World's Largest Wind Turbine

PeteJones writes "'Construction work on the REpower 5M was successfully completed last night with the installation of the rotor. Thus the main work on the prototype of the 5-megawatt, world's largest wind turbine has finally been completed.' The pictures are quite impressive. With 3 18-ton rotor blades pumping out 5 MW I wonder if my neighbours would mind one in my backyard?"

Comments

Re:Great idea, wish the U.S. had more of it

[ballpoint]

For the sake of you, I hope you won't.

Take a look how more than 2000 windmills destroyed the formerly pristine hills around Tarifa in Spain: http://www.tarifaspain.com/Windmills2.jpg. 50 km2 of spoiled vistas. As a bonus, they kill a lot of migrating birds who cross the Gibraltar strait between Europe and Africa twice a year: http://www.ncpa.org/prs/tst/20040501hsburnett.htm. All this for a relatively minute quantity of unreliable energy.

While more and more (> 10%) seem to be under repair each time I pass, at least the remaining mills seem to be operational most of the time there due to the unique wind conditions there. Most windmills I've seen in other places were simply standing still.

Windmills are mainly used as an pacifying excuse. But then, the populace is generally far too stupid to understand how utterly tiny the wind power potential really is.

Where the money during the goldrush was made selling shovels, I think that in this case, it's made by construction companies raking in subsidies. I predict those mills being abandoned in the next decade, when maintenance costs go through the roof.