When I was in the United States last, the “wind farm” movement was definitely starting up, but now, I have been amazed at the number of farms I have encountered across Texas and Oklahoma and how much those farms have expanded. Hundreds and hundreds of these windmills are spread across West Texas and Western Oklahoma, and the energy sold off to somewhere not local…because there is not much local besides cows.
These towers stand approximately 300 feet tall. That would be a football field! Each blade is 100 feet long and when turning, exceeds 100 mph. Viewing these from a distance, you would never imagine that size or speed, but standing this close to them, you can hear the sound of the tips slicing through the air.
And if you travel on the right roads at the right time, you will have the privilege of confirming their enormous size. The motor housing more than fills a tractor trailer. The blades require a very strange double trailer contraption, with the blade serving as the “spine” for the trailer, and providing a hefty challenge to any truck driver wanting to make a turn. Doubt no longer.
And the trees? One of the local hated favorites: mesquite. It sure smokes meat nicely, but you cannot kill them out for the world. I can attest that their easily climbable, yet thorny limbs provide excellent tree climbing training…unless it is too cold…but that is another story.
