Windpower - an idea from Australia

From The Age for July 3, Bottling the elements:

At Upton Hill, a 530-metre-high point in the Strathbogie Ranges, gusts of Antarctic air swirl and play over the hillside and down, away from the grassy crown around the vines of Elgo Estate.

Blowing the clouds away, rattling the gums and burning the eyes, the wind blocks out any possible sound from the giant rotors of the vineyard's 30-metre wine turbine as they turn over, but the rhythmic sweep is quietly mesmerising, each huge arc an elegant movement of natural force . . . and energy.

Everything on Elgo Estate - the 600-tonne winery and the cellar door - is fuelled by electricity harnessed from the wind via the turbine.

And we cannot do something similar here because.....?

By the way, I would guess there is a part for Indiana's government to play (ratehr than just repeat over and over again "Ethanol"):

If this smallish, largely unknown Victorian winery can power itself and become largely self-sustainable, what of larger wineries? Mr Taresch hopes his pioneering work will become a blueprint for others.

He certainly hopes the entire setting-up process will become easier for those who follow him because, he admits frankly, the past four years have been a bureaucratic nightmare.

"There has been a real lack of support," he says. "There isn't any government body to help.

"There are no rebates, no subsidy. There is no incentive to do this unless you are a high power user. We're just a small, family-owned business."

How much of that "just a small, family-owned business" reminds you of Indiana farmers?

Windpower - a report from Scotland

For those of you interested in alternative energy, especially since Mighty Mitch has stumbled on the idea, might find this article of interest. Scotland seems to have been an early promoter of wind power. Personally, I think it has uses here but we got to be aware of the problems (mostly environmental) . This article lays out the good, bad, and the ugly.