A news item in the Chattanoogan.com: Aerisyn LLC plans to convert the former Combustion Engineering site into a new wind turbine tower manufacturing facility. (More information can be found at this site.)
Technically, wind energy is not new. It has existed since there was wind, and many other systems have been developed to harness it for one purpose or another. The marriage of wind-harvest to the wide distribution of electric power is somewhat new, however.
Anyone who has driven between Barstow and Bakersfield in the last couple of decades has likely seen the “forests” of wind turbine towers lining the stark landscape. (I always wonder at seeing all the turbines turned one way, with a stiff wind blowing from that direction, yet only some of the props are spinning.) In contrast to California’s numbers, TVA operates three turbines in this state, and fifteen more are on their way to being installed.
The supply ratio indicated on TVA’s wind power faq is 1 turbine (at Buffalo Mountain) to about 100 typical households. Eighteen turbines would mean power for a few thousand of Tennessee’s nearly 6 million citizens.
It remains to be seen whether TVA will be among those purchasing some 200 new towers expected in the first year of production at the Riverside Parkway plant.
That new jobs are intended at the facility is encouraging news to a metro area where thousands are unemployed. This could be a step in the direction so often talked about as desired in our area, which is toward an ample supply of high-tech, low-impact and good-paying jobs. It may be a small-ish step at 75-150 positions in three years, but we’ll take it. Won’t we? I’m interested in diverse viewpoints. If we all agree on that, what about the idea of installing a few more of these thingys around the state, and cutting back a little on the burning coal? Wait, not looking for a fight. Just tossing out ideas.
