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Originally Posted by Adam Cheeseman  I was told recently that in some areas the windmills have to be 'turned off' if it gets too windy to prevent them being damaged  Bad design methinks.
Cheers,
Adam |
Yes you are correct but it is not 'bad design'. With current technology generation starts when the wind speed is around 7-8MPH and is at an optimum when the wind speed is at 28-30MPH. Above this it is necessary to provide some control of speed and at 50MPH or slightly above, it is necessary to take action to suspend generation. This can be done by turning the blades in line with the wind direction. The reason for this is to avoid severe damage caused by the enormous forces that would build, due to significant increase of blade rotation. Given the size/weight of the blades,mast height and foundations etc the forces exerted by high wind speeds would result in destruction if the necessary action wasn't taken.
Maybe in time higher wind speeds will be acceptable but at this time there are limiting technological issues.
John D