Jumbo wind

Wind turbines just got bigger. The world's most powerful windmill is now standing in northern Denmark, capable of powering 4,000 homes. But one of this size will operate offshore, probably never on land.

One blade of the windmill is 80 meters (262 feet) long, "about the entire wingspan of an Airbus A380 jumbo jet," and  a "nightmare" to move over narrow country roads. With the blade vertical, the whole structure is 220 meters (721 feet) high.

What's the point?  Economy of scale. The wind-power industry simply must bring down their costs if they're ever to compete with fossil fuels, minus all the government subsidies.

“The doubling of turbine size this decade will allow wind farms in 2020 to use half the number of turbines compared to 2010,” said Tom Harries, an industry analyst at Bloomberg New Energy Finance. “This means fewer foundations, less cabling and simpler installation -- all key in slashing costs for the industry.” (Note: you will have to click on the picture to get a better idea of the size - not enough room here to do it justice)