Fatigue Life of Wind Turbine Structural Components
https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/55d2/b3390dfc2995c0c52e39c2ce7f6189e43c40.pdf
Retiring worn-out wind turbines could cost billions that nobody has
https://www.energycentral.com/news/retiring-worn-out-wind-turbines-could-cost-billions-nobody-has
Most wind farms, which pay landowners on average around $8,000 a year per turbine, have contracts with renewal clauses that stretch out to 50 or 60 years.
If Duke decides to shutter a power plant, including its wind farms, the company is committed to restoring the site to its previous state, she said.
Good stuff, but no mention of the life of the support tower or the power generation equipment?
The life is projected at 100-120K hours.
And the underwater cables are like heavy extension cords; roll them up and reuse?
Such a deal!
We drove along the Snake River in Idaho seeing all the turbines strewn across every ridge marring the view. My wife, not at all a fan of any tree huggers, remarked it will be a mess one day when the big blades are in tatters just hanging down.