Manonthestreet
Diamond Member
- May 20, 2014
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So the footprint is less than 50 feet?
Hardly. First of all, new roads have to be built, or existing ones need to be extensively "upgraded." It requires more than an old dirt logging track to get a 150-ft blade, a 70-ton nacelle, or the huge crane needed to put it all together up a mountain. The road needs to be wide, straight, and very strong.
Several acres around each turbine have to be cleared as well. For best performance, the GE 1.5-megawatt turbine needs 82 unobstructed acres around it and the Vestas V90 needs 111. On a ridgeline, the sloping away of the land and the hope that the wind is always perpendicular to the line of the ridge mean that about 5 acres are actually cleared around each turbine. Wind Power Facts | Wind Energy FAQ [aweo.org]
Hardly. First of all, new roads have to be built, or existing ones need to be extensively "upgraded." It requires more than an old dirt logging track to get a 150-ft blade, a 70-ton nacelle, or the huge crane needed to put it all together up a mountain. The road needs to be wide, straight, and very strong.
Several acres around each turbine have to be cleared as well. For best performance, the GE 1.5-megawatt turbine needs 82 unobstructed acres around it and the Vestas V90 needs 111. On a ridgeline, the sloping away of the land and the hope that the wind is always perpendicular to the line of the ridge mean that about 5 acres are actually cleared around each turbine. Wind Power Facts | Wind Energy FAQ [aweo.org]