Problems With Aging Wind Farms

Professor Gordon Hughes examined the output of 282 wind farms, about 3,000 turbines in total, in the UK and a further 823 onshore wind farms and 30 offshore wind farms in Denmark. ¹ Britain's wind farms are wearing out far more rapidly than previously thought, making them more expensive as a result. This analysis, the biggest study of its kind, warns that they will continue to generate electricity effectively for just 12 to 15 years. Yet the wind industry and the government base all their calculations on turbines enjoying a lifespan of 20 to 25 years The study estimates that wear and tear will more than double the cost of electricity being produced by wind farms in the next decade.

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The decline in the output of offshore Danish wind farms appears even more dramatic. The load factor for turbines built on platforms in the sea is reduced from 39 percent to 15 percent after 10 years. Not so with onshore wind farms in Denmark. The decline was much less dramatic even though the wind farms tended to be older. Professor Hughes said this may be due to Danish turbines being smaller than British ones and possible better maintained. He said, "I strongly believe the bigger turbines are proving more difficult to manage and more likely to interfere with one another." ¹ Joanne Nova reports that as much of Germany's nearly 30,000 strong fleet of wind turbines approach 20 or more years in age, the list of catastrophic collapses is growing more rapidly. The turbines are now being viewed by technical experts as 'ticking time bombs.' Daniel Wetzel of the online German Daily 'Die Welt' reports that the aging rickety wind turbines are poorly inspected and maintained and thus are now posing a huge risk. ² In Texas, estimates put the tear down cost of a singe modern wind turbine, which can rise from 250 to 500 feet above the ground at $200,000. This means landowners and counties in the region could be on the hook for tens or even hundreds of millions of dollars if officials determine non-functional wind turbines need to be removed. Or if that proves to be too costly, as seems likely, some areas of the state could become post-apocalyptic wastelands steepled with teetering and fallen wind turbines, locked in a rigor mortis of obsolescence.³ References

li>Robert Mendick, "Wind farm turbines wear sooner than expected, says study," wattsupwiththat.com, December 29, 2018
1. Joanne Nova, "Old neglected wind turbines---ticking 100 ton bombs," joannenova.com.au, June 28, 2018
2. "Retiring worn out wind turbines could cost billions that nobody has," slashdot.org, July 14, 2018

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