Skywatch Friday-Wind is the answer - eNidhi India Travel Blog

Skywatch Friday-Wind is the answer

At home we press a button and want the fans to rotate. What goes behind generating that power is something we seldom care. Had an opportunity to spend a few moments with mighty windmills on a hill somewhere in Shimoga district. So far I'd seen them only from a distance and this was an opportunity to see them from close quarters.
They look tiny from a distance, but once you go close, the sheer size of these components amazes us. An assembly of 3 blades is mounted on top of a huge pillar. 
The pillar is about 77 meters high and is erected on a strong concrete foundation which is said to be made up of 1000+ bags of cement and corresponding quantities of stones and sand. Precision engineering is required to erect these towers, as even 1 degree of deviation from upright position can mean that tower will soon incline and eventually collapse.The tower has a door and internal staircase for maintenance staff to reach the top of the tower where rotor blades are mounted. The estimated cost of each windmill tower is about a crore plus and these are built and maintained by Suzlon.

The blade starts rotating once wind speed is more than 4 meters per second and runs optimally till a speed of 20 meters per second, beyond which power generation stops. The blades and tower are rated to survive windspeeds of up to 50 meters per second. If the wind blows even faster, there is a risk that these structures may not withstand the onslaught.

Periodical maintenance is required to lubricate the gears etc, so there is some negligible operational cost involved, else it would ensure unlimited supply of green energy.
Above and Below: We got to see an abandoned blade from up-close. These blades hollow on the inside and are made from Ipoxy bonded fibre glass using Resin infusion moulding technology. Length of these blades is close to 40 meters.



 There're a few temples in the vicinity and there's a rock filled road to access these towers- built for construction and maintenance purpose.
Supplying to the grid

Watch sunrise shots clicked at Hebbal lake here. It got quite a few likes and comments

9 comments:

  1. A learning experience! Great captures.

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  2. I do agree with Indrani, a learning experience indeed and terrific captures!! Thanks for sharing!

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  3. Wind energy is what got Tamil Nadu out of its horrible power cut times. This is one form of energy which doesn't have you in fear that you are close to something that is very dangerous.
    Nice pictures and a really informative post.

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  4. Helllo Shrinidhi Hande.. Thanks for sharing interesting information about behind the power generation. Keep sharing..

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  6. Great captures. Even I experienced the same thing this July when we saw some thousands of wind mills on the way from Kanyakumari to Madurai. I must say its indeed a learning experience and unbelievable.

    Parineeti J from
    Mayur India

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  7. the windmills look very beautiful when you see them moving...its incredible to see those large structures upright...the pictures are stunning...nice informative post...

    Pulkit

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