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Alt title of Image:Greenpark.wind.turbine.arp.jpg

A wind generator at Junction 11 of the M4 motorway, at Greenpark industrial estate, near Reading, Berkshire, England. Construction finished in November 2005. The turbine supplies up to 1,500 local homes and businesses.

The turbine on top of the 85 m m (279 ft) tower is the German-made Enercon E-70. The three fibreglass blades are each 33m (108 ft) long, rotating at 6 to 21 rpm depending on wind speed. Maximum power output of 2.05 MW is reached at a wind speed of 14 m/s (31 mph) then remains constant with increasing wind speed. The hub is kept facing into wind.

At a pre-determined high wind speed the blades cease rotation.

The turbine's electricity generation has been claimed to be only 17% of its capacity. Manufacturers claim windturbines to be able to generate an average output of at least 30% of nameplate capacity. [1]

South East England MEP Nigel Farage has described the turbine as "Totally ineffective" He added, "To meet our EU energy targets Britain needs to build thousands more turbines but quite frankly, I think a reliable and cost effective energy supply is more important than laws made by people with no expertise on the subject." [2]

Safety concerns have also been voiced over this very large turbine's proximity to a main road and industrial park, in that a blade-off incident similar to that at Halling in Hornslet, Denmark in 2008 could result in major damage to buildings or injuries to persons in the vicinity. [3]

Photographed by Adrian Pingstone in December 2005 and released to the public domain.

This work has been released into the public domain by its author, Arpingstone. This applies worldwide. In some countries this may not be legally possible; if so: Arpingstone grants anyone the right to use this work for any purpose, without any conditions, unless such conditions are required by law.