Last month I had the opportunity to go to the Wild Horse Wind and Solar Facility with my Father-in-Law. It is located in Central Washington and is a pretty amazing site. We went up to the site twice. The second trip was so that we could go on the tour.
The facts I gleaned from the tour and the ones I have just looked up different. So instead of facts, let us consider them estimates.
From base to tip of the blade is around 351 ft. The foundation is anywhere from 25 to 32 ft. deep. The top is fully rotational, to an extent. (Eventually it has to unwind but can rotate in a circle a few times before having to reset itself.) The blades also can change their pitch. Both things are necessary because these beasts can not operate in winds exceeding 55 mph or below 9 mph. The winds in the area have been recorded to reach as high as 90 mph.
The ladder up is approximately 221 ft. up. In the Windmill we were taken in, while on the tour, there was a small elevator. It goes slower then if you were to climb up. Also, it is unable to go clear to the top because the 'tower' narrows the further up it reaches. The elevator is there, from what I can remember, for 'important people', news crews, when it was getting built and they did a story on them, and training. Or most likely because they were itching to spend money.
The blades are approximately 125 ft. long. This blade was damaged on the trip. A crane operator dropped it. I wish I could remember how much it cost. Most the parts came from Europe, Denmark I believe.
There are 149 operating turbines. Each one has their own 'weather station' at the top that allows the turbine to 'follow' the wind. Watching the blades in the winds can be eerie. They are quite flexible.
One turbine produces energy enough for around 460 houses a year. It is nice to know about this clean source of energy but we need to be careful about it also. We wouldn't want to change the rotation of the Earth!
