The
Three Hills Capital published a story on the
Ghost Pine Wind Farm at Trochu, AB on February 9th, 2011, shortly after it came online. It was a very in-depth story, providing lots of information, both technical and historical, on the wind farm. There are some excerpts below.
The farm begins 2.5 km. north and 2.5 km. west of the town of Trochu and continues north for several km., encompassing 122,000 acres. It is comprised of 51 windmills, each about 262 feet tall, not counting the blades, which are another 131 feet in length. The wind farm has a generating capacity of 81.6 megawatts. The farm went online in early 2011.
There is a new face looming on Kneehill County's north horizon; the towering white turbines of Ghost Pine Wind Energy Centre, located a few miles north and west of the Town of Trochu. The 51 intimidatingly tall structures soar skyward, encompassing 122,000 acres of mildly rolling farmland and 30 County landowners...
... "The components, themselves came from North Dakota, Ontario Canada and some from Edmonton." Travelers on the road who got to witness the sight of these components during shipment had to be amazed at the spectacle, as each blade is 40 metres (131 feet) long and weighs in at 14,000 lbs. The three blades are one load in itself while the hub and towers would constitute four separate loads. The 'nacelle' (hub) is 150,000 lbs., and the tower, at 262 feet in length, has to be shipped and constructed in three separate sections...
... It only takes 3 to 4 meters per second (m/s) to turn or maintain the blades, with optimal wind speed being around 8 m/s to 10 m/s (8 m/s = 17.9 mph), and 25 m/s would shut down the turbine. The turbines themselves are designed to withstand wind speeds upwards of 100 mph. A remote center in Florida monitors every single sensor, allowing for 24/7 oversight of the operation, including the ability to shut down a turbine or phone local maintenance if they detect a variance in a turbine's operation...
From the Three Hills Capital