Vestas to test "world's longest" turbine blades on Isle of Wight. And: A Pair of Queens

From NewEnergyFocus (UK):

Danish wind turbine manufacturer Vestas announced today that it is investing in its blade production facility on the Isle of Wight, and is also setting up a new research and development centre.

The company is switching production at the main factory from 40-metre to 44-metre blades, in the belief that the huge increase in larger wind turbines in the UK will provide a significant market.

And, the new development centre is to test the "world's longest" turbine blades from 2010....MORE

Vestas didn't disclose how long the blades would be. If memory serves, the current record holder is made by LM Glasfiber, 61.5 meters. I know these blades are used by REpower for their 5MW turbines and I suspect they are the blades used on the Enercon 6MW turbine we posted on in February (Warning-Gratuitous turbine porn ahead):

From MetaEfficient:

The world’s largest wind turbine is now the Enercon E-126. This turbine has a rotor blade length of 126 meters (413 feet). The E-126 is a more sophisticated version of the E-112, formerly the world’s largest wind turbine and rated at 6 megawatts. This new turbine is officially rated at 6 megawatts too, but will most likely produce 7+ megawatts (or 20 million kilowatt hours per year). That’s enough to power about 5,000 households of four in Europe. A quick US calculation would be 938 kwh per home per month, 12 months, that’s 11,256 kwh per year per house. That’s 1776 American homes on one wind turbine.

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The Queen of England has ordered up an even larger turbine, a 7.5 MW monster to be built by Clipper Windpower. What's with these 80 year old wind aficionados?

Britain's Queen Elizabeth II, accompanied by her husband, Prince Philip, waving to well-wishers as she rides to St. Paul's Cathedral for a service celebrating her Golden Jubilee in 2002.

Elizabeth II: Golden Jubilee. [Photograph]. Retrieved August 19, 2008, from Encyclopædia Britannica Online: http://original.britannica.com/eb/art-68664

The other QE II is currently at Gibralter:
(If the screen is dark, it's probably night.
The first time I posted the bridge-cam,
I came back and thought the darn boat had sunk)

Live from the Bridge of Queen Elizabeth 2