Renewable Fuel/Energy: Part 1 - Wind Power

The UK government is putting into place measures that ensure their future in energy & fuel is secure. And I have to wonder why more governments aren't doing this.

There's a whole lot of political talk about climate change, and the urgency of adjusting how we use the planet - yet that's where it remains. Talk. No real action. The government is complacent, sitting back in their comfortable chairs and waiting for disaster to strike before they do anything. Or so it seems.

They could be doing things a whole lot differently.

Take wind-power for example.

Here in the Cape area of South Africa, we get a very strong wind that blows from one direction in the summer, and the opposite direction in the winter. Without fail. Generally, it wreaks havoc in winter and irritates the heck out of us in summer - but what if we saw it as a huge opportunity, not to be missed?

There are plenty of open tracts of land in the wind-swept region (one right behind my house, convieniently situated for both wind directions!). It's a simple matter to put up wind turbines at strategic spots and harness all that moving-air power currently going to waste (the one behind my house could take at least 5 of these, but is currently not used at all, for anything).

And yet, our short-sighted government has seen fit to stamp out attempts to do this. I know of only one farmer who has finally gained permission to put one up, as an "experiment", but other initiatives have failed.

There is a huge drought gripping the land - many farmers have given up and gone away, leaving dry, dust-blown, empty lands behind. What about turning those into clean power for the nation? Don't wait for rain - simply harness the already-there wind!

Granted, there are wind-free days, and cities use up a lot of power (fodder for a later post) - we may have need for a few alternatives (and those will be blogged on soon, you can count on it!) to cover the gaps. But wind-power is a viable alternative.

Sure, marching columns of huge windmills across the landscape might not be to everyone's view-fancy - but if they are benefitting from cheaper, cleaner, more efficient energy supply, it's likely to convince them pretty quickly to reconsider.

So what's stopping us, other than short-sightedness? Well, the inevitable red tape. Some days I wonder what would happen if we removed the red tape from government. Would they still have a job?

::update::
More from the UK. Home windmills can make you money! But better if they're produced at a cheap enough price, and made easy to self-install.

::update 2::
...and if you run out of land-space, you can always put your windmills in the sea!