If we build them out of wood, large wind turbines could become a textbook example of the circular economy.
Given the right conditions, a mechanical windmill with an oversized brake system is a cheap, effective, and sustainable heating system.
Adjusting energy demand to supply would make switching to renewable energy much more realistic than it is today.
Almost all of the leading economies in Western Europe during the last millenium relied on a large-scale use of fossil fuels such as peat and coal.
Would it make sense to revive the industrial windmill and again convert kinetic energy directly into mechanical energy?