500 to 1000 gallons or more of oil?
They say it is used to lubricate the motor. In a true wind turbine there are only pully’s and wheels and a converter. There is no need to use a propulsion system if it is only taking in energy and storing beneath itself. Otherwise it would free flow to a power station and there be converted.
So how many wind turbines are in the US? 86000
Oil @ 500 gallons = 44’500,000 gallons
Oil @ 1000 gallons = 86’000,000 gallons
How many gallons in a barrel of oil?
42 us liquid gallons.x 44’500,000 =
18.69 barrels of oil. 42 us liquid gallons x 86’000,000 =
36.12 barrels of oil.
I wonder if that’s someone’s personal stock investment or a government secret that we are still using oil as a main source of energy but disguised as renewables.
Chris covey
Posted at 16:34h, 20 FebruaryHow ever you are all wrong the largest CO2 emitter is by far burning of open fire pit wood burning it is used by 70 percent of the world to heat and cook . Largest emitter of methane is the Amazon . The ice pack in the antarctic is melting due to 100 volcanoes under neathe the ice . And by the way everyone said that the desert southwest was the benchmark for global warming. Also the megadrought in Cali is proof wrong no drought.
Blake Reimer
Posted at 15:38h, 20 FebruaryA few fact based clarifications. 1. Most newer wind farms are profitable and produce competitively priced power without government subsidies. 2. Biden and Harris have had no input on the vast majority of wind farms, most of which have been built before they were elected. 3. Yes, the U.S. is investing in new Nuclear power plants, most of the SMR (Small Modular Reactor) type. Some pilot projects should come on line before the end of this decade – but we need to keep in mind that nuclear power is the most expensive power per kWh that is currently generated, and it will remain expensive for the foreseeable future.
4. Recycling of wind turbine blades IS problematic, though progress is being made to reduce the environmental impact. 5. Cats still kill more birds than wind turbines, but turbines are far from innocent.
6. While cleaner than coal or fuel oil, natural gas is still a hydrocarbon that when combusted releases lots of CO2 – a potent source of global warming.
7. Finally, Climate Change triggered by greenhouse gas production is a well established fact. You may not like it, you may not believe it, but that ship has sailed and we have to live with the tremendous havoc it is bringing and the much greater havoc it will bring for our grand, great grand, great, great grand children if we continue to do little about it
This is not a political or ideological problem. It is a serious environmental problem, that threatens life as we know it on planet earth. You can dispute, argue or ignore it and it will not change the reality of it. I wish it were otherwise, but wishing does little to help
Wind power, even with all of its faults can be a big part of reducing, but not eliminating, what is destined to be a huge obstacle to our continuing prosperity.
I wish us all good luck, but more so, I hope we will come together and get serious about the challenges we are facing.
Thanks for reading.
David J Weary
Posted at 15:07h, 20 FebruaryThose windmills can spin forever and will not produce the energy used to make them..
Rodney Wren
Posted at 14:53h, 20 FebruaryEnergy companies don’t invest in windmills
Other companies build the farms then the govt forces the power companies to buy their electricity. Yes I’ll take a coal plant burning Wyoming low sulfur coal any day
Pete Johnson
Posted at 13:59h, 20 FebruaryThe only reason oil and gas companies invest in wind turbines is for tax write-offs. They know it’s a loser.
Keir Harrington
Posted at 13:48h, 20 FebruaryI want to encourage everyone with this Psalm and remind us all of who is in charge ans that the outcome has already been determined.
Psalm 2
1 Why do the natons conspire and the peoples plot in vain?
2 The kings of the earth rise up and the rulers band together against the Lord and against his anointed, saying,
3 “Let us break their chains and throw off their shackles.”
4 The One enthroned in heaven laughs;
the Lord scoffs at them.
5 He rebukes them in his anger and terrifies them in his wrath, saying,
6 “I have installed my king on Zion, my holy mountain. ”
7 I will proclaim the Lord’s decree:
He said to me, “You are my son; today I have become your father.
8 Ask me, and I will make the nations your inheritance, the ends of the earth your possession.
9 You will break them with a rod of iron; you will dash them to pieces like pottery. ”
10 Therefore, you kings be wise; be warned, you rulers of the earth.
11 Serve He Lord with fear and celebrate his rule with trembling.
12 Kiss his son, or he will be angry and your way will lead to your destruction, for his wrath can flare up in moment.
Blessed are all who take refuge in him.
Amen and Amen
Deliah Fuentes
Posted at 13:15h, 20 FebruaryFoundation failure. Contractor or design engineer are responsible for it.
No any politician, or movie icon.
Linda Olvera
Posted at 12:19h, 20 FebruaryYou not need be a rocket scientist to know that these are artificial wind currents!!! Disturbing air winds thru out the world creating unnatural wind currents!!
Don’t play with God!
DISASTROUS
GET BIDEN AND HARRIS OUT OF OFFICE 🙏👏👍
Maggy May
Posted at 16:37h, 20 FebruaryMy thoughts exactly. I believe that the wind farms on land and sea are strategically placed around the world to create weather warfare. They turn them on when they need a mass destructive weather event to unload the trillions made on insurances and disperse the funds to accommodating businesses and investments. Think; Mutual of Omaha Insurance/ Warren Buffett owned company.
Not all Insurances that are paid into are paid out. Like term insurance. You pay a premium for a certain amount of time, when expired you have paid in and receive nothing in return.
Ex: $100,000. policy @ $356.00 a month x 12 = $4272.00 a year x 3 yrs. = $12,816.00.
You just spent $12,816.00 for three years of coverage with absolutely no return. Even if something was to happen within that 3yr. Time span, you would only receive 25% of what you paid in as a reimbursement for for whatever had happened. In this case maybe $3204.00.
If any at all. Insurances have so many legal loopholes to keep you from being paid.
Terry Henricks
Posted at 11:29h, 20 FebruaryHey come on it’s free energy. I just hate that everybody’s got their hands in on the per kilowatt hour pay scale. Would you rather have a coal plant on every other corner you idiots
Guy Laplante
Posted at 12:45h, 20 FebruaryIf the government were serious about renewable clean, carbon free energy they would be investing in modern nukes.
Cindy
Posted at 13:31h, 20 FebruaryYou can’t seriously believe this lame excuse for power is something that is going to sustain ALL the electricity in the world! Wind power has been a joke since they started pushing it. Gee, I wonder why they pushed this lie on the masses…..😜
A
Posted at 15:27h, 20 FebruaryCant tell if youre /s or if youre just paid by oil.
David Kreitzer
Posted at 10:08h, 20 FebruaryThey are recycling wind all of a turbine now.
Mike
Posted at 11:54h, 20 FebruaryOnly at Carbon Rivers, which currently has very small capacity and is fully funded by the DOE – in other words our tax dollars. Our tax dollars subsidized their construction and our tax dollars fund the “upcycling”. Sounds like a wonderful “deal”. The adage “Follow the money” is never more true than green energy. That “green” has little to do with the environment and everything to do with greenbacks.
John Weaver
Posted at 08:19h, 20 FebruaryPhotos definitely show a failure in rebar to connect to base.
Rsm
Posted at 15:03h, 20 FebruaryWhile I’m not a concrete expert, it appears to me the rear is still 8ntact, and it’s the concrete that failed. Could’ve been a bad mix, or maybe the rebar wasn’t laid at the correct level in the slab?
Pete
Posted at 16:37h, 20 FebruaryWind farms I have worked on had about 18 three inch dianeter bolts anchoring each tower. The bolts were very long reaching all the way through the concrete base. The bolts were held in place by grout. Depending on the depth to bedrock the base had from 100 to 500 yards of concrete. Rebar failure would not result in the tower falling over. I can’t imagine anything less than a tornado blowing one over.
Maybe this place was different using and older method.
Leslie Benjamini
Posted at 02:43h, 20 FebruaryThese windmill farms are an eyesore that are useless & cannot be recycled. We have one outside of Palm Springs, Ca. It has been here for years, many times the windmills are broken. They kill birds. This is a fraud perpetrated on the people. It doesn’t even benefit the local people.
Greg Thompson
Posted at 10:03h, 20 FebruaryIf one blade is painted a different color, birds can see the blades and it reduces bird deaths. BTW. Cats kill more birds than wind mills. If they were worthless, then gas and oil companies wouldn’t be investing in wind farms.
John Kraft & Kirk Allen
Posted at 10:27h, 20 FebruaryCats are not man-made
Ishmael
Posted at 14:10h, 20 FebruaryDomestic cats are human made and let into the wild by humans to prey upon the bird population 🤦🏼♂️
Matt Cable
Posted at 14:33h, 20 FebruaryCats are manade lol
Rsm
Posted at 14:58h, 20 FebruaryAnd the birds cats kill aren’t eagles.
Will Shelton
Posted at 15:21h, 20 FebruaryThe explosion of the cat population is man made. They wouldnt be here and in such numbers if it weren’t for us.
Avery
Posted at 15:25h, 20 FebruaryThe american house cat isnt a natural predator to north america, so in a way north american cats are man made.
Heather
Posted at 09:16h, 23 FebruaryRight, some people just aren’t firing on all 8 cylinders.
Murungu
Posted at 11:01h, 20 FebruaryNo they are following the money the govt is borrowing. They are in business. They are not going to close down
Guy Laplante
Posted at 12:42h, 20 FebruaryPower company invests in wind farm because government puts it’s fat finger on the scales of profitability and distorts the market.
Bill Constantine
Posted at 14:43h, 20 FebruaryYour wrong. Here in PA they found thousands of dead bats below the wind farms. Eagles and falcons many dead. And these wind farms are nothing but a political joke. The maintenance of these machines cost more than any other power source. The fiberglass blades that are worn out are filling the garbage landfills creating more pollution. Hydro power is the most useful of natural resources. We could generate so much of of rivers and streams. But the EPA blocks it.
Leslie Benjamini
Posted at 16:00h, 20 FebruaryOutside of Palm Springs we have for many years a windmill farm. Blades are all white. Much of the time some of the windmills are not functional. Blades are on the ground. These things are not recyclable. They don’t benefit the local area. There is nothing beneficial about them. If you can’t recycle the parts it just adds to the junk piling up all over the place.
Ronald Settle
Posted at 17:52h, 20 FebruaryThe windmills are only economically viable because they are subsidized by government. The motive that is driving their construction by many thousands is the false climate change AKA global warming narrative. Comprehensive study on the part of anyone will confirm the reality of “Climate Change” versus the legitimate threat in the form of geoengineering activities that affect the atmosphere and climate as well as the Earth’s geology. We can use various independent sources rather than the usual suspects — that masquerade as journalists in corporate media as well as sponsored online sources that serve a similar role.
Bill Manderfield
Posted at 06:14h, 21 FebruaryCats kill more tiny birds. Cats kill zero eagles! Cats kill zero hawks!. Oil companies mandated to be green so they invest in these because of the tax write off because the depreciation schedule. Not green, not the technology answer to our energy issue.
Rob E.
Posted at 09:09h, 21 FebruaryIf someone was cutting off your income at the knees, oil and natural gas, U would find the next thing as well. Sadly, cost per Kw, wind is horrible but since its subsidized by the Gov its EZ money. I have built a few solar projects and the amount of money thrown around is ridiculous. Everybody thinks the money is free but its just coming out of their pockets.
Darrel Clouse
Posted at 10:52h, 20 FebruaryYou are exactly right. California has been struggling with power grid generating assets for DECADES and the governments and activists cause the problem to be worse every year. A failing “remedy” that is being duplicated around the United States and Europe. Natural gas is very clean AND a great source of easily captured CO2 that can be used to supercharge food crops growth and even provide “fizz” to club soda or other popular beverages.
Weldon eberhart
Posted at 14:32h, 20 FebruaryYou are exactly right. Green is a hoax to make a few people rich. And make the common man poorer.
All this free power crap takes way more petroleum to make it and keep it run than if it used to run ours automobiles and homes. Our govt is lying to us. Good luck with electric cars in CA I want ever have one
Bruce atLarge
Posted at 15:38h, 20 FebruaryOk, (to all of the commenters preceding this: OK, let’s go back to coal and burning trees…..
Ricky Martin
Posted at 11:57h, 20 FebruaryJust tell me you don’t have a brain without.. forget it, you already told us.
Allyn Perkowski
Posted at 16:13h, 20 FebruaryThis article summarizes the threats that wind farms pose to birds before surveying the recent literature on avian mortality and summarizing common methodological problems with such studies. Based on operating performance in the United States and Europe, the paper then offers a preliminary calculation of the number of birds killed per kilowatt-hour kWh generated for wind electricity, fossil fuel, and nuclear power systems. The study estimates that wind farms and nuclear power stations are responsible each for between 0.3 and 0.4 fatalities per gigawatt-hour (GWh) of electricity while fossil fueled power stations are responsible for about 5.2 fatalities per GWh. Within the uncertainties of the data used, the estimate means that wind farms killed approximately 20,000 birds in the United States in 2009 but nuclear plants killed about 330,000 and fossil fueled power plants more than 14 million. The paper concludes that further study is needed, but also that fossil fueled power stations appear to pose a much greater threat to birds and avian wildlife than wind farms and nuclear power plants.
Max
Posted at 18:59h, 20 FebruaryHush your face you need to know the English term they’re not windmills windmills do grain stuff these are wind turbines turbines lady they capture and harness wind energy get your sh** straight f***er
Michael Schmidt
Posted at 20:00h, 20 FebruaryWhile you are correct in saying these are not “windmills”], they are also not turbines. A more correct term would be “wind generators “. They are notvwindmills because they don’t ‘mill’ or break down anything. But they are much further from being a turbine because they don’t compress the air that goes through them. Get YOUR grammar together, f***er. Windmill is much closer to what it is than turbine.
Kirk Allen & John Kraft
Posted at 20:52h, 20 FebruaryThey do not generate wind so wind generators would not be correct either. Eye sore?
Tumbleweed
Posted at 07:55h, 21 FebruaryEveryone is correcting everyone. People, do you really think you are promoting them or degrading them? The Government ‘s are going to do whatever the hell they want that puts money in their pockets or stocks.. If I said socks, I’sure I’d have a bunch of Ed-u-ma-cated English teacher’s jumping in that can’t fix their Derailleur on there green Bicycle.. Tom T. Hall,,,,” God is great, Beer is Good, People are Crazzzzeee.”
kwquixote
Posted at 20:21h, 20 FebruaryCauses of Bird Deaths in the U.S. Annually
Cats
2,407,000,000
Buildings
599,000,000
Cars
199,600,000
Power Line Collisions
22,800,000
Communication Towers
6,581,945
Power Line Electrocutions
5,630,000
Wind Turbines
573,093
Number are for independent birds only. Est
Boomer thumper
Posted at 06:36h, 21 FebruaryTurn off Fox News and educate yourself boomer.
Martin Schulz
Posted at 10:47h, 21 FebruarySo I guess the. clean energy that is produced by these wind farms is totally useless?
Greg Scott
Posted at 02:37h, 20 FebruaryIf they intend to Decommission this way, the did a lousy job of it. I have decommissioned wind farms and cleaned up turbines that burned down or collapsed during operation and if never seen the PMT get yanked up and lost of the foundation taken with it. If they plan to RENEW and put another turbine up, they wouldn’t be able to use the foundation now. They being said, being so cheap to go this route will end up costing substantially more for an entire new foundation, once this one has been dug up. BTW, I’ve been wind energy for 17 years.
John Kraft & Kirk Allen
Posted at 09:20h, 20 Februarythe foundation was most likely beyond repair when it started leaning the day prior to falling
Kevin Johnson
Posted at 15:41h, 20 FebruaryDude you need to proofread your comments before you post so you don’t look like a dumb ass
David Bell
Posted at 22:34h, 20 FebruaryYa no joke he sounds like a first grader haha
Guy Wind
Posted at 20:46h, 21 FebruaryAll of those foundations will get a thorough review/inspection/testing. There won’t be any new machines on those towers until they find out the cause, and by the looks of that photo it’s going to be ugly.. There was a series of foundation failures like that on 2002 vintage machines. Somebody messed up on this one. And if they messed up on one, there will be others, and not just on this windplant. Ruhroh Scooby
Grand Dorf
Posted at 16:07h, 20 FebruaryTake an English class bro.
Fu Manchu
Posted at 08:52h, 21 FebruaryThe headline indicated “self-decommissioned”…meaning it failed.