Why do windmills have a lifespan instead of being repairable/upgradeable?
In: Engineering
Everything man made has an economic lifetime, after which the costs of maintaining or upgrading are higher than building new ones. Ships are a good example of this, many go to the scrap yard after 20 to 25 years, but with good maintenance, they could serve for 40, it’s just to costly to do this though, newer ships are more efficient and economic in use. Same with Trucks, machinery, etc.
Same with wind turbines. Newer turbines are FAR more efficient than old ones, turbine technology has advanced a lot in 20 years.
Denmark for instance had recently replaced old turbines after 20 years instead of the planned 30, because it’s cheaper and more economical.
And since the power infrastructure and the foundations were already in place, the cost of replacing them isn’t all that high.
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