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In a World of Big Wind, There’s Still a Place for Tiny Turbines

Manufacturers of miniature equipment see opportunities in the telecommunications sector to remote mines

Horses graze near a Diffuse Energy Hyland 920 wind turbine system at a farm in the Melville suburb of Newcastle, Australia, on March 25, 2021.

Horses graze near a Diffuse Energy Hyland 920 wind turbine system at a farm in the Melville suburb of Newcastle, Australia, on March 25, 2021.

Photographer: Brendon Thorne/Bloomberg

High above the treeline on a hillside west of Australia’s Coffs Harbour, a small, white turbine -- about the size of a large standing fan -- is attached to the top of a telecommunications tower.

Less than a meter (3.3 feet) wide and lighter than a pickup truck tire, the equipment can help replace the use of diesel as a power source, and can also be deployed at isolated locations like remote mines or farms.