Wind Farms

[mctwistuk]

Ok so you see all these windmills/ turbine things cropping up everywhere but why are thy not on when it is very windy? Also is it true they get switched off if too much electricity is being produced. Kind of makes you wonder if they at cost effective?

Edited April 17, 2013 by mctwistuk

[thebigfelly]

think its theres only so much power they can take it and keep in batterys etc so no point runing thema nd wearing them down if your not gonna use the power they produce , as the power just gets sent out when theres need soemthing like that

[g1983]

All renewable energy is a fad, wave, wind and solar energies although help, actually cost money. They are very expensive and have heavily subsidised.

The wind turbines themselves have to have a minimum wind speed to operate. It is also true that the turbines need to be locked down when it is too windy.

Also AC electricity, at upto 400kv, cannot be stored and its simply a supply and demand at supply level.

If we could store electricity we would have no need for these eco solutions, we could just pump water up and down the dams all night long (when there is low demand on the grid).

The way forward is hydro dams. Funnily enough there are more hydro dams in the lowlands of Scotland (Scottish Power/ Energy Networks/ Ibedrola) than the highlands are (Scottish Hydro/ Scottish and Southern Energy). Unfortunately our geographical landscaping is against this. Norway however with all the Fjords, are very good at this, and very affluent.

[davey l wrx]

They are mainly pointless things.... but it makes the greenies feel better!

When they run there still needs to be a powerststion going in ase the wind drops so technically they don't save much Co2. It looks worse when you factor in that most of them are made in China and shipped over in kits.

In the winter when it's cold they actually use electricity as they need heating to stop the bearings and blades icing up. Then there's the time when they're needed most is generally in the winter when it's cold, problem is when it's cold there's usually not much wind so they don't do much anyway.

If there's no demand for the energy they make they get swithced off..... batteries aren't very preactical on a massive scale to store the power. But there's a plan..

Have you seen the new advert for the nissan leaf. At the end it says 'your car can power your house!'. Thats because the master plan is that when we all have one, over night the wind turbines will charge your car (partially at least) and when there's a mad rush for power in the morning for kettles and toasters the grid will suck power from your car to take up the slack.... no idea how you'll get to work in your electric car after it's boiled the kettle and made your toast though!