Spiral smoke pattern from burning wind turbine - GIF

[Sockmonster]

So I wonder how much the smoke emissions from these events negate the greenhouse gas savings.

[nova_robotics]

So I wonder how much the smoke emissions from these events negate the greenhouse gas savings.

It's pretty tiny in the grand scheme of things. These things actually make quite a bit of electricity. What kills it is if the turbine was early in its usable lifespan. If it's a young turbine then it might not have had a chance to make back the carbon it took to manufacture the thing. I've heard the payback can be as little as 6 months, but in all likelihood that's an overly optimistic number from a manufacturer, so take that with a big old grain of salt. These things look old as hell though so who knows?