In Texas, there is a lot of area that seems to be littered with these things. I personally wouldn't want to live next to one, but then I was wondering...maybe they won't always be there?

I have a telephone box in front of our place that has been run over by the county mowers 400 times. The telephone cord was hanging low off the poles for some time, and no one ever remedied the situation, so I finally took my wire cutters to it so my horses wouldn't get caught in it. No one complained or came to fix it, so I guess that is not a technology that anyone on the road cares about. The box is still in pieces near the ditch.

So, I got to wondering, is there every going to be a time when 'they' say "we aren't doing wind turbines anymore, out they go." In other words are those landscapes permanently ruined or will they go away eventually? Or, will they be like my decrepit telephone box sitting abandoned and smashed to pieces but still there?

What is the future of wind turbines?

Im sure they're already going by the wayside because they're so expensive to maintain. That would be a hell of a disposal bill though once the contract runs out and they all rust away or fall over. Its not like you can load the pieces on a trailer and haul them for scrap.

Capt. Augustus McCrae said:

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Im sure they're already going by the wayside because they're so expensive to maintain. That would be a hell of a disposal bill though once the contract runs out and they all rust away or fall over. Its not like you can load the pieces on a trailer and haul them for scrap.

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Well, they have to have strobes on them for FAA right? So....that at least has to be maintained by SOMEONE right?

Wouldn't the easement language include dismantling and removal as part of the contract?

Naveronski said:

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Wouldn't the easement language include dismantling and removal as part of the contract?

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Maybe, but what if the wind equivalent of Solindra built them all? They go tits up and the landowner is stuck with the cleanup. I'm just speculating. Maybe someone with first hand knowledge can chime in.

Oklahoma Osage Nation tribal lands



Just think how many thousands of these heavily subsidized turbines are currently out there! Osage won because of mineral rights violations.

For the majority of the others that had proper researched and signed leases, my guess is that there will be a HUGE legal battle that will come down to each individual lease that was signed by the property owners.

Who knows what will actually occur after the 20 year run of their usefullness, but you would have to think that a lot of them will remain where they are or the companies will just remove the towers leaving the bases and the power lines in place. It will not be cheap either way and many companies will just file for bankruptcy and walk.

It will be interesting to see who foots the bill for all of this "green energy" B.S.
(I think we all know the answer to that)

Seems Ive heard or read that every turbine requires an annuity? (possibly not the right term) to disassemble. Set up in such a way that a bankruptcy wont leave the landowner in a huge bind. Surely someone here can confirm or dispute this?????

Same as anything else, if it's profitable it will stay operational. The need for electricity is increasing so it isn't a potential technological obsolescence issue like your telephone example.

Most modern installations have a design life of 30-40 years after which they're decommissioned or repowered (new turbines installed). Most newer facilities have a decommissioning bond held at the project incorporation level to guarantee those funds are available when the time comes.

As I understand it, it seems that after 20-30 years they are either removed and 'land restored' or they are repowered. So, I guess you could be stuck looking at them for 20 years, or maybe longer. Just didn't know if they hurt land values of neighboring properties and if so, worth taking advantage of that cost savings. But I doubt they do, some folks don't care if they have to look at turbines.

Texas House Bill 2845 passed in 2019 requires wind farm owners/operators to fully decommission their projects at the end of their lifespan, including removing all infrastructure and restoring the land. It imposes decommissioning requirements in wind power facility agreements. Thesagreements must include provisions for removing equipment and restoring the land to its original condition with the project owner/operator required to post a bond or other financial assurance to cover these costs when the project is built

Prior to construction in 2019 you are on your own as a landowner to some extent.

Ok, but what if the operator just repowers the turbine? Is it ever really decommissioned?

I have seen some early wind farms that have been taken down.

But don't expect to ever be rid of them. Even with adults in charge for the next 3.5 years shutting down the moronic ev mandates, the power supply is very low for what it will need to be in coming years.

Somebody is going to be squeezing out every MW from every source they can.

That makes sense. I appreciate the thoughts and discussion. I know solar is dying. I have no idea how many solar guys are moving to other industries, but it is a lot.

There are Massive concrete footings on those big 6 MWe wind turbines.

Hard to imagine it will get dug out and land remediated.

Ya, TBH I figure they just try and cover those things up.

There are depth requirements for decommissioning. Typically I see that all components less than 4 to 6 ft depth are removed. The foundations have a 'pedestal' which is the narrow portion that the tower is attached to. That is usually what is removed and the larger foundation footing is left below the agreed upon depth

JobSecurity said:

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There are depth requirements for decommissioning. Typically I see that all components less than 4 to 6 ft depth are removed. The foundations have a 'pedestal' which is the narrow portion that the tower is attached to. That is usually what is removed and the larger foundation footing is left below the agreed upon depth

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Isnt that footing all concrete? I can't imagine the resources required to 'break it up' to the agreed depth vs just yank it out completely, but I don't know how they are put together or how deep they go, so maybe so.....

I have a wind farm just a few miles East of my place. Owner of the turbines went broke now they stand in disrepair with the wings broken off and the landowner is stuck with no royalties coming in.

jtp01 said:

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I have a wind farm just a few miles East of my place. Owner of the turbines went broke now they stand in disrepair with the wings broken off and the landowner is stuck with no royalties coming in.

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And do the flashing red lights at night still function?

The concrete base is like an inverted mushroom, and is something like 8 feet thick and 60 feet across. I e been told that if the turbine is dismantled, they knock the "stem" off the mushroom and leave the "cap" in place

Animal Eight 84 said:

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There are Massive concrete footings on those big 6 MWe wind turbines.

Hard to imagine it will get dug out and land remediated.

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How many 6MW turbines are operational today?

CanyonAg77 said:

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The concrete base is like an inverted mushroom, and is something like 8 feet thick and 60 feet across. I e been told that if the turbine is dismantled, they knock the "stem" off the mushroom and leave the "cap" in place

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Interesting. That makes sense. Still don't want to be part of the demo team.

Gimmie the details about where this is located

jtp01 said:

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I have a wind farm just a few miles East of my place. Owner of the turbines went broke now they stand in disrepair with the wings broken off and the landowner is stuck with no royalties coming in.

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Sounds like a job for tannerite…

Gives you an idea of the foundation. The larger lower portion is abandoned in place, they are usually 6' or deeper below established grade. The smaller central pedestal part would have to be demo'd to the 6' mark.

6' is generally the depth that most things below are abandoned in place when it is more cost effective to leave than to completely remove. That is well below any ag needs.

Whoa. That actually blows my mind that they can attach a big tower with blades and wind pushing on it and it not fall over. I'm impressed.

Speaking of wind farms ....when did they put all those wind turbines in south of HWY 90 between Uvalde and Brackettville? Closer to Brackettville

Want to see something awful? Head to Sweetwater and check out the turbine cemetery. Yeah, it's just a bunch of old parts lined up, rusting away.

It keeps gettin hot like it is I could em running power TO em and running em as fans shoot

Sent you a PM

I'm sure some of you have seen the massive pile of used blades near/in Sweetwater.

https://www.texasmonthly.com/news-politics/sweetwater-wind-turbine-blades-dump/


Sorry Charpie, completely overlooked your post.

They're on my terminal cancer list. Just drive the backroads and see how many 762 rounds it takes to bring them to a stop.

Charpie said:

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Want to see something awful? Head to Swee****er and check out the turbine cemetery. Yeah, it's just a bunch of old parts lined up, rusting away.

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At least two turbine cemeteries in Swee****er that I have seen.

And then there are all the solar panel fields…. Another bad situation.