To find huge off shore wind turbines unsettling?

[BlackOrangeFrog]

So, I'm all for the wind power etc don't get me wrong. And I don't mind them "interrupting" the view.

It's the sheer size of them.

Currently sitting on a beach in Norfolk, looking out to see, the wind turbines look closes but are actually 2 miles away. It's because of the sea distorting distance. But also, mainly they so freaking MASSIVE.

Its all a bit freaky and they creep me out a bit.

Same with any big engineering tbh

I don't mind them. Pylons are a bit ugly but they do a job.
The most unsettled I felt over a large object was when I first drove past the angel of the north. I'm from the south, not seen it since!

I’d rather they were offshore then on land.

Ah the classic all health safety is bollocks , I don't need a harness, I've been scampering over roof tops/drilling/using power tools for years and I've never needed anything.
WHAT? What did you say? Sorry, my hearing isn't quite as good as it used to be, oh, you want me to hold that delicate object, well my hand shake a bit, no idea why... Let me just do some work, I've been working on sites for 25 years now,
No, no it's It's okay,, I don't need the goggles or dust mask, I've got a safety squint and I've also pulled my t-shirt over my nose for drilling into this unspecified white material, so it's fine.

Pretty much any above ground electricity installation has the capacity to start a fire, though. Power line faults are a fairly common source of wildfires in hotter, drier climates.

Thanks

I went down a bit of a rabbit hole.as I hadn't given wind turbines much thought before.

Ecologically, they have their pluses and minuses. On a personal level I find them a bit eerie, a bit intimidating but I don't get the heebies around them like I do with electricity pylongs. Now those freak me right out.

They are immense, DH says they have to get inside the blades while up there servicing them and my mind can't comprehend that they're big enough for a person to stand in them!

Looking at the footage of the Aberfan disaster is horrific enough to be thankful for more modern times. That said, the disaster was also preventable.

If they could plant them a bit further out so not visible from the coast that would be great. Although I hear they are awful for birds.

OP, I completely get you, I feel exactly the same. And I feel the same about oil rigs, cargo ships and aircraft carriers. For me though, the absolute worst are dams. Those things are nightmarish.

Let’s not 🤣

And it’s not about having the right equipment to put out fires in turbines. Fire crews do have the right equipment, but if there is no risk to lift then it will be left to burn itself out.

Risk to life

Presumably they're anchored in some way to stop them floating away. Seems that way in the diagram.

But how do they not topple over??

So - i work on offshore windfarms - have done for the best part of 15 years - i would say they are not everyone's idea of lovely things - they are great tho... and also to the person who said engineers dont get to climb the things they design... they do :) I should know.

The foundations are fixed to the seabed - using steel foundations - usually with a with a steel cylinder called a monopile.

I’ve been up close to them a bit, they feel peaceful to me

There's good money in renewable energies. I'd push mine to become an engineer!

PumpkinSpiceMuffins · Yesterday 10:06

YANBU. Their construction and operation is extremely detrimental to wildlife. Ecocidal blights on the land.

How so? They don't really mince thousands of songbirds, you know!

The turbine operators are trying to reduce environmental impacts constantly, at least offshore. I was working on a project last year, they are installing floating turbines, the anchors of which will have a seabed footprint of less than 10% of one piled into the seabed.

This thread has been very interesting

Yes absolutely. And completely preventable.