I'm not an engineer, so I'm asking this question as a layman.
Wind turbines are being erected nowadays all over the place as an alternative to fossil fuel energy, but they have a some problems:
They cannot store the energy that they create.
They cannot operate in weak or strong winds, they are only productive during certain weather.
They require land to be hired or bought by the government or energy company resulting in unsightly white pillars over the landscape and wasted land dedicated to their structure.
Here's a thought that occured to me...
What if wind turbines could be attached to structures that already existed that could take the electricity generated and put it straight into the national grid?
Would it be possible to fit wind turbines onto the top of pylons?
- the electricity would go straight into the National Grid
- there are loads of pylons so loads of electricity would be generated
- pylons are already all over the place, so there wouldn't be any ugliness issues that haven't already been dealt with.
- pylons are extremely strong structures, built to withstand all sorts of weather and to carry an enormous load.
The only problem I can see is that this plan would not create enough revenue for farmers, energy companies or the government, but would otherwise create a huge amount of free electricity.
I'm obviously not talking about a huge turbine like the ones we see standing alone, I mean smaller ones, I don;t know the engineering, but the principle seems sound. Thoughts?
AmethystLady
Pro 
Most small wind turbines generate direct current (DC) electricity. Systems that are not connected to the national grid require battery storage and an inverter to convert DC electricity to AC (alternating current - mains electricity).
There are two types of wind turbines:
* Mast mounted - which are free standing and located near the building(s) that will be using the electricity.
* Roof mounted - which can be installed on house roofs and other buildings.
Wind systems can also be connected to the national electricity grid. A special inverter and controller converts DC electricity to AC at a quality and standard acceptable to the grid. No battery storage is required. Any unused or excess electricity may be able to be exported to the grid and sold to the local electricity supply company.