You're viewing the mstdn.social public feed.

Federated feed Local feed

Abhijit Menon-Senamenonsen@flipping.rocks
Jul 16, 2026, 1:08 AM
An old article, but I had it bookmarked, and was interested to re-read it in light of the recent discussion about NESO paying-or-not-paying a solar farm (not in Scotland) to shutdown.
Incidentally, the article says "Despite Scotland’s booming wind sector, turbines are still routinely paid not to spin". The 'not to spin' part may be rhetorical, and is not referred to again; but I had the impression that it wasn't possible/safe to prevent turbines from spinning in heavy winds, and that they do something else instead to stop generation.
https://www.theferret.scot/why-are-scottish-wind-farms-paid-billions-to-switch-off/
💬 1🔄 0⭐ 0

Replies

Only 3 Easy Payments of $19.95feld@friedcheese.us
Jul 16, 2026, 1:11 AM
@amenonsen too strong of winds can destroy them, so it's definitely possible. I believe they just rotate the blades to an angle to prevent forces from being applied and also possibly lock the motor (???)

blade pitching is what it's called
💬 1🔄 0⭐ 0
Abhijit Menon-Senamenonsen@flipping.rocks
Jul 16, 2026, 2:49 AM
@feld
https://www.endesa.com/en/the-e-face/renewable-energies/wind-turbines-too-strong-wind
"However, when wind intensity increases, the system progressively adjusts their angle until they are positioned to offer minimal air resistance, allowing the wind to flow without generating rotational force."
For some reason, I thought that was all they could do (change the pitch to _reduce_ the rotation), but you're right, it looks like they can completely stop the rotation too.
💬 0🔄 0⭐ 0