The cover story for the latest Wired is about high gas prices and why, surprise!, they're actually good for the economy. I think the article is a bit overstated, but the general idea is that high gas prices spur innovation, which will eventually reduce our dependence on fossil fuels. In general, I'd say anything that makes our economy run more lean and efficient is a good thing, not just because of fuel consumption behavior. For the same reason, I don't fret higher interest rates the way some do.
The Free Press, of London, Ontario had an interesting article this weekend about farmers making money by putting up wind turbines on their property. There's been a lot of discussion about farmers making money from biomass, or other agriculture base fuels (like ethanol), but a farm's wide open space is a valuable resource in itself:
Bill Hayden isn't hard to find.
Just head north of Goderich on Highway 21 and look for the two tall, thin turbines jutting out of the seemingly endless fields. He lives right between them.
Of course, with Edmonton-based developer Epcor set to build 20 more turbines by early 2006, his will become a little less noticeable.
But Hayden, 65, had his share of attention. If Epcor is among the industry's early developers, Hayden is a wind-power pioneer -- the company's first local windmill was built on his farm in 2002. "We'd been talking about this for years but decided to go ahead and build one," said Hayden, who grew up on this farm. "Every day you'll see somebody stop and take pictures."
They're certainly hard to miss, standing up to 80 metres high. Their power potential is equally attention-grabbing: A 1.5-megawatt turbine can power the equivalent of about 500 homes, the government estimates.
Hayden is among dozens of farmers who have signed land leases with developers who hope to get a piece of a government wind-power contract.
Though every lease is different, observers say they're all more or less the same. Each lessee gets about $1,500 for the option and then nets up to $8,000 in annual rent once the turbine is running. Over the expected lifetime of a typical turbine, that means as much as $140,000 in found money for the farmer.
Seems like a win-win here. The always-struggling farmer gets money and energy prices are tempered, though it's not clear whether the industry, in Canada, depends much on tax-breaks and subsidies to be competitive.
Furthermore, wind energy is much more realistic, and in our grasp than hydrogen and other dreams of "free" energy that get touted by cranks and U.S. Senators.
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