Reply #3: A large part of the cost of a turbine is the tower.

[kristopher]

The rotors of a 3MW turbine sweep (and gather energy from) an area larger than a football field with only one tower. Also, the higher the tower the better the wind resource. That point is a lot more important than most people realize.

The opposition to them "seems" like a lot because it is extremely well funded and they go to great lengths to create the impression (through the use of public relations outfits etc) that opposition is much greater than it is. The fact is that the vast majority of people like wind energy. A good measure is real estate values where studies have found that homes with a view of wind turbine sell for more than comparable homes without a view of the turbines.

Read Wendy Williams' case study:
Cape Wind - The Book
Money, Celebrity, Class, Politics, and the Battle for Our Energy Future on Nantucket Sound

She also maintains a very interesting blog on the topic: http://capewindbook.typepad.com/