Smallscale wind turbines: A waste of money!

http://www.theoildrum.com/node/6954#more

Real-world tests of small wind turbines in Netherlands and the UK

Posted by Gail the Actuary on September 15, 2010 - 10:30am
Topic: Environment/Sustainability
Tags: kris de decker, wind turbines URL="http://www.theoildrum.com/special/tag_listing"][COLOR=#0000ff]list all tags[/COLOR][/URL
This is a guest post by Kris de Decker. Kris is editor of Low Tech Magazine. Rembrandt and I saw a somewhat similar story in the Dutch version of Low Tech Magazine, and Kris was kind enough to put together this story in English for us.


Photo by Jeroen Haringman
Two real-world tests performed in the Netherlands and in the UK confirm our earlier analysis that small wind turbines are a fundamentally flawed technology. Their financial payback time is much longer than their life expectancy, and in urban areas, some poorly placed wind turbines will not even deliver as much energy as needed to operate them (let alone energy needed to produce them). Given their long payback period relative to their life expectancy, most small wind turbines are net energy consumers rather than net energy producers.
The machines face two fundamental problems: there is not enough wind at low altitudes in a built-up environment, and the energy production of a wind turbine declines more than proportionately to the rotor diameter. Wind power rules, but small wind turbines are a swindle.

Sad, but true, The only way a small wind turbine can be financially viable is if (home)made from recycled materials.

quentingargan

dolanbaker wrote: »

Sad, but true, The only way a small wind turbine can be financially viable is if (home)made from recycled materials.

I don't think you can take research for urban areas in Holland and apply it in Ireland. The difference here is;
1) We have a very high percentage of one-off houses, many of which are on windswept sites
2) We are second only to Scotland in the highest mean wind speeds in Europe. (see attachment)

Domestic wind turbines in urban areas are a nonsense, but there are viable wind turbines for rural homes, of which there are about 400,000 in Ireland.

Jim Martin

dolanbaker wrote: »

http://www.theoildrum.com/node/6954#more



Sad, but true, The only way a small wind turbine can be financially viable is if (home)made from recycled materials.

Here's a course for making home-made ones (not sure if they use re-cycled materials though!):

http://www.clarefocus.ie/index.php/component/option,com_jcalpro/Itemid,46/extmode,view/extid,5724/

quentingargan

Jim Martin wrote: »

Here's a course for making home-made ones (not sure if they use re-cycled materials though!):

Hugh Piggott produces books and courses (google Scoraig) for producing your own turbine using brake drums off cars and other bits and pieces, but the heaviest part of any turbine is the tower, and usually that comes as new steel.

There is a myth that it takes more energy to make a turbine than it will produce in its lifetime. The energy payback time of mega wind turbines is usually measured in months rather than years, while a domestic wind turbine which I studied the figures for would do so in less than two years, provided it was put in a site with a mean wind speed of about 6 m/sec.

The problem was that some people have sold wind turbines to houses in built up areas, and that is nonsense and does the industry no favours.

wildefalcon

Jim Martin wrote: »

Here's a course for making home-made ones (not sure if they use re-cycled materials though!):

http://www.clarefocus.ie/index.php/component/option,com_jcalpro/Itemid,46/extmode,view/extid,5724/

That looks fun!

What is the situation with getting a gate to the Grid?

quentingargan

wildefalcon wrote: »

That looks fun!

What is the situation with getting a gate to the Grid?

Not much of a problem. You will need a grid tie inverter that is compliant with EN50438 and which is certified with Irish national variatioins to that standard. The turbine would usually need to be designed to be high enough voltage (depending on brand of inverter in the range of 50V to 500V) so that such an inverter can work.

ESB will then connect you to the grid and pay you 19c per KwHr for the first 3,000 units exported per year, and 9c per Kwhr thereafter.