Wind power is used to generate electricity, and we haven't used any significant amount of oil for that since before the 1970's, so putting up wind farms will have no impact on oil use.

oops, double posted, the first one disappeared, or so I thought..sorry folks, I really don't like to hear myself talk...:) Shutting up now.

Thanks MrScott, I was just stating the obvious to any one who has spent time on the water, especially the great lakes....ie the Windy City is near one. I feel we will never get off oil unless we start to try these new things...small scale first and then improve upon that. The only problem in the north would be icing up of the turbines if they are on the Lakes. just my opinion.

Thanks Mr Scott...I just stating the obvious as one who has been on lakes quite a bit of my life. I think it is worth a try, so many people want to shoot down new ideas, that's why we can't seem to break free of oil. The only prolem I could see around here with wind turbines on Lake Michigan, for example, would be the icing up during the winter.

dogs_rule, do you mean a water driven turbine to use the lake current? If that's what you meant, I think the answer is that the water current is not enough to be worth it. The only way water turbines are worth it is for river or tidal dams, neither of which would apply in the great lakes.

onelife...you are correct, it is almost always windy on large lakes, especially within 10-20 miles of the shore. The land heats much more quickly than water creating a pressure gradient. Warmer land creates lower pressure while cooler more dense air over the water creates higher pressure. Air (by laws of physics) flows from high to low pressure thus creating the wind near lakeshores. This is also the reason why Milwaukee is typically cooler during the summer and warmer during the winter. The onshore lake breeze is created by the pressure gradient on blows onshore during the summer, and offshore during the coldest parts of winter. This is the case unless a strong enough ambient synoptic wind steers the flow in a different direction.

It is usually always windy on the lake..jmo

I wonder if an off shore rig could also be fitted with a water driven turbine to double the output from one unit? Darn, giving away ideas!

Offshore turbines would be able to create significantly more energy because there is no topographical drag over water. Over land, hills, trees, etc. significantly limit overall wind speeds, while there is nothing to limit wind speeds over water. The initial investment may be more, but the overall effectiveness of turbines over water is so much better than on land. Average wind speed at 70 meters AGL onshore at Racine is 14.5 - 15.7 mph, less than 7 miles offshore, that average increases to 17.9 - 19.0 mph. 3 or so mph may not seem like a lot, but the average the relationship between wind speed and it's potential energy is not linear but rather exponential, so 3 mph can create significantly more energy.

Why would anyone want to put them out in the lake. Put them out in a farm field and let them farm around them. Last estimate it would cost twice as much for the power from offshore turbines.