On a recent trip through eastern Oregon, we saw hundreds of new windmills generating electricity. Where are windmills like these manufactured? How are they shipped to their sites? What does a windmill cost?
Denmark's Vestas Wind Systems A/S, the world's largest maker of wind turbines, has its North American headquarters in Portland, Ore. Vestas manufactures its blades at a plant in Windsor, Colo., and the company recently picked Pueblo, Colo., as its site to build the towers.
GE Energy, part of General Electric Co., builds turbines at a manufacturing and assembly facility in Tehachapi, Calif., and buys blades from multiple suppliers. Spanish company Gamesa Corporacion Tecnologica SA operates a blade manufacturing plant in Fairless Hills, Pa.; Germany's Siemens AG last year opened a blade plant in Fort Madison, Iowa; and Mitsubishi Power Systems Inc. christened a new blade and vane manufacturing center this summer in Orlando.
Turbines and blades are typically delivered to sites by truck, which is quite a sight to see. You don't truly realize how large these things are until you pass the wind tower sections on a highway.
Although large commercial wind turbines can cost several million dollars apiece, you can buy a small wind turbine for a home or farm for $6,000 to $22,000 installed, according to the American Wind Energy Association's Web site. Check local code laws.
NFL patch honors Gene Upshaw
What does the "GU" label on NFL players' uniforms mean?
National Football League players this season are wearing the uniform patch GU 63 to honor Gene Upshaw, who died of pancreatic cancer Aug. 20 at age 63. Upshaw wore uniform number 63 during his career with the Oakland Raiders.
In 1983, he gave up playing when he was named executive director of the NFL Players Association. Among his many accomplishments for the association, he secured free agency for NFL players and led the union through a strike.
He was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1987.
After 'Mommie Dearest'
Whatever happened to Christina Crawford, adopted daughter of Joan Crawford and author of Mommie Dearest?
Christina Crawford is reissuing her bestselling Mommie Dearest this year with a new introduction and afterword, testimonies from contemporaries and photographs that were cut from the 1978 edition. One of the first celebrity tell-alls, the book helped bring scrutiny to the once-hidden subjects of child abuse and alcoholism.
Crawford has written several books on child abuse and is now an advocate for adoptees' rights. She produces and hosts a regional weekly TV show, Entertainment Northwest. She has been married three times and lives in rural Idaho. She has no children.
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