I mentioned windmills, from looks to functionality, in a few posts already, but I never actually took a closer look, at a wind turbine. That amazing machine, which powers up our homes, in a very eco-friendly way, deserves to have its story out there.

We see them on the fields, turning gently in the wind, and they seem big, but not extremely big. Also, from a distance, not much seem to happen, but once you get closer, you realize how impressive the machines really are. From the sound they make, to the size, to the speed with which the blades turn, they surely leave an impression on us.

Coming back from a trip, I passed by a construction site. At a second glance, I’ve realized what was actually being built, were a few wind turbines. Because of the enormous size of the foundation, I couldn’t tell from the start what type of construction I was looking at, but after the first towers were up, it was pretty obvious: mega wind turbines.

Compared to the already existing large windmills (149 m height, 3.0 megawatts of power), the mega wind turbine (E-126), has the height of 198 m, and can generate up to 7.58 megawatts of power! Absolutely impressive size and power, and it definitely deserves the title of the World’s Largest and Most Powerful Wind Turbine! (or at least, for now)

The Towers, Foundation and Start of a Tower, and Metal Tower Sections

Every tubular steel tower is made out of sections of 20-30 meters (with an increasing diameter towards the base of the tower, for strength reasons), with flanges at either end, so the sections can be bolted together. Each section is transported one half at a time, and then put together on the site.

Once the towers are in place, huge custom made trucks, which travel only during the night so they don’t affect the traffic (as sometimes they need to close entire roads, in order to move further on with the transportation), bring the gigantic blades to the location.

With the 127 m diameter rotor put together, cranes and quite a lot of man power, the blades and rotor make it to the top of the tower, and the windmill is finished and ready to start the job.

Wind energy definitely came a long way, in the past century, going from propelling boats, to pumping water, to producing only 12 kW, to powering entire cities. Scientists look constantly for more ways to improve the performance of this fascinating machines, and considering the latest wind turbine, I think they’re doing a pretty good job.

Since the first construction of such an impressive machine, in 2008, it is estimated that only twelve such wind turbines are enough to power approximately 50,000 homes with environmentally-friendly electricity. Now imagine making it global! With more and more wind farm being constructed, the future can look pretty green.

I don’t want to protect the environment.  I want to create a world where the environment doesn’t need protecting.

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