Wind Power

As we were driving through the Texas panhandle, we saw more towers being installed in the Texas wind-farms. You know what they are, I am sure. There are several manufacturers and sizes of these super windmills, and they are huge.

As of March of 2017, over forty projects with over 10,800 wind turbines throughout Texas provided electricity through wind power – called renewable energy – and generated approximately 15.7% of the electricity used in Texas. That’s more wind-powered electricity than is generated in any other state. This industry also provides over 24,000 jobs in Texas.

As I said, these towers are big. The Vestas V90 tower is 262 feet tall and weighs 152 tons; the nacelle (including the actual turbine) weighs over 75 tons; and the blade assembly weighs over 40 tons (with each of the three blades being 148 feet, or a half a football field, long). That’s a total of 267 tons per windmill. From ground to tip of blade pointing straight up, the entire height is 410 feet. But there is more.

The towers are anchored on a base of concrete and steel that is 30-50 feet wide, up to 30 feet deep, and weighs over 1,000 tons. And some nacelles are built with a helicopter landing pad on top. By 2025, Texas hopes to generate 10,000 megawatts annually through wind-power.

The towers begin electrical generation at a wind speed of 7-10 mph, and generation ceases at 50-80 mph. The most efficient speed is 25-35 mph. As the direction of the wind changes, the nacelle/blade systems turn to face the wind. The reason for cut-out (stopping the blade rotation) at high wind velocity is to keep the long blades from breaking up due to the physical stress of high centrifugal force.

There are over 550 facilities who manufacture the various parts for the wind towers, with at least 45 of those facilities in Texas. Farmers and ranchers are gaining income from the power companies because they can obtain annual royalties of $3,000 to $6,000 per tower on their land.

The wind farm towers can be seen for miles around, are quite impressive, and are becoming more and more popular around the world. Without wind, our summer days can become oppressively hot, and rain would not be able to water the land. Wind has been a necessary component of life throughout history.

All of that reminds me of the wind mentioned several times in Scripture, and it often refers to the power of God. Acts 2:2 says, “Suddenly, there was a sound from heaven like the roaring of a mighty windstorm in the skies above them, and it [the noise] filled the house where they were meeting.”

Without the power of God available to us through the life of Jesus Christ, humanity would not have love, joy, peace, long-suffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, and temperance (Galatians 5:22-23). The world would be totally overcome with the cruel and barbarous domination of cultures such as Nazi Germany, murderous Babylon, Imperial Japan, Atheistic China, and Sharia Law of Islam.

The only hope for the human race lies in faith placed in Jesus who died for us, but raised three days later to live forever more. If we believe in and place our faith in Him, we, also, will have eternal life and will live with God in heaven forever. If we accept Christ into our lives and live for Him, we will have peace that passes all understanding even in the midst of turmoil. We will be able to stand tall and strong through any windstorm we may face, just like the Vestas V90 wind towers in the plains of Texas.

Allow the wind of the Holy Spirit to turn your turbines and release the power of God in your life. You can start by reading the Gospel of John in the New Testament. Have a blessed day.