5764 x 3939 px | 48,8 x 33,4 cm | 19,2 x 13,1 inches | 300dpi
Aufnahmedatum:
5. Juni 2008
Ort:
Ovenden Moor Wind Farm, Ogden, Halifax, West Yorkshire, United Kingdom
Weitere Informationen:
A wide angle shot looking up to an exposed, windswept moorland hilltop, about 30 minutes after sunset. At a height of 430m, the Ovenden Moor Wind Farm, opened in 1993 by Yorkshire Wind Power, a 50/50 joint venture between PowerGen Renewables and First Renewables Ltd, features turbines made in Denmark and 32m high steel towers manufactured in Leeds. Each machine is on an octagonal, reinforced concrete foundation, 10m in diameter, and there are two lines to make best use of the prevailing south-westerly winds. Each machine has three blades, 17m long and made of fibreglass reinforced polyester. The blades rotate at 35 revolutions per minute to produce electricity, at wind speeds between 5m/sec and 25m/sec (the turbines being stopped at the upper limit to avoid damage to the mechanical components), by driving a generator through a gearbox. Both the generator and gearbox are housed in a large rectangular container called a nacelle at the top of each tower. Electricity from each turbine is increased from 690V to 11kV in transformers at the base of each tower. Electricity then travels across the moorland in underground cables to a substation at nearby Denholme for network distribution. The 23 turbines of the 9.2MW wind farm generate enough electricity to supply 5600 homes. In one year they save 10, 400 tonnes of carbon dioxide, 90 tonnes of sulphur dioxide and 30 tonnes of nitrous oxides contributing to global climate change. The machines are computer operated from PowerGen Renewables' office in Coventry, so they constantly face the wind to ensure maximum output.
