Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
Nysted Offshore is currently the world's largest offshore wind park, with 72
windmills and a total capacity of 165.6 megawatts.
This explains why, however laudable it might seem to put a micro-
turbine on the roof of your house, it actually makes more sense for indi-
viduals to pool their efforts and invest in wind-power cooperatives, so as
to get some economies of scale with taller turbines. For micro-turbines
are unable to capture any decent level of wind unless they are more than
ten metres clear of a house roof, which in most cases is impossible or
restricted by local planners.
All at sea
One of the reasons for erecting wind turbines offshore is to achieve a
higher wind speed (the other important factor being to avoid the envi-
ronmental objections that onshore turbines attract). It is also easier to
transport big components at sea. However, fixing the turbines to the sea
