what size does a windfarm have to be these days to be commercially viable onshore or offshore ?
I would have thought onshore designs might be more economic if produced from mass produced components capable of being transported by reasonably standard road vehicles - e.g. Max dimensions c. 15X3X5M and max weight c. 50 Tonnes per component? Is there a point at which bigger becomes more expensive per unit out put?
What are the estimated lifespans of these major components - given sea water corrosion, storm damage, wear and tear etc. - do they degrade beyond maintenance at some point? If they do, we will have a significant decommissioning cost and a significant carbon footprint over their lifespan. Do we know what this is compared to other power sources? notes from no w here
Won't go. Blades are much longer, they need special vehicles. But those exist. However, transport is only a very small part of the overall cost for onshore turbines. For offshore ones, I suspect the size of the foundation necessary and the construction cranes is a more relevant limitation than transport. *Lunatic*, n. One whose delusions are out of fashion.
Offshore, you have large fixed costs in the form of the cable to the grid, and the transformer station. So, in principle, the larger the better - at least 200MW, and more if, like in Germany you need to go quite far from the shore. In the long run, we're all dead. John Maynard Keynes
