As sailors, Duwan and I love the wind, in moderation, preferably on our beam. And as long as we’re not anchored somewhere rough, we enjoy hearing our wind generator produce power for us. So, while at Tucumcari we poked our heads into the Mesalands Community College, which boasts of having the tallest classroom in the world – a 350 foot tall 1.5 megawatt wind turbine!
Using the wind turbine on their campus, Mesalands trains students for careers in wind technology. Here are some fun facts we learned about these generators. The above-ground components weigh a total of 237.8 tons. Each of the three blades is 121 feet long, has a diameter of 6.4 feet at its base, and weighs 7 tons. (You should hear those guys Whoosh on a breezy day.) When it’s up to speed, the turbine can provide power for about 400 homes.
