Germany will soon be home to a groundbreaking wind farm that solves a big problem with wind power: What happens when the wind isn’t blowing? General Electric’s (GE) renewable energy arm has signed a turbine-supply agreement with German construction company Max Bögl to develop the world’s first wind farm with an integrated hydropower plant capable of generating power even when there’s no breeze. According to GE Reports, project “Gaildorf” consists of four wind turbines scattered along a hill in the Swabian-Franconian Forest. These towers are unique in two ways. First, they will stand at a record-breaking height of 584 feet once built. Second, at the base of each tower is a water reservoir containing 1.6 million gallons of water. The four towers are daisy chained by a channel that takes water down a valley to a 16-megawatt pump/generator hydropower plant. The site will house another reservoir holding 9 million gallons of water for additional water storage.
Eco Watch 20th Oct 2016 read more »