Laserfiche WebLink
<br />whom are disposed to regard the rugged and unspoiled appearance <br />as a valuable environmental asset. Clearly it would take a much <br />more aesthetically pleasing machine to win acceptance in the <br />shoreline setting than in a remote and desolate area. Aesthetic <br />elements of design may thus turn out to be important for widespread <br />acceptance of windfarms. <br /> <br />The prototype windpowered generator shown in Figure 2 has been <br />described as a knock-kneed oil derrick with jackrabbit ears. We <br />may hope that future designs may achieve a better accommodation <br />between the elegantly long, slender blades and other elements of <br />the machine. In its present state of development, the vertical- <br />axis Darrieus wind machine shown in Figure 3 has a clear aesthetic <br />advantage and may prove not merely acceptable but wi dely attracti ve. <br />It remains to be seen if the designs for newer horizontal-axis <br />machines, now being commissioned, will improve on the older <br />ones. <br /> <br />g. Offsite Impacts. - Although the direct physical effects of <br />windfarms will extend only a short distance beyond their boundctries, <br />the economic and social effects will be felt mainly offsite. <br />These effects will be the more pronounced because large windfarms <br />will be situated typically in spa.rsely populated, relatively <br />undeveloped regi ons where any 1 ar'ge undertaki ng waul d bri ng about <br />noticeable economic and societal changes. Fortunately, we may <br />draw upon the experience of large construction projects that have <br />been carried out in the past in similarly undeveloped localities. <br /> <br />Unless there is an unexpected departure from traditional practice, <br />windpowered generators will be manufactured at existing industrial <br />centers and will be shipped to and erected at the windfarms. <br />Engineers will undoubtedly do their ingenious best to make <br />transportation and erection easy and to reduce the amount of site <br />preparation to a minimum. Nevertheless, a population of skille~d <br />workers will assemble at the windfarm to form a typical construction <br />camp, probably a small one by comparison with those typical of <br />major damsites, since the work is not labor intensive. Because <br />of the modular nature of windpowered generators, development may <br />extend over many years as the windfarm is expanded to its ultimate <br />capacity and thus the construction camp may be transformed into a <br />small village, which I shall call Windville, with all the usual <br />supporting services. When construction is finally completed, <br />however, very few specialized workers will be necessary for <br />operation, maintenance, and administration of the windfarm, and <br />the character of Windville will change. It is likely that the <br />wi ndfarm will be a touri st attracti on and that recreati onal uses <br />will be developed, so that Windville will evolve from a construction <br />camp into a small resort town. An additional offsite impact would <br /> <br />14 <br />