Wind Turbines, Unique Photo Opportunities with the GTMO Photographers Club

Four wind turbines sit atop John Paul Jones Hill here in Guantanamo Bay.  The hill and most of the surrounding areas are off limits to ALL photography.  On this particular occasion special permission was given to the members of The GTMO Photographers Club to only capture images of the wind turbines.  This was indeed a special, hopefully not, once in a lifetime opportunity to photograph these amazing structures.

Each turbine tower is 185 feet high, the blade lengths are 90 feet.  The top of the blades are about 275 feet off the ground.  The blades rotate at a maximum of 22 RPM, or a rotation every three seconds.  This translates to a blade tip speed of 140 mph.  To stand under one and hear and feel the blades moving overhead is something I will never forget, nor how small I am in comparison.

The GTMO base is unique in that it is completely self-sustaining.  Most U.S. military bases in the United States and overseas get their power and water from municipal sources.  But Guantanamo Bay takes no power or water from Fidel Castro's Cuba. The four wind turbines generate 3,800 kilowatts of electricity, enough to supply about a quarter of the peak power needed for base operations.  In addition, the wind turbines save money on diesel fuel to run generators for the base and they significantly cut down on emissions of greenhouse gases created through burning diesel fuel.

Each turbine is anchored in a giant block of concrete about the size of a swimming pool, through which 22 soil anchors are drilled into the mountain, which are sunk 30 to 40 feet deep then sealed with grout so they are essentially nailed to the mountain.  They are rated to withstand winds of a Category 4 hurricane.  It was said, "If we get to the point where those blow down, that will be the least of our worries, because the rest of the base will probably be floating to Jamaica."

I hope you enjoyed learning about something that always inspires awe and a peaceful feeling in me.  The wind turbines are simply beautiful to watch and I will miss them when my time comes to leave this place.