Thursday, May 22, 2008

Queen Elizabeth buys world's largest wind turbine

Not to be outdone by flashy oil billionaires like T. Boone Pickens, Queen Elizabeth's estate announced that it will soon hold a world record of its own when it comes to wind turbines. Instead of going for the world record with a massive wind farm project, the Queen decided to go for the gusto with the world's biggest wind turbine -- a move that her estate says won't harm the already strained supply of turbine equipment.

US-based Cilpper Windpower won the contract to build the hulking turbine, the power from which will go to the national power grid. The Crown Estate is eyeing locations in north-east England for the project, which should be operational by 2010. The gigantic windmill will generate 7.5MW -- most turbines generate around 2MW. With a turbine this size, I've got to assume that it's going to be built offshore. Otherwise, it would make an awesome tourist trap.

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