Wind Farm, near Linton, ND. June 5, 2011. Grandpa and Grandma took us out to see the wind farm because I didn't know how to get to it. There are over 100 turbines scattered throughout the wheat fields, and strangely enough, you can drive right up to them! They are really huge!
This is a cool picture of an old-fashioned windmill right in the middle of the wind farm. In the past, farmers would use windmills like this to run well pumps in remote areas (like the middle of fields or pastures) for water for their cattle. See the cows?!
We were talking about the environmental impact of wind turbines (versus oil wells--we've got lots of both in North Dakota), and Grandpa said that the shadows created by spinning turbines are actually really annoying for people who live near wind farms. The phenomenon is called "shadow flicker." It's really hard to imagine how powerful the shadow from one of these things is. When you stand in its path, it feels like the shadow is going to hit you in the face and knock you over!
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