Tabs

Sunday, June 7, 2009

Windy Iowa

On Saturday, while driving on Interstate 80, from western Iowa back to central Iowa, we were surprised to see how many wind turbines - 102 of them! - dot the hilly landscape near Walnut, Iowa, in Pottawattamie County.

An Iowa Energy website states: "Iowa is the third largest producer of wind energy behind California and Texas."

Who knew!?

These photos don't adequately convey how huge these turbines are.
  • The tower is 275 feet (83 meters) tall.
  • Each rotor is 115 feet (35 meters) long.
That means that from the ground to the top of a rotor is 390 feet...longer than an *American football field which is 360 feet (109 meters).

*I say "American" in deference to my Aussie friends who know footy. A footy field is 135 to 185 meters long.

In any case, they're big! And where they're located is the windiest place in Iowa. 

And here you thought it was me...

1 comment:

  1. Haha! I've heard many people criticise the appearance of these wind farms, but I think they're so graceful and beautiful - and a wonderful way to harness energy cleanly.

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