Queen commissions the largest ever wind turbine
By Susan Wilson
When the Queen of England puts her money behind green technology, it must be good. Queen Elizabeth II has indeed chosen wind power as an investment in green energy, but because a Queen never does things in a small way, she has commissioned the largest wind turbine ever built.
Depending on who you believe, Queen Elizabeth is having either a 7.5 megawatt wind turbine built (EcoGeek) or a 10 megawatt wind turbine built (The Earth Times). Either way, the final wind turbine promises to be one massive energy generating monster.
The wind turbine will be 575 feet tall, “almost 1.5 times the length of the Big Ben and more than 111 of Queens standing one on top of another” according to The Earth Times or “600 corgis standing on each other’s backs” according to EcoGeek. Depending on which analogy you prefer, that’s a lot of Queens and dogs.
The cost for this project has not been disclosed but is probably very high considering that this is the first ever wind turbine of its size. All sources agree that Clipper Wind, a California company has been chosen to build the turbine. When the turbine will be installed and running is another contentious issue. EcoGeek claims that the wind turbine will be ready in 2010 and The Earth Times says 2012. It doesn’t really matter since unique projects tend to miss deadlines whichever one is chosen.
At 10 megawatts the turbine when built would displace the harmful effects of 724,000 tons of Carbon Dioxide over its life time and would power 3700 average homes. No one has estimated how many castles and palaces could be powered.
Since England is working toward reducing its carbon emissions 20% by 2020, the Queen’s investment in wind technology sets an example for other wealthy Brits to join in to help meet the pledged goal. It might even spur some wealthy individuals to invest in wind power for their own countries.
Cleaning up the environment is something that everyone can invest in whether you wear a crown or not. Simple things like looking for ways to reuse, recycle or recommission non-biodegradable objects, adopting measures that will help conserve energy in your home, your business, and your driving are all steps that everyone can take. Of course, everyone could eat right and exercise to stop the obesity epidemic. Never mind.
Via The Earth Times and EcoGeek
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