Wind turbines make too much noise. They’re an eyesore. They kill birds and bats. They only work in certain spots. They affect the microclimate around them. They’re not efficient enough at producing energy. With all this talk about wind turbines, you’d think they were a bad idea. That’s why, in Swaffham, England, the Ecotech environmental education centre has a wind turbine you can climb, to experience first-hand what they’re like up close.
It’s one of only three public-access turbines in the world, manufactured by the German company, Enercon GmbH (Germany’s wind energy use, by the way, is 7% of the nation’s total consumption— the third highest in the world, behind Denmark and just behind Spain). The rotor blades in Swaffham are 30 metres long and each weigh about three tonnes, and by climbing a 300-step spiral staircase you can reach an observation platform just under the generator and right behind the huge, slowly rotating blades.

Based on the annual average output of the turbine (which tends to be constant from year to year, even though short-term predictions of output are nearly impossible), one thousand homes could get their electricity from it. Another six turbines are proposed to be installed in the area, and every one of the locals in this video says they’re all in favour.