We're in a position where trading off land for wind farms reduces its use-value to tourism. This is a small potato compared to what they have planned for Lanai and Molokai:
January 12, 2011 • Hawaii
Groups fear damage to land by Lanai, Molokai wind farms
Credit: By Alan Yonan Jr., Honolulu Star Advertiser, www.staradvertiser.com 12 January 2011 ~~
The damage that proposed wind farms on Lanai and Molokai could do to the islands’ natural beauty and cultural sites outweighs the benefits they might have by helping the state reach energy self-sufficiency.
That was the message from several community groups that testified at a legislative hearing yesterday.
The projects, which would deliver a combined 400 megawatts of electricity to Oahu via undersea cables, are a major component of the state’s plan to generate 40 percent of Hawaii’s energy from renewable sources by 2030. The plan calls for the state to reduce its dependence on fossil fuels by another 30 percent through increased energy efficiency.
“I support clean energy, but I do not support the current plan, which calls for this mammoth abuse of our treasured aina,” said Martha Evans, a member of Friends of Lanai.
More:
http://www.wind-watch.org/news/2011/01/12/groups-fear-damage-to-land-by-lanai-molokai-wind-farms/This plan will never happen. Hawaii is better served through converting old sugar fields to biofuel production, increasing efficiency through solar on homes, and building/improving mass transit. Our land is more valuable than any cost to energy that a massive wind project like those proposed could provide. This is a get rich quick scheme for Big Wind. You can't just apply the same model to all places. Hawaii is a radically different place than Michigan.
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