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We probably all have seen those large wind turbines that generate electricity. In my travels around the country, these wind farms seemed to be in every state. And I often see one of the long blades for them being transported on an extended semi-truck, especially between Texas and Minnesota, which I drive several times a year.
How do these wind turbines fit into a recycling column? As you will see, the blades do not last forever and other parts wear out so they need to be recycled or disposed of eventually.
I thought I knew a little about these turbines until I just now started reading an article in a Plastics Recycling newsletter published last year. Little did I know the blades were not made of metal but were plastic.
Also, I always thought the blades were 60 feet long — that was the original size — but now they can be 150 feet long. And although the blades appear to be moving slowly, because of the large circumference they cover, it has to be at that speed or the tips would go super-sonic — which would make a lot of noise.
Because most of us can’t get up close to them to check them out, to get a perspective on the size of these wind turbines, they are much larger than most of us visualize.
Not totally satisfied with the information in this newsletter’s article, I also Googled wind turbines to learn more about them. In Googling them, found there are several books about them.
The use of windmills is not new. In fact, back in 900 B.C., the Persians were using windmills to pump water and grind grain. And we all know how early farmers and ranchers used them to pump water. Growing up on a farm, I was extremely thankful we had one when I was about 12, before we had electricity, as pumping water by hand for the livestock was not an easy chore.
I mentioned how many I see as I travel, so one may wonder, how many are there? From data compiled two years ago, I found there are about 341,000 generating electricity worldwide. Of these, there are 54,000 operating in 41 states plus Puerto Rico and Guam. They provide electricity to all our states with enough to fill the needs of 27 million homes. They support jobs for about 105,500 workers in the U.S.
The state with the most wind turbines is Texas with almost three times as many as the next state. The next four in order are Iowa, Oklahoma, California and Kansas. The largest wind farm in Texas, with about 450 wind turbines, is the world’s third largest. It is just one of several wind farms in Texas. This topic will be continued in next week's column.
Now I'll turn the focus to the final 2019 report on the amounts concerned community citizens recycled at the Green Guy Recycling Services (GGRS) drop-off site.
In discussing the site with the staff at GGRS, I found they are very thankful for the support but there are also some problems.
Part of the problem is with more people coming into this area, some may not be as thoughtful or informed as desired. Thus, illegal dumping at the drop-off facility has been increasing and is costly. To help inform what is recyclable and what is not, they are putting up new additional signs.
They ask the community to support them by paying attention to this problem so they can continue to assist with recycling needs in a professional manner.
Till next week, do have a great one...
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Ollie is a local citizen concerned with the environment and helping others. A retired Air Force fighter and instructor pilot, he is a graduate of Leadership San Marcos and received his degrees at Texas State University where he worked on staff before totally retiring. For questions or comments, he invites you to call him at 512-353-7432.
