The "Is Your Preference Wind or Sun?" Story

It was an ordinary day. Just drove past the Snyder's of Hanover property on Rt. 30E and was totally impressed. Snyder's is the global leader in pretzels and the nation's second largest snack food company. I read an article a few months ago that Snyder's was going to start construction on a solar farm that will be the largest ground-based solar energy system in Pennsylvania with over 15,000 panels spanning twenty-six acres. Snyder's wants to demonstrate that they can still be passionate about pretzels and better-for-you snack foods while caring for the environment. They certainly have my vote. The rows and rows of solar panels are very impressive. Can't imagine how much it must have cost to construct the farm units and how much power they will generate. Carol and I talked about what we could do at our house to help reduce the electric bill as well as reduce greenhouse gas emissions. We have a roof that faces the south and gets sun almost all day long. Would be the perfect place to put solar panels. Next I guess would be to check on the cost of installation. I checked with Worley and Obetz, a heating and air conditioning company in Manheim where my cousin Susan's husband Gary works, about a year ago and they said that I don't have enough wind to put a windmill in my back yard. Wonder what the neighbors would think if I did that? I was reading on Traveltalkonline (TTOL) about how the The French are moving on plans to put a bunch of turbine windmills on the island of Tintamarre with heights close to 150 feet. This island is a few hundred yards from Orient Beach on the island of St. Martin. Many people are worried that it will ruin the natural views from Orient and make Tintamarre seem like an industrial zone versus the wonderful deserted island it is. The plans call for these windmills to generate 20 percent of the Frenchside power needs and a huge cable would run from the center of Tintamarre under the ocean to a Frenchside connection. Frenchside St. Martin as well as the Dutch side, Sint Maarten, have power outages all the time. The island is becoming over populated, but yet the infrastructure as well as power supply is not keeping up. Since Tintamarre is a Nature Reserve, many wonder now they could place windmills on the island. One member of the TTOL site states: It is easy to acknowledge that the one and only resource St. Martin exports is tourism? If this is so, anything that has the potential to negatively affect this resource must be carefully assessed and mitigated to the maximum extent. Putting windmills on Tintamarre would change the view, the feel and possibly the ecology of one of the most popular tourist spots on the island. There is accumulated (ing) evidence detailing the extent and type of change that will occur. There is no question that cleaner energy generation must occur. The question is, can the windmills be sited in an area that has less destructive potential to the primary economic engine that feeds, clothes and houses it's population? For me, I enjoy looking at windmills. Kind of relaxing and mesmerizing. I certainly wouldn't stay away from my favorite island just because they put up a few windmills. Probably would draw me back sooner. Then I saw photos of aerotecture wind turbines which can be placed on the roof of a building. Really neat! Isn't technology great. I guess if I wait a little longer I will find the perfect match for my house that will give me the maximum result that I want. If I live that long! It was another extraordianry day in the life of an ordinary guy. PS - pix from the top: Snyder's solar farm in Hanover, beautiful windmills in the distance, what one person believes the windmills will do to Tintamarre, and the new aerotecture wind turbine for rooftops.