Do these turbines pay for themselves in normal times? I'm not convinced. That math changes if you include price of not having power and that seems to be core issue here

[–] supersquirrel@sopuli.xyz 15 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago) (1 children)

Do these turbines pay for themselves in normal times?

Yes

Between 700 and 800 Dutch machines face the scrap heap in the coming years, with no reuse in sight. Yet many still have fifteen to twenty years of life left. Owners are replacing them with turbines that generate five or six times as much power, a practice the industry calls repowering, according to De Telegraaf.

The difference is if you can you will probably go bigger with wind turbines.

[–] rain_enjoyer@sopuli.xyz 4 points 1 week ago (1 children)

I mean after refurb, because i used to know someone who bought one for too high price to ever pay off. But if you want industrial size offgrid kind of thing because regular grid is out, then math is different

[–] supersquirrel@sopuli.xyz 8 points 1 week ago

Yeah it is a fair question to ask but ultimately peacetime energy markets are fundamentally a different beast than a situation where someone keeps blowing up your overly centralized energy grid.