Windmills cause local warming at night !

Capt'n Midnight

http://www.newscientist.com/news/news.jsp?id=ns99996608

During the day, the model suggests that wind farms have very little effect on the climate because the warmth of the sun mixes the lower layers of the atmosphere. But at night, when the atmosphere is stiller, the wind turbines have a significant effect.

“At hub height the turbine gives an extra input of turbulence to the wind, which increases the vertical mixing,” explains Baidya Roy. This brings down to ground level the warm night air and higher wind speeds that are normally found at 100 metres.

At 3 am the average wind speed in Oklahoma is 3.5 metres per second, but it increased to around 5 m/s in the model wind farm. The model also suggested that the temperature would increase by around 2°C underneath the 10,000 turbines. Over the course of a day this averages out to an increase in ground-level wind speed of around 0.6 m/s and a rise in temperature of around 0.7°C.

mike65

Capt'n Midnight wrote:

http://www.newscientist.com/news/news.jsp?id=ns99996608

So the ice-caps are gonna melt anyway! I suppose this just shows you dont get nothing for nothing. Be it good or bad. Every action has an effect.

Mike.

bonkey

mike65 wrote:

So the ice-caps are gonna melt anyway!

Only if you plonk big wind-farms on top of them.

The article mentions local warming, Mike, not global. Its not adding warmth...its shifting it around.

jc

mike65

So the ice-caps are gonna melt anyway!

Only if you plonk big wind-farms on top of them.

The article mentions local warming, Mike, not global. Its not adding warmth...its shifting it around.

Gah! All for the lack of a


Mike.

BrianD

I thought this was known for some time. Vineyards have always windmills installed to prevent frost daming the crop. They are powered so their own purpose is to create air movement.

Typedef

Personally I think it is irresponsible and rather shameful, that this country has not already invested a great deal in Wind Energy, since it is such an abundant and renewable resouce, in this country.

The Irish government should introduce legislation in line with German Federal law, which requires the State to purchase, green (read Windmill) energy produced by private citizens.

This has the net effect of supplementing German farmers's incomes, spurring the Wind economy and increasing Germany's power generation from renewable sources of energy.

Ireland, being quite a wealthy country, with quite an abundance of cash and binding commitments under the Kyoto protocol, would in my opinion be well advised to take such a progressive step.

Capt'n Midnight

Typedef wrote:

The Irish government should introduce legislation in line with German Federal law, which requires the State to purchase, green (read Windmill) energy produced by private citizens.

http://www.esb.ie/main/energy_home/your_esb_bill_tariffs.jsp

Public Service Obligation (PSO) Levy
The Public Service Obligation (PSO) levy relates to the purchase by ESB of the output of certain peat generated electricity, in the interests of security of supply, and the output of certain generating stations using renewable, sustainable or alternative forms of energy, in the interests of environmental protection, in accordance with a PSO order made by the Minister for Public Enterprise. The cost of purchase by ESB of these sources of electricity was included in electricity bills issued by the Board prior to the introduction of the PSO levy and therefore, an appropriate adjustment has been made to separately identify the PSO levy, on a basis approved by the Commission for Energy Regulation.

AFAIK the ESB have also been obliged for yonks to buy electricty from any source once it's above a certain KW, though the rate was lousy ... eg: shackleton mills in lucan