Ok, before I say anything.... I totally stole this from a cool (yet weird as fuck) dude who ran/worked in a little shop in downtown Anchorage, AK. It was also a dope shop.... awesome native inuit stuff, inuit bone carvings, more stuff like that...... and on the other side of the store.... a shoe repair shop. This dude had an idea to put a small wind turbine on the top of all the light/telephone poles. Realistically, I have no idea how much it would cost to fabricate such a turbine, then in bulk, then install them. Nor do I know how much electricity one can produce. And obviously, I don't know if the pros outweigh the cons. It just seems like a cool idea. Think about it.... the poles are already there. In every country. In every state. In most every town. Why not put a little wind turbine in top of them?? I mean, how much could it possibly cost to make a contraption with a coil, 4 blades, etc... Then just run your wires on the already established poles. Obviously the copper in the wiring and coil will be expensive, but it can't be much more expensive than the idea to create and install giant ones all along the coasts. Not to mention the most fragile habitats and ecosystems in North America are tidal wetlands, brackish marshes, barrier beaches, etc. Again.... the poles are already there. No invasive building procedures. Any business endevour, other than the lucky few, has to be done with the mindset that there will most likely be losses in the first few years. Unless there is a government grant, start-up capitol is needed. Again, like I said before, I have no idea how much it would cost to do something like that, or how much money can be saved/made by creating energy that way. I'd be interested to hear from people who know a bit more about something like that. To see if it actually is a plausible idea. The dude in Alaska sure seemed to think so. He had a friggin 2", 3-ring binder FILLED with notes, drawings, graphs and blueprints for this idea of his. ...............
Maybe we could start building little wind farms atop skyscrapers to make the buildings self sufficient.
Most places aren't windy enough. It's a maintenance nightmare. It's not cost effecient...too little power for too much cost (bad ROI)... Those poles aren't designed for that kind of extra load. It's a nice stoner idea that won't work in the real world.
not to mention you need a way to convert that power from DC to AC so that it can be sent through the lines. That is the biggest reason that they produce power in large quantities, as in huge wind farms and power generating plants.