Wind turbine blade molds - photo

[Altair]

Wind turbine blade molds.

Fullsize image: https://s3-us-west-1.amazonaws.com/h...d_fullsize.jpg



Previously:

CNC machining a turbine blade - GIF
How wind turbines are built - video
Giant wind turbine blade testing - GIF
Wind turbine nut runner - GIF
Flat packing a wind turbine - GIF

[Frank S]

What a waste of a perfectly fine building

[crotchetyoldbastard]

What a waste of a perfectly fine building

I agree!! Would have made a GREAT 220-bay garage!!

[hemmjo]

Very impressive, however lots of people are jumping on this "green energy" band wagon with little thought to long term effects.

Taking energy from the wind is not without side effects.

These devices have a very limited life span.

They are also very difficult to recycle.

Solar solutions are the same.

I am not opposed to finding alternative energy solutions. But all too often we (society in general) wants to run off on some tangent without proper consideration and planning for the undesired consequences of this new solution.

[crotchetyoldbastard]

[QUOTE=hemmjo;198014]Very impressive, however lots of people are jumping on this "green energy" band wagon with little thought to long term effects.

Can't be doin' that. Considering the long-term effects would raise the cost and put the "cheaper" alternatives on par with carbon-based methods. Just because the costs aren't borne by the current generation doesn't mean they aren't eventually borne by someone.

[mklotz]

It's probably not an issue now or into the near future. However, turning those blades sucks some energy from the wind. If they build enough of them, eventually the energy loss will have an effect on wind patterns and weather. I doubt that our current understanding of weather phenomena is good enough to predict what will happen.

People have been dumping waste into the ocean for a long time since the ocean seemed so vast that nothing we do could affect that. Only now are we becoming aware that our feeble efforts can affect global systems.

[Frank S]

It's probably not an issue now or into the near future. However, turning those blades sucks some energy from the wind. If they build enough of them, eventually the energy loss will have an effect on wind patterns and weather. I doubt that our current understanding of weather phenomena is good enough to predict what will happen.

People have been dumping waste into the ocean for a long time since the ocean seemed so vast that nothing we do could affect that. Only now are we becoming aware that our feeble efforts can affect global systems.

It is my contention that super large dense cities with their high skyscrapers contribute to altering weather patterns as well, however I also believe that should those cities be demolished and the populous spread throughout the lands the coverage of the land mass would be a far greater threat.
Best solution from a planetary standpoint, short of decreasing the population of the planet would be to dome all of the cities, let those who dwell inside figure out how to create a sustaining habitable environment. the Planet would eventually cover the domes with lichen and eventually other plant life forms. The domes would become hills or even mountains from the planet's view the weather patterns would adjust accordingly. Those who live outside the domes would have a better chance of not being effected as much from a planetary disruption as we are now from the mega cities

[crotchetyoldbastard]

I doubt that our current understanding of weather phenomena is good enough to predict what will happen.

Our current understanding of weather phenomena isn't good enough to predict where a hurricane will make landfall any closer than a day or two out. And that's based on the current "hard science" of weather modeling . . . also called prognostication . . . or, more appropriately, a SWAG.

And the ocean isn't the only place we use as an insatiable dumping ground. We're still storing nuclear waste at the points of use in accordance with the strict requirements of the various nuclear regulatory agencies based on science. Debates about the benefits of the various energy systems notwithstanding, I sincerely hope the "strict requirements" are enough to protect our progeny. Remember . . . thalidomide was prescribed to pregnant women based on the science available at the time.

[Duke_of_URL]

Nuclear... the best "carbon free" energy, hands down. Just ask the French.