Hong Kong Wind Power Demonstration

I have to be honest, I didn't see much in Hong Kong relating to sustainability research. I was mostly preoccupied with my Chinese visa and adding more pages to my passport at the U.S. consulate. I had made contact with several organic and permaculture farms in the Hong Kong area, but visiting them turned out to be inconvenient: they were only available when I wasn’t, and vice versa.

However, my friend and wonderful host, Ailee, did take me to a wind power demonstration site near her home on Lamma Island. I thought it was a great site for what its purpose was: Education. The site had been created to inform people about the benefits of renewable energy; in this instance, wind power. Providing a concrete example of renewable energy technology is a great way to educate the public, and in that sense, this single wind turbine is performing ably. Visitors can stand beside the turbine and observe how much power it produces; deciding first-hand if they find it to be a noisy eyesore, or an exemplary piece of machinery. This wasn't the first wind turbine I’d seen, but I thought it was excellent in that it provided a lot of information to the public about renewable energy.

There were signs and a meter on the turbine showing how much power it was producing. After having heard complaints about noise and imbalance brought on by wind power from critics on the internet, I was curious about encountering these effects. The Lamma turbine did make noise - a somewhat loud, swishing sound that disappeared once we were more than 50 feet away. I think the real problem with wind turbines is just that some people don't like the sight of them. And, the biggest ttragedy is that groups like the Heartland Institute and ALEC (link) are funding these miscellaneous complaints and turning them into a grass roots movement.

As a demonstrative project promoting wind power, I loved the turbine on Hong Kong’s Lamma Island. I wish that more countries and cities would install a prototype or example of a turbine, in order to dispel rumors or anger about clean energy. Once I reached the wind turbine, I immediately thought, “What's the controversy again? This isn't that bad.” I admit I am a biased and vocal proponent of renewable energy, but I do hope more people can come to this Hong Kong turbine site and decide for themselves whether they support more wind power or not.