News & Articles on Large Wind Power

Large wind turbines are those used to generate commercial quantities of electricity. This category includes single turbines used in distributed applications as well as arrays of multiple wind turbines used in a wind power plant.

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LBL: Do large-scale wind projects impact the sales prices of nearby homes? New US study results say yes and no

By

Joseph Rand; Ben Hoen

New Berkeley Lab study of half a million transactions across the country finds evidence of temporary decreases in home sale prices in more populous counties within 1 mile of wind projects, starting after the project’s announcement but returning to pre-announcement inflation-adjusted levels 3–5 years after operation begins.

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Capacity Factor, Power Ratings, Specific Area, Specific Power, Rated Power, and the Silent Wind Revolution

By

Paul Gipe

I’ve written extensively about the misuse of wind turbine power ratings and why the term “capacity factor” should not be used.[1] In short, don’t use it. There are much better descriptors of wind turbine performance. Many of the outlandish claims by inventors rely on the improper use of power ratings and capacity factor. It’s easy for unscrupulous promoters to hoodwink the public, the media, and even some engineers with the sleight of hand that “power ratings” and “capacity factors” makes possible.

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Wind Power Plants and Wind Farms Definitions

By

Paul Gipe

In recent correspondence with colleagues, I noted the unfortunate reoccurrence of the term “wind parks” to describe wind farms or …

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Wind Power Plants–Description from Wind Energy for the Rest of Us

By

Paul Gipe

Reflecting the concept’s newness are the many terms that arose to describe it: wind farms, wind parks, and wind power plants, to name a few. Early on, finding the best nomenclature created a dilemma. On the one hand, advocates wanted a term connoting wind’s technological success and its coming of age as a conventional source of electricity, conveyed by the term wind power plant. On the other hand, proponents also wanted to preserve the association with the enlightened land use–the stewardship–that the term wind farm implies.

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Heirloom & AirLoom Prove that Cleantech Stupidity Often Repeats & Even Occasionally Rhymes

By

Michael Barnard

So there you have it. Both Heirloom and AirLoom are variants of long-failing technological pathways. They are both massively mechanically complicated for little return. They are both funded by Bill Gates. They are both destined for the dust heap of history. It’s remarkable that anyone would give them money, and it’s remarkable how much fawning press they’ve received. In this case, history is both repeating itself, and rhyming.

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Transpower—the Flying Clothesline from the Early 1980s

By

Paul Gipe

Transpower was another of those companies that thought they had a bright idea about how to harness wind energy in …