Listening to the hoopla about the broken blade on the turbine off South Beach I cannot imagine what people thought would happen when something like these giant turbines are built in the ocean. Of course there are going to be parts that break, pieces lost into the ocean, even oil spilled (yes, there is a lot of oil involved in the running of such powerful generators).
Many years from now (I hope) when these turbines are finally shut down the bases will, no doubt, be left in and on the sea floor for eternity as the cost of removal will be too high. But, knowing all that, we need to develop all the energy resources we can now.
There is no comparison of the above with the oil well blow outs or nuclear plant failures we have seen around the world. Turbines are mechanical, clean-up-able, even renewable, and they will supply us with relatively clean energy for a long time.
Lets get over the surprise, clean up the mess, learn from the mistakes and get on with building this part of our future.
Chris Murphy
Chilmark
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