What I forgot to add, and started out meaning to:
That whole chain is initiated seems initiated with the understanding that someone is going to get stuck with an un-sellable investment - especially when some of them start to self destruct near the end of their lifespan, leaving a huge burned out husk of a machine dangling at the top of a 200-foot post that will cost more to disassemble than its scrap & land resale value.
The de-commissioning escrow that Big Blow wrote up here is but a tiny fraction of what the actual cost will be.
And what to do with those composite blades?
Can’t recycle ‘em.
Can’t put ‘em in a regular landfill.
Incinerating them is very costly.
The ones near me are 495’ to the tip of the blade.
295’ to the 60 ton nacelle.
Even after the Monuments to Gaia die, someone (most likely landowner) will still have to keep that aircraft beacon blinking.
I hope the leaseholders who are cashing those checks take it right back square in the shorts.