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[Cypress]

I have a power plant set up to run in my fort, made up of a bank of windmills. They produce a modest amount of power, but since they only need to power a three pumps, it's never been much of a problem.
However, I installed a millstone to the system a few years ago, which is the only other power drain on that plant. I just queued up a job, when it tells me that it doesn't have enough power. I look at the plant, and it's locked up. Spontaniously, either the power demand went up (Between the pump and the mill stone), or the wind died down.

Can wind even do that?
What the heck is going on?

Edit: I just checked against my records, and the power production dropped, from 240 units to 160. What the hell is going on?
http://mkv25.net/dfma/poi-9946-powerplants <-- My records

[Jim Groovester]

Wind doesn't die down, I don't think.

You'll need to add more power to the system in order to return it to a functional level, since not having enough power disables the whole system. Add another windmill or two, and the problem should solve itself.

[CobaltKobold]

There's also some issue where either the millstone or its power source needs to be built first, iirc. Can't find a ref for that though...

[Cypress]

The power source was definately built first.

Also, update. Watching the mills, it looks like only four of the mills are actually spinning. What happened to the others, did they just spontaneously stop? I disconnected one of the stopped mills from the system, and it is producing no power...what the [expletive deleted!~]

[CobaltKobold]

Center square count as outside?

Check the power supplied/power required on each, it sounds like they're not all connected together, so they won't all report the same.

(Windmill: +40/+20/+0. Waterwheel: +100 and -10. Millstones and Screwpumps: -10. Gear Assemblies: -5. Axles: -1.)

[Fossaman]

Are all the windmills in the same biome? Part of your map might have wind, and part might not.

[Osmosis Jones]

I'm pretty sure wind can and does vary. That's part of what balances them with waterwheels; a properly set up waterwheel will always churn out 100 units of power, but requires water, whereas a windmill can be plonked anywhere outside, but has a variable output.

[Cypress]

Ok, so, here's the update, and I'm starting to think this is a bug. I disconnected one of the non working windmills from the rest of them, and then disassembled it, leaving the gear box behind. Then, when I rebuilt the windmill, it STILL failed to produce any power. So...the windmills are refusing to spin. Oh, and the powerplant just to the north? No trouble at All. What the [expletive deleted!~]

[Demonic Gophers]

Could there be something blocking the wind above it?  Is the center tile marked as outside?

[Cypress]

Could there be something blocking the wind above it?  Is the center tile marked as outside?

...Oh f*ck no...

I've been expanding the city above it, and...aw, that's just mean.

They were outside when they were built. They ain't any more.

[Skorpion]

There needs to be a construction where dwarves can produce power to be fed into the axle/gear network.

Someday I will create a vision of mine; an entire fort where every room can be levered into the mechanical power grid, powered by a combination of water, wind, and dwarf power.

Maybe it's something to do with all those damn peasants.
'What is my job, mayor Urist?'
"Well, mister Urist, you stand here, and you crank this handle."
'What does this accomplish?'
"You add power into our grid."
'By winding a handle all day?'
"Yes. There are beds to rent nearby, and food and booze. You never need to leave, except to haul goods."

[Pie]

Could there be something blocking the wind above it?  Is the center tile marked as outside?

...Oh f*ck no...

I've been expanding the city above it, and...aw, that's just mean.

They were outside when they were built. They ain't any more.

Well if you have a bleeding great city blocking the wind how would you expect windmills to work in real life? But in all seriousness, you could just create several holes in your city, directly above your windmills to "let the wind through".

[Flaede]

Haha. I've had to leave all sorts of weird holes in the floors of my fortresses because of that one. knew right away what had happened with yours.

"Likot? Why is there a hole here? I thought... WHY CAN I SEE THE GROUND? We're 12 stories up!!"
"Dude, don't you want BREAD?"