<
https://reneweconomy.com.au/explainer-why-are-wind-turbines-so-big-and-could-smaller-be-better/>
"Everything is bigger in Texas, the saying goes, but for one thing: wind
turbines.
Texas is the US wind capital with three times more working turbines than the
next largest US wind state, Iowa.
But, notwithstanding a handful of giants, the machines are as low-slung as the
state’s archetypal cowboy jeans.
Texas’ great plains, hill country and deserts are covered in many, many short
wind turbines, thanks to a rush of development in the two decades before 2021,
when wind turbines in general were much smaller than they are now.
It has 19,175 in total, with an average hub height of just 85m and an average
tip height of 132 metres, according to 2025 data from the USGS.
In Australia, the trend is going in the opposite direction. Project developers
are opting for bigger and bigger turbines, in a bid to reduce project
footprints – and impact on the environment – while generating maximum power,
and that’s because of what is made available by suppliers.
But which approach is better: Fewer, much taller machines with massive
windswept areas, or lots of small turbines that crowd the project area but
can’t been seen from as far away?"
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
