So much so that Scottish Power actually paid for an in fill radar to be built at Kincardine In return for NATS allowing them to built a massive wind farm down near Lanark.
Pro's and Con's of wind turbines
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So much so that Scottish Power actually paid for an in fill radar to be built at Kincardine In return for NATS allowing them to built a massive wind farm down near Lanark.
It's happening all over the UK, at least 3 sites I know of getting new equipment fitted all funded by energy companies.
No, I think they look quality! Back where I grew up a few patches of them got put up a few years ago (the 30 foot high white ones) and I think they look really good! Much nicer than the empty fields and burnt out barns littering the place.
There's an amazing patch of them out in the sea off the coast at Liverpool that I love flying over too.
I really like wind turbines...
That also has the drawback though that such a system requires large amounts of suitable land both at the top, and bottom of the pump (two large lakes effectively), and only carries enough backup for a fairly fixed period.
IE you build one to to supply power for 12 hours, and the wind stays low for 13 and you're out of luck.
It also has a lot of potential environmental arguments against the pumped storage option.
IIRC Wind turbines also cause issues for flying animals/birds.
Critics of wind energy often claim that the energy used to construct a wind turbine outweighs the energy produced during its lifetime in operation. This is not correct. An evidence review published in the journal Renewable Energy in 2010, which included data from 119 turbines across 50 sites going back 30 years, concluded that the average windfarm produces 20-25 times more energy during its operational life than was used to construct and install its turbines. It also found that the average "energy payback" of a turbine was 3-6 months.
A life-cycle analysis published in 2011 by Vestas, a Danish turbines manufacturer, of a 100MW onshore windfarm consisting of 33 3MW turbines concluded, unsurprisingly, that the siting of the turbines is crucial in maximising the energy return ratio. "Doubling the distance to the grid from 50 km to 100 km typically increases [negative]
impacts per kWh by 3-5%," it concluded. "If the wind plant operates in low-wind conditions then the [negative] impacts per kWh electricity produced increases by 23% compared to medium wind conditions."
But it stressed that the energy used to transport and install the turbines was "very insignificant".
http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2012/feb/29/turbines-energy
More importantly, reliable sources of power that let you plan ahead.
Wind turbines still require backup power generating capacity for when it's not windy enough/too windy.
Wind turbines could prove helpful in addition to other sources of power, but not as a major baseline source of power (unlike nukes or dams which are ideal for baseline power generation, with things like gas turbines and pumped water generation for short term spikes in demand).
Caporegime
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No wind = no power, i'd say that's a major issue.....
Nuclear ftw.
Nuclear ftw.
Soldato
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Unfortunately the political nightmare of nuclear energy (which was further influenced by Fukushima) means that this will probably never happen.
Caporegime
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Think again, building work has already started (groundworks).
Associate
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wind turbines and renewable energy are all part of the energy mix going forward. we're not going to be able to rely on a single source of power.
many people seem to forget that wind turbines are still new technology (note: i realise that they have been around for a long time but the technology for siting, designing and manufacturing just hasn't existed up until the last 5-8 years). many of the old turbines are less than 1MW generating capacity, they're gradually being upgraded but still 3MW farms are rare. once those (and larger) turbines come on stream their power generation impact will be much greater.
re the lack of wind issue, proper siting minimises the risk of this occuring. the UK has the highest offshore wind potential in the world, unfortunately most sites are away from the main grid, so the problems come in transporting the power rather than harnessing the wind.
if you want to read stuff on it, as mentioned above, industry associations are a good start. European Wind Energy Association www.ewea.org, AWEA (American..) www.awea.org - they often respond to congressional issues and wildlife issues - there's a big study on the effect on birds for example.
wind turbines and wind power polarises opinion, so read what you can and make your own mind up.
many people seem to forget that wind turbines are still new technology (note: i realise that they have been around for a long time but the technology for siting, designing and manufacturing just hasn't existed up until the last 5-8 years). many of the old turbines are less than 1MW generating capacity, they're gradually being upgraded but still 3MW farms are rare. once those (and larger) turbines come on stream their power generation impact will be much greater.
re the lack of wind issue, proper siting minimises the risk of this occuring. the UK has the highest offshore wind potential in the world, unfortunately most sites are away from the main grid, so the problems come in transporting the power rather than harnessing the wind.
if you want to read stuff on it, as mentioned above, industry associations are a good start. European Wind Energy Association www.ewea.org, AWEA (American..) www.awea.org - they often respond to congressional issues and wildlife issues - there's a big study on the effect on birds for example.
wind turbines and wind power polarises opinion, so read what you can and make your own mind up.
Deleted member 66701
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Really? I find them quite majestic. The one at Dewlays factory nr Garstang is fantasic.
Well you learn something new everyday!
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I know the UK is being reasonably prudent but these have taken too long imo. Work in Hinkley Point and Oldbury will be good for the region here though. I was more referring to Germany's reaction to the issues in Japan and it's advancement of ceasing nuclear output.
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Caporegime
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Germany’s reaction was a shock tbh, i feel they will regret the decision in the not so distant future.
One of the biggest issues we have in the UK is who get's elected as the next French PM, if Hollande gets in (which is looking like it might happen), then the French might pull the plug on building here too.
Which is why you need a number of different renewable and low carbon generating techniques.
As for the birds issue
http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2012/apr/12/windfarms-damage-bird-populations?INTCMP=SRCH
So basically birds are impacted when building sites are around.
Because you need significantly more than 3-4 plants and you have to work out where to store the waste.*
Then there is the issue that if something does go wrong you have big issues. Yes the likelyhood is it won't but the same can be said for most other generating systems. The difference is a turbine blowing up is not going to render large areas unhabitable for decades.**
*Yes, modern reactors produce significantly less waste than old reactors.
**Yes it's very unlikely but possible, the former is the bigger issue anyway, along with the vast cost and subsidies needed for nuclear.
EDIT: Just to clarify, I'm not anti-nuclear. I just think the rose tinted glasses some people have need to be removed...
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3 or 4? A load more than that. Suitable sites with water simply and of course stupid protesters. Not that we shouldn't build then but it's not a couple and we need more than one source.
As for the needs coal/gas to back it up. That's only ATM. The network is being upgraded and there's a lot if work going on in storage.
A uk company is now building stealth turbines.
That's just rubbish. They do work, just like solar they don't provide there peak ratings that's why it's called peak.
As for noise, they aren't noisey and the couple that are, are due to wind shear, where the turbines sweep area crosses two different wind speeds. Only an issue on large ones which generally aren't near people.
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