Why can the turbine mechanism not be geared to allow the blades to still turn (albeit more slowly) in high winds?
Wind turbines are developed to produce the maximum energy yield at minimum cost. Theoretically, it is possible to have a wind turbine that always produces power: a very high tower and a very small rotor that rotates in even the faintest breeze. However, the energy yield would be very small for such a turbine. Similarly, a very strong turbine with a very large rotor would allow maximum power production during a year’s worst storm, but it would be standing still during the rest of the year. The optimum is in-between these two extremes: a wind turbine that generates quite some power during most of the year, a lot during strong winds, and nothing during the worst storms to keep the turbine affordable.
