Jiminy Peak’s “Zephyr” Wind Turbine

[highpeaksdrifter]

I saw it for the first time last night. As we drove up about 4:00 pm it looked very impressive on the backside of the mountain. What I wasn’t ready for was how you can see the propellers moving above the ridge from the base. They look gigantic. They also look kind of eerie and alien. Also the view of it at night going up the double from the Ace of Spades illuminated in the night skiing lights is a different look to say the least.

Don’t get me wrong, I think it’s a great example of using green technology and I’m all for it, I guess I just have to get use to seeing it.

 

[tjf67]

Is it something right next to one of the trails. I guess what I am asking is did you see any dead birds? That is the only thing that concerns me about those things. The trade of is well worth it if all the birds dont get chewed up.

 

[Marc]

Natural selection.

 

[billski]

Is it something right next to one of the trails. I guess what I am asking is did you see any dead birds? That is the only thing that concerns me about those things. The trade of is well worth it if all the birds dont get chewed up.

I work in one of those "glass buildings" where the birds think they can fly right through. They are always scraping birds off the base. If you go up to the scene of the crime (from the inside looking out), you can see the entire bird's outline at point of impact, replete with eyes. Ugh.... Have to wonder if these buildings take out more birds than turbines?

 

[Paul]

I work in one of those "glass buildings" where the birds think they can fly right through. They are always scraping birds off the base. If you go up to the scene of the crime (from the inside looking out), you can see the entire bird's outline at point of impact, replete with eyes. Ugh.... Have to wonder if these buildings take out more birds than turbines?

I would imagine MANY more. Then multiply by the number of tall, glass buildings in the world, compare to number of turbines...

I would imagine common housecats are responsible for more bird fatalities. :smile::lol:

 

[hiroto]

Wow, it is huge!

 

[MichaelJ]

According to the FAQ, each of the three blades is 123 feet long and max speed is 22 rpm. That means the tips go up to 283 feet per second? Someone check my math...

 

[billski]

it slices, it dices. I'll bet a meat packing company would be interested

 

[tomaso12]

math looks right to me....or 193 mph at the tips

The thing is impressive when standing next to it on West Way...i find it really neat watching the blade's shadow move across the trail in the afternoon

 

[Phildozer]

Think that's cool? Check out this video of the wind farm in Upstate New York I took.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=48qt0a7wU1s

 

[LineSki15]

I saw what look liked a wind turbine blade being transported on a truck on the highway, the trailer had to be over 100 feet long easy, and it looked like a monstrosity coming down the highway.

 

[drjeff]

Is it something right next to one of the trails. I guess what I am asking is did you see any dead birds? That is the only thing that concerns me about those things. The trade of is well worth it if all the birds dont get chewed up.

This is such a joke! My father in law has his Ph.D. in ornithology, has written hundreds of journal articles and written multiple books on the migratory patterns of birds along what is called the East Coast flightway (think the bird version of I-95). His house is literally less than a 2 minute walk from what would be a view of many of the wind turbines of the proposed Cape Wind project. He is very "earthy" and in favor of most anything related to the "greening" of our earth.

He LOVES the Cape Wind project, which is in a much more prominent bird migratory pattern location than just about any ski area region wind turbine. I've asked him if he has any issues with some potential inadvertant "bird chopping" of a wind turbine, And as he put it, "Do you have any clue how many birds are out there?" and as a followup, "literally hundreds if not thousands of times more birds get hit by cars and trucks each year than any wind turbine would get"

Build the turbines!

 

[Hawkshot99]

The turbine blades dont move that fast it looks like. there is a limiter on how fast it can spin, for when it is real windy.

The first time that I came around the corner of West way and saw it up close was very cool! I had seen it several times this fall when i was up there before ski season, but that did it no justice.

 

[Marc]

The turbine blades dont move that fast it looks like. there is a limiter on how fast it can spin, for when it is real windy.

The first time that I came around the corner of West way and saw it up close was very cool! I had seen it several times this fall when i was up there before ski season, but that did it no justice.

They don't look like they're spinning fast because they're so big. When you have 100 ft long blades like some of the bigger ones, it only takes about 90 rpm (1.5 revolutions per second) for the tips to be exceeding the speed of sound.

The blades are on motor driven rotors so their pitch can be varied and the speed of the turbine controlled. If they spin too fast the turbulence destroys the composite material the blades are made from.

 

[highpeaksdrifter]

They don't look like they're spinning fast because they're so big. When you have 100 ft long blades like some of the bigger ones, it only takes about 90 rpm (1.5 revolutions per second) for the tips to be exceeding the speed of sound.

The blades are on motor driven rotors so their pitch can be varied and the speed of the turbine controlled. If they spin too fast the turbulence destroys the composite material the blades are made from.

When I was there it seemed like there was no wind at all, yet the blades seemed to be moving at a pretty good and even rate. Do you know how that works?

 

[smootharc]

Uh....

When I was there it seemed like there was no wind at all, yet the blades seemed to be moving at a pretty good and even rate. Do you know how that works?

....I thought everyone knew it's the backup Hamsters on spinning wheels inside the turbine that spin the blades when there's no wind....

P.S.

This may help. Main point.....wind = solar energy.

http://www1.eere.energy.gov/windandhydro/wind_how.html

I love the things....there's about 3 major wind farm pods in upstate new york. Driving up to them is cool....as is the snow they'll hopefully assure we don't lose to global warming (if used along with many other conservation measures).

 

[hiroto]

Common Eco-Myth: Wind Turbines Kill Birds
http://www.treehugger.com/files/2006/04/common_misconce.php

According to this article, modern turbine like the one at Jiminy Peak's
with large blade with slow rotation rate kill much less bird comparing to
older design like this http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q7DUE_A7s1k
with smaller blades rotating at much higher speed.

 

[MichaelJ]

Also, the blades are as much as 200' up depending on the size of the turbine; winds there could be considerably different than what you feel standing on the ground.

 

[billski]

When I was there it seemed like there was no wind at all, yet the blades seemed to be moving at a pretty good and even rate. Do you know how that works?

Here is a pedestrian, non technical observation. Every fly a kite? Ever notice how it flies much better./stronger above the treeline? Often there is a lot more wind uppa therea.
p.s., for that reason too, I like skiing below the treeline on a stormy day...

 

[deadheadskier]

wind farms, solar farms BUILD EM'. As many as needed I say.