Cute Little Wind Turbine on North Carolina's Outer Banks

My mother and I spent a wonderful day together on the Outer Banks of North Carolina, our destination for the wedding of my eldest nephew, and the eldest of Mom’s five grandchildren.  Our task for the day was to find a number of interesting places where we could take a few short walks, getting some exercise and learning a bit about the local environment. And of course, in addition to all this good stuff, I’m always on the alert for material for this blog.

Our first stop was Jockey’s Ridge State Park, and there, right behind the visitors’ center was a big ol’ wind turbine. Instant blog post.

Three years ago, the state installed a “small wind” generator – only 23 feet in diameter — that provides about 30 kiliowatt-hours per day given the local wind conditions.  Shown above, it’s only 60 feet tall, and barely above the surrounding trees; my guess is they could have gone higher and bigger, but really didn’t want something too intrusive.

They obviously didn’t care too much about recouping their investment either.  The project cost $140,000, and, at that price, its value is really symbolic.  But it also performs an important educational task; calling attention to the wind as a good idea, since it’s the wind that continuously shapes and reshapes the sand ridge that brings visitors from faraway places.