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Wind makes sense in a big way too. If you have a building that's heated on the inside, and the air is still outside, it won't lose as much heat to the environme

Wind makes sense in a big way too. If you have a building that's heated on the inside, and the air is still outside, it won't lose as much heat to the environment as it would if the wind was blowing at 30mph. Much like how solar is super useful on bright hot summer days in the south... It gives the most power when you want the AC on the most

aaron695 10y ago
If it's efficient for the hydro setup to use wind for heating, why not the rest of the village? My point stands? A better example 'might' be plants can take random times of darkness in their stride so random blackouts don't matter. But given the high cost of the setup I doubt you'd want to screw with efficiency.
- claudius 10y ago
  Up until very recently, fossil fuel was cheap and there was little incentive to invest in other resources such as wind or solar. Furthermore, there was relatively little political incentive to avoid fossil fuels. Both of these things have changed and large amounts of money have subsequently been invested in renewable energy sources, making them cheaper (mass-produced) and more reliable (better technology). If you were to re-build the town today, wind farms and battery storage may well be the most economic choice, but to switch to wind, it not only has to be cheaper (and more environmentally friendly) but also so much cheaper that the initial investment costs are returned in a reasonably timeframe.
- atrus 10y ago
  Because there are other things to consider besides efficiency. You don't just swap out your stack on a whim, because you lose other things like experience. There are probably people up there who can fix a diesel generator in a snowstorm blindfolded using a part they had in their garage from 10 years back. They could probably fix a wind turbine. But probably isn't the word you want when your whole town is dependent on that power source. So you start small, fix the problems that will arise, gain a knowledge base, and THEN move on to bigger things.
  - aaron695 10y ago
    The garden is their whole business so for the exact same reason you would not risk it.
- digler999 10y ago
  Nobody said you can't use wind energy for more than one thing. In addition, demand isn't static (for a village). Whereas demand is static for the heating of the greenhouse, and only changes twice a day for the lighting. So wind energy could be utilized more efficiently.

aaron695 10y ago

If it's efficient for the hydro setup to use wind for heating, why not the rest of the village? My point stands? A better example 'might' be plants can take random times of darkness in their stride so random blackouts don't matter. But given the high cost of the setup I doubt you'd want to screw with efficiency.

claudius 10y ago
Up until very recently, fossil fuel was cheap and there was little incentive to invest in other resources such as wind or solar. Furthermore, there was relatively little political incentive to avoid fossil fuels. Both of these things have changed and large amounts of money have subsequently been invested in renewable energy sources, making them cheaper (mass-produced) and more reliable (better technology). If you were to re-build the town today, wind farms and battery storage may well be the most economic choice, but to switch to wind, it not only has to be cheaper (and more environmentally friendly) but also so much cheaper that the initial investment costs are returned in a reasonably timeframe.
atrus 10y ago
Because there are other things to consider besides efficiency. You don't just swap out your stack on a whim, because you lose other things like experience. There are probably people up there who can fix a diesel generator in a snowstorm blindfolded using a part they had in their garage from 10 years back. They could probably fix a wind turbine. But probably isn't the word you want when your whole town is dependent on that power source. So you start small, fix the problems that will arise, gain a knowledge base, and THEN move on to bigger things.
- aaron695 10y ago
  The garden is their whole business so for the exact same reason you would not risk it.
digler999 10y ago
Nobody said you can't use wind energy for more than one thing. In addition, demand isn't static (for a village). Whereas demand is static for the heating of the greenhouse, and only changes twice a day for the lighting. So wind energy could be utilized more efficiently.