Let us try to assess whether a large rope-drive wind turbine is truly advantageous, particularly due to its supposedly lower mass.
How Much Does A Wind Turbine Weigh In Tons
Industrial wind turbines are larger than those found in schoolyards or behind someone’s house, with the GE 1. 5-megawatt model being the most common. It consists of 116-ft blades atop a 212-ft tower, a total height of 328 feet, and a vertical airspace of just under an acre. The nacelle alone weighs more than 56 tons, the blade assembly more than 36 tons, and the tower itself weighs roughly 71 tons.
Other features of this (or similar) wind turbine, sweeping 3904 m² (instead of 1963 m²), on
The nacelle weighs only 56 tons, and the rotor weighs 36 tons (instead of 91 tons for the nacelle of ELKRAFT 1 MW (year of construction 1993) and 23.6 tons for the rotor), while the swept area is doubled. The GE model is probably more recent. A rope-drive wind turbine of equal dimensions would certainly be lighter, but not enough (in my opinion) for it to be the obvious choice, especially since the performance and features are not known for such dimensions.