Wind energy

[klondike]

I see our multitude of expensive wind turbines are producing well less than 10% of the country's demand and we have a possibly long cold spell forecast. These are just the sort of conditions where renewables fail dismally. If they do avoid cuts my bet is it will be with very expensive imported energy.

Good job the demand for EVs has slackened off.

Less than 5% now. Must make sure everything is charged including the torch.

[Mups]

Whenever I drive past those 'Windmills'  around here,  only half of them are moving. 
The others just look idle and still.

[JBR]

We should have been installing Rolls-Royce SMRs long ago.
We have the technology, so why no action?
Hopeless politicians yet again.

[klondike]

Whenever I drive past those 'Windmills'  around here,  only half of them are moving. 
The others just look idle and still.

Might be too windy. Might not be windy enough. The grid may not need the power so they pay the owners not to run them.

[Ashy]

With my limited knowledge of meteorology I can see that periods of calm between pressure systems are inevitable. I also know for a fact that the sun doesn't shine at night.

It seems that we can build reactors for submarines but not for street lights. We have politicians who prefer other people to make decisions for them.

And that's the trouble with having the same politicians for 13 years. They need to be changed regularly like nappies and for the same reason.

[Raven]

We have a big wind farm (Causeymire Windfarm) outside Thurso and often they are still. But they can make quite a noise when in full spin, glad I don't live near them. Your able to get up close to them as there's a walk around the site, did it once for a change of walk with Dagues.

[dextrous63]

I think it's a terrible waste of material making turbines, when it could have been used to make entire fleets of canoes.

[klondike]

And that's the trouble with having the same politicians for 13 years. They need to be changed regularly like nappies and for the same reason.

February 08, 2024, 10:23:34 AM

I think it's a terrible waste of material making turbines, when it could have been used to make entire fleets of canoes.

They should reverse the wires and blow the bloody dinghies back to France. No suitable wind farm? Well  build one they are everywhere else.

[dextrous63]

Aha! One could build a wind farm to generate sufficient energy to turn another set of turbines into office fans as suggested.

[Silver Tabby]

There is enough hot air around Westminster to keep us going until the next millenium!

[dextrous63]

Quite.  We could re-fertilise our farmlands with another by-product they produce in abundance 

[Silver Tabby]

Quite.  We could re-fertilise our farmlands with another by-product they produce in abundance

Indeed!

[ansu]

Wind farms - a main topic everywhere. My aunt always said "modern art" others say "asparagus in the countryside". Nobody wants them in his neighbourhood, but we all want to have electricity and a warm living room in winter. Sometimes I ask myself how did people in the Stone Age manage life for instance in winter. We have big windfarms at the North and East Sea. In our region we only have a few windmills and until a new one is installed it takes years. 

[JBR]

Wind farms - a main topic everywhere. My aunt always said "modern art" others say "asparagus in the countryside". Nobody wants them in his neighbourhood, but we all want to have electricity and a warm living room in winter. Sometimes I ask myself how did people in the Stone Age manage life for instance in winter. We have big windfarms at the North and East Sea. In our region we only have a few windmills and until a new one is installed it takes years.

Yes, they are springing up all over the place.  Unfortunately, our government is rather short-sighted, and has been for two or three decades now.
Over those years, we could have been building small nuclear power stations (by Rolls-Royce) which can be built and put into service far more quickly than our traditionally large ones still waiting to be completed by the French and Chinese.
I'm sure that your country's politicians are far more able than ours.

[klondike]

So able that they shut down the last their nuclear power stations in 2023 a little later than the planned 2022. Possibly Mr. Putin figured in the delay but of course it can't be reversed once set in progress.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuclear_power_in_Germany#:~:text=Nuclear%20power%20was%20used%20in,phased%20out%20in%20April%202023.&text=German%20nuclear%20power%20began%20with,electricity%20produced%20in%20the%20country.