Super-Colossal Wind Turbines May Be on the Horizon

When it comes to building things, Eric Loth has his head in the clouds.  This engineering professor at the University of Virginia wants to construct a wind turbine standing more than five times higher than the Statue of Liberty, with rotor blades longer than the Washington Monument is tall.

Not only that, the 1,650-foot-high mega-turbine would change along with the weather, bending its blades gracefully to cope with hurricane-strength winds.  And all of this would happen dozens of miles out at sea.

Typical windmills are about 80 meters, or 260 feet, in height.  Why build one so big?

“The larger a turbine, the more powerful and efficient it becomes, and that reduces the cost of energy,” Loth says.  “Ultimately, cost is going to drive decisions about energy much more than anyone’s opinion on climate change.”

Read more at Super-Colossal Wind Turbines May Be on the Horizon