Now I hate the damn things - two 100m high monstrosities are at this very moment thumping away here every time a blade passes its tower and I'm 1.09 miles from the nearest one - but I found this on the Windpower Monthly website and thought it would be of interest. Could there be a big market now that onshore turbines approved in Scotland have reached 152 metres high? The out of production turbine in the photo is only about 50 metres high to blade tip.
Dirt and ice free — Aerial rotor-blade maintenance
As wind power moves into more remote locations, often on higher ground and in colder climates, the requirement for de-icing and cleaning of rotor blades continues to grow, as does the need for simple ways to achieve this. The Simplex Aerospace Model 510 system, which has been certified by the European Aviation Safety Agency for installation and operation on Airbus AS350 and AS355 helicopters, is claimed to provide a number of advantages over conventional cleaning methods.
Its system's 800-litre water tank increases the available operating time between refills, and the nozzled boom extends past the rotor tips to provide extended washing distance. According to Simplex, wind turbine operators are reporting up to eight times increased productivity with this system over ground-based cleaning techniques.