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Originally Posted by freefeet  It's certainly becoming rather ted(ious). 
A steel tower windmill is not going to collapse after twenty years, it just needs a mechanical overhaul. |
Not getting involved in the argument about the pros & cons of wind power, but a steel tower on a turbine I would imagine would be subjected to a lot of stresses and over a 20 year period and could be subject to metal fatigue similar to the airframe of an aircraft which also have to be repaired or replaced. Have you seen the spectacular way in which a wind turbine self destructs if the brakes fail on a windy day?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CqEcc...eature=related You wouldn't want any weaknesses in the main tower, and having seen a couple of films of this happening I am surprised the ones up the road from me are sited so close to the road, within 200 yds in some cases.
An old fashioned water mill is a brick or wooden building where only the mechanical parts are subjected to stress and wear.