The only wind turbine in the world where the public can venture inside to the top is
The Eye of the Wind at Grouse Mountain in Vancouver. And we went there yesterday. It was well worth it.
The tower is 65 metres tall, 20 storeys tall, and weighs over 133,000 kgs. It was built in three sections and hauled up the mountain very slowly.
The viewPOD has a maximum capacity of 36 people, a viewing area of 360 degrees and a section of glass floor.
The elevator travel at 5.76km/hr, carrying 7 people at a time it takes 35 seconds to reach the top of the tower.
The blades are 12,200 lbs each, and 122 feet long. They are massive. They can reach 300/km per hour at the blade tips.
The wind turbine can produce enough energy to supply the needs of 400 homes over a year.
We could feel the tower swaying while we were in the lift, but that was nothing compared to being in the viewPOD. Not only does it sway in the wind, but the whole thing moves. Seriously moves. It rotates so that the blades are always facing into the wind.
Lucky for us, it was a relatively clear day. And we could see quite a bit of the surrounding areas. It would have sucked if a) it was not windy enough for the turbine to be working. It needs winds of 10kms/hour for the blades to turn or b) it was so cloudy and foggy that we couldn't see anything or even worse c) both of the above.
General admission to Grouse Mountain is $39.95, the Eye of the Wind is an additional $25.00. At $64.95 per adult it's not a cheap trip. Hubby, Andrea and I scored our admission and tour with a 50%+ discount on Groupon. Gotta love Groupon, we probably wouldn't have gone otherwise.
