Windswept!

Wind Turbine 1

I was chuffed with this image of a wind turbine that I managed to snap from a train window in passing. You really get the sense of size as the massive blades loom over you.

Wind Turbine 2

Even seen from a distance they are truly majestic!

You can read here about Wind Turbines, how they work and their advantages and disadvantages.

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I’m all for using alternative sources of energy like the wind, water or sun, which are all there for the taking. I don’t know why we don’t use them more.

There is a strong persistent wind that blows in Cape Town from September to March, which is known as The Cape Doctor, because it supposedly blows away the pollution. Cape Town is actually known as The Cape of Storms!

I was happy to find out that we do have some wind farms around the area.

 

These photos are from one of my train trips in the North of the UK last August.

 

41 thoughts on “Windswept!”

  4. Iris@poetsmith

    Such an informative post. It’s so interesting to read about The Cape Doctor! And so wonderful that it has that effect of blowing away the pollution. Thank you for sharing. 🙂

    Liked by 1 person

  5. blosslyn

    I actually hugged one in France about 10 years ago. Not very noisy, just a hum, but you do get a thrill when you look up and see the blades rushing down to you, you can’t help but duck. We have a lot in the sea off the north norfolk coast, like large sentinels watching over us 🙂 we also have a great many around us in the Fens, as its really flat, just got use to seeing them now 🙂

    Liked by 1 person

      1. blosslyn

        I think it was to get the French people to get use to them, we didn’t just go a hug one in s field, well we did, but it was all set up and there was a talk about them, in French and thank goodness in English….although my French is not bad, I think listening to a talk on them might have been too much 🙂

        Liked by 1 person

  6. pensitivity101

    We are surrounded both coastal and inland by wind turbines. I always thought they were majestic too. When we were househunting in 2007 we nearly purchased a property closeby and the owner said she never heard it. It wasn’t working when we viewed, but we went back before making a decision for a second look and the noise was rhythmically horrendous. We can see them across the way but the sea is much louder!

    Liked by 1 person

    1. scifihammy Post author

      Ah – Yes, always wise to find out for yourself just how noisy something is.
      Good that yours are now drowned by the sea 🙂

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      2. scifihammy Post author

        We have jumbo jets flying over us quite audibly, especially in the evening, but it never bothers me. Rather I just think “That’s the plane to the UK!” 😀

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      3. pensitivity101

        We had typhoons flying over all the time in our last house and we sort of got used to it. Maggie did get fed up once and put her paws on the front fence then proceeded to bark at the sky! We have commercial aircraft flying over here but they are too high to hear, though the tornados do practice runs along the coast sometimes. Lovely stylish aeroplane, great silhouette in the sky.

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      5. pensitivity101

        It was a novelty at first, but became a pain, especially at night. We did get to see the Red Arrows practicing, and also the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight (the only flying Lancaster at the time). Would you believe that a Spitfire has a larger wingspan than the modern Typhoon (Eurofighter). I’d rather have the Spitfire myself!

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  8. Midwestern Plant Girl

    As the Midwest is very flat and very windy (prone to tornadoes), it’s a great place to put windfarms! And we do have many. 100’s and 100’s of windmills in one location would have Don Quixote charging in circles 😉😉
    There are downsides to them tho.
    Wildlife can’t see them and get killed by the blades flying into them.
    They are very loud, no one wants to live by them.
    Sometimes people clear forests to build them.
    They are very expensive and take a long time to recover your money
    They require batteries to store the energy they make
    Don’t get me wrong! I’m all for it!
    The US has been putting them in the ocean, far from homes… a better alternative, I think.

    Liked by 1 person

    1. scifihammy Post author

      Interesting to hear about your wind farms too 🙂
      Yes, there is always the down side, but as it is still “clean” energy it’s worth persevering with it.
      Putting them in the ocean seems like a great alternative – except for the flying fish! 😀

      Liked by 1 person

      2. pensitivity101

        Apparently some years ago people were getting small turbines attached to their houses to save on their energy bills. Now you have to have planning permission and can only run them for two or three hours a day as they are considered a noise hazard! Many switched to solar panels believing they would benefit by not having to pay for electricity ever again. Hm. Small print suggests panels are owned by the company that supplied them, and the power generated goes to said company, but you get your electricity at a reduced rate. Right. I’ll just switch a few things off or convert to 12v batteries like we had on the boat!

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      5. Midwestern Plant Girl

        We have the same issues with the planning department. To have a turbine, you need to be in a fairly rural area. Although, solar panels are ok just about anywhere, as long as they are on your roof. Any extra power they generate, goes into the grid, and you get money. You do need to purchase the panels, to my knowledge, and they ain’t cheap. You’ll be waiting a few years for them to pay off 😔

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