Ukrainian buyers are installing them to decentralize a grid that Russian strikes have battered through four winters. [...] Hundreds of Dutch machines are nearing the end of their working lives at home. Instead of the scrapheap, many are being refurbished and shipped east. [...] 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

I love it when you can use multiple "problems" to solve each other: the Dutch get machines that produce more power, Ukrainians can get (comparatively) low-cost machines to supplement their grid power, and a bunch of material is kept from the scrap heap!

[–] 0x0@infosec.pub 36 points 1 week ago (1 children)

These drones are going to be huuuuge

[–] lurch@sh.itjust.works 1 points 3 days ago* (last edited 3 days ago)

btw a new season of battlebots started. i don't like youtube and they publish using that, but at least it lets you skip to the battles: https://battlebots.com/videos/

[–] chtk@feddit.nl 15 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago) (2 children)

It's the ethical thing to do. Why would we send Ukraine our scrapheap?

[–] AllNewTypeFace@leminal.space 11 points 1 week ago

If anyone could win the scrapheap challenge, it’s Ukraine’s armorers.

[–] P1k1e@lemmy.world 6 points 1 week ago

I dunno man, they're the scrappiest fighting force on the planet these days. Would probably make some really solid shrapnel with it

[–] rain_enjoyer@sopuli.xyz 2 points 1 week ago (1 children)

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.