Wind Turbines, hopefully on their way out

[Glaucus]

Or not.
Been an idea since the 80s never really worked, unreliable etc. And nothing to say this design hasn't got the same issues.

 

[cheesyboy]

Not talking about cost as in £££, I'm referring to energy used to produce
How much to power to produce 1 compared to what it will produce on average in it's life time ?

It's all energy taken out for a minuscule amount in return.

Yes, but the energy to produce the damned things doesn't come for free now does it?

Unless someone in the production chain is absorbing a big loss on energy, the production is not going to be using all that much is it?

 

[Jonny69]

They look terrible and I like the current 3-bladers.

 

[Mynight]

http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2012/feb/29/turbines-energy

20-25x return on product seems pretty good to me.

 

[escape sanity]

Not talking about cost as in £££, I'm referring to energy used to produce
How much to power to produce 1 compared to what it will produce on average in it's life time ?

On average, a wind turbine will produce 16 times as much energy as is used to produce and maintain it.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Environmental_impact_of_wind_power#Net_energy_gain

 

[Quartz]

Paint these things green and they'll look like trees from a distance.

 

[Pawnless Endgame]

I'm sure that people used to complain about pylons and telegraph poles when electricity and telecoms first came about around 100 years ago!

New age, new sources of energy and all that jazz.

 

[thep02]

I like the look of wind turbines and don't get the eyesore claims some folk make, what is it that makes some folk so angry?

 

[Dis86]

Quite like the new designs. What I also love is they actively use something I purposely try to eradicate from the job I do!

 

[Mynight]

You have a wind problem at work?

Have you considered reassessing your diet?

 

[Dis86]

You have a wind problem at work?

Have you considered reassessing your diet?

Whilst my colleagues would no doubt support what you're saying, it's not the one I was referring to!

We have problems with vortices.

 

[Mynight]

Argh right. What do you design?

 

[lokiss]

You never think twice when you see a pylon. That was something I said to my stepdad when he made a comment about the one and only local one we have.

I remember the big moan about cell towers when they started popping up in the early 90's. Personally I think they look fresh on the landscape, and im very protective of the area's natural beauty, they add to it.

That said, every time I drive past a turbine, it'd be great if there was a big notice telling you what and how much it was powering.

I always find it amazing and inspiring when you look in to it, and you see figures like 10000 homes ect... That'd be a great start on getting public acceptance.

 

[Dis86]

Argh right. What do you design?

Subsea hardware. flexible risers and umbilicals.

 

[Mynight]

Argh right cool. Didn't realise vortices would be such an issue underwater.

 

[Malevolence]

I like the look of wind turbines and don't get the eyesore claims some folk make, what is it that makes some folk so angry?

If they're anywhere near a wind farm, then it's most likely to be the long sleepless nights.

 

[altus]

More Windy Miller tech for the 21st century, unreliable, expensive and unsustainable.
We are run by monkeys it seems.

 

[Tefal]

can we **** wind off and do the more sensible wave power yet?

i know it doesn't look quite so nice on the broucher and people cant look at them and think "ahhhh ecofriendliness" but they're a much more sensible option.

 

[Glaucus]

Of course not as wave generation is still under development and isn't really commercially viable yet, unlike wind generation.

 

[Tefal]

Of course not as wave generation is still under development and isn't really commercially viable yet, unlike wind generation.

which it wouldn't be if it had got the money that wind has. which still isn't commercially viable either.