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Becalmed Windmills

  • 02-03-2011 9:10am
    #1
    edwinkane
    Closed Accounts Posts: 376 ✭✭


    There is a theory that the wind is always blowing somewhere, and that means that, if only there were enough windmills powering generators across a wide enough spread of the country, they would provide a constant and reliable source of power.

    According to the current edition of Private Eye, this theory has been discredited and they claim that during the cold spell in December 2011, just at the very time we needed power to heat and light our frozen homes, the power produced by the entire national "fleet" of windmills was just 0.01% of the national requirement, and the wind just didn't blow in the cold snap.

    As the target is to produce 40% of our electricity from renewals, and as our politicians refuse to commission new power plants from nuclear or fossil fuels, preferring to rely instead on the promise of renewable sources, are we in for power cuts in future due the the unreliability of wind power and lack of conventional capacity?


Comments

  • #2
    djpbarry
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 13,104 ✭✭✭✭djpbarry


    edwinkane wrote: »
    There is a theory that the wind is always blowing somewhere, and that means that, if only there were enough windmills powering generators across a wide enough spread of the country, they would provide a constant and reliable source of power.
    Who has proposed such a theory?
    edwinkane wrote: »
    According to the current edition of Private Eye, this theory has been discredited...
    Of course it has - it's a completely ridiculous theory.
    edwinkane wrote: »
    As the target is to produce 40% of our electricity from renewals, and as our politicians refuse to commission new power plants from nuclear or fossil fuels...
    Do they?
    edwinkane wrote: »
    ...preferring to rely instead on the promise of renewable sources, are we in for power cuts in future due the the unreliability of wind power and lack of conventional capacity?
    I doubt it. This argument that wind generation can't power the entire country in isolation has been done to death on this forum - nobody has suggested that Ireland should adopt such an energy policy. The policy that is being adopted is to use wind power to offset electricity generation from fossil fuels - when the wind blows, we burn less fuel - with the goal being to reduce our consumption of fossil fuels in electricity generation by approximately 40%.


  • #3
    edwinkane
    Closed Accounts Posts: 376 ✭✭edwinkane


    djpbarry wrote: »
    Who has proposed such a theory?
    Of course it has - it's a completely ridiculous theory.
    Do they?
    I doubt it. This argument that wind generation can't power the entire country in isolation has been done to death on this forum - nobody has suggested that Ireland should adopt such an energy policy. The policy that is being adopted is to use wind power to offset electricity generation from fossil fuels - when the wind blows, we burn less fuel - with the goal being to reduce our consumption of fossil fuels in electricity generation by approximately 40%.

    I agree, it is a completely ridiculous theory.

    I was talking about the UK as thats where I live, and am not so up on irish government policy, especially as the new irish government hasn't come up with one yet!


  • #4
    djpbarry
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 13,104 ✭✭✭✭djpbarry


    edwinkane wrote: »
    I agree, it is a completely ridiculous theory.
    Who has proposed such a theory?


  • #5
    edwinkane
    Closed Accounts Posts: 376 ✭✭edwinkane


    djpbarry wrote: »
    Who has proposed such a theory?

    I have no idea who has proposed it, but it's a view held by some. For example, this is from the following article from the Daily Telegraph; "The wind industry argues that the wind is always blowing somewhere in the UK or off its shores, so provided the wind farms are widely enough spread, it should not matter"

    http://www.telegraph.co.uk/earth/7823681/Does-money-grow-in-wind-farms.html


  • #6
    djpbarry
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 13,104 ✭✭✭✭djpbarry


    edwinkane wrote: »
    I have no idea who has proposed it, but it's a view held by some.
    That UK/Ireland could be powered solely by wind turbines? Who holds such a view?
    edwinkane wrote: »
    For example, this is from the following article from the Daily Telegraph; "The wind industry argues that the wind is always blowing somewhere in the UK or off its shores, so provided the wind farms are widely enough spread, it should not matter"
    It should not matter to who or what?


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  • #7
    edwinkane
    Closed Accounts Posts: 376 ✭✭edwinkane


    djpbarry wrote: »
    That UK/Ireland could be powered solely by wind turbines? Who holds such a view?

    I have no idea. I'm really not the best person to ask, and the view that the UK/Ireland could be powered solely by wind is not a view I share
    djpbarry wrote: »
    It should not matter to who or what?

    I'm not sure as I didn't read the rest of the article. I referenced the article to show that the view that the wind is always blowing somewhere is held by others, and haven't read the article so can't answer your questions about it.


  • #8
    djpbarry
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 13,104 ✭✭✭✭djpbarry


    edwinkane wrote: »
    I have no idea. I'm really not the best person to ask...
    You started the thread (“There is a theory...”), so actually, you are the best person to ask. Essentially, you have constructed a nonsense theory (although you’re certainly not the first to do so) in order to discredit said theory.
    edwinkane wrote: »
    I'm not sure as I didn't read the rest of the article.
    Right, so the quoted text is completely meaningless then, isn’t it?
    edwinkane wrote: »
    I referenced the article to show that the view that the wind is always blowing somewhere is held by others...
    That is a perfectly reasonable view – the wind is always blowing somewhere, even in a country as small as Ireland. However, that certainly does not mean that the country could be powered by wind alone.

    Anyways, I really don’t see this thread developing into anything meaningful. If you want to discuss the topic of wind power, there are already enough threads on the subject – this one is unlikely to offer any new perspectives on the subject.


This discussion has been closed.
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