Nuclear - future for Ireland?

That would be the same not rocket science that had every turbine in the Highwind Scotland floating array trashed in just 10 years. One of the turbines in the small Kincardine floating array didn't even last 2 years before having to be towed back to Antwerp.

No company builds turbines that can withstand the sea and wind conditions necessary for 50%+ capacity factors. Once again, Ireland is basing it's energy future on technology that doesn't exist, like the cheap and abundant grid scale storage that doesn't exist but is utterly necessary to get net zero out of renewables.

Green Atlantic is proposing floating. But that’s still a pipe dream

https://greenatlanticatmoneypoint.ie/concept

More than likely we'll be seen the Vestas V236-15 in use of our coasts.

Cut in speed of 3 m/s and cut out off 31m/s. so pretty good power curve. The claim is 60% capacity factor. It'd be very interesting to find real world experience. I very much doubt its 60%

They can be ordered with the following Wind Class IEC S or S,T S is special so designed for that specific location, S,T is Special Tropical so is designed to handle speeds of 75 m/s or 205 kmh.

i believe the strongest wind recorded of the Irish coast is just over 180kmh.

yes, as stated it will cut out at 31m/s…

well a turbine like the Nordex N90 has a cut out speed of 25m/s,, the N149 is 26m/s. So 31m/s does give a much nicer power curve and will certainly increase its capacity factor

Capacity factor for wind turbines is meaningless when they are generating very little due to little wind and nothing when they are shut down due to strong winds. Something that those favouring wind run away from when asked how they propose to provide what would be required during those periods, and at what cost.

The Hywind Scotland turbines didn't last 7 years. One of 5 turbines in the Kincardine array was done after just a few months.

The pioneering 50MW Kincardine floating wind farm off the coast of Aberdeen, Scotland, has suffered a significant technical set back just months after it became fully operational.

A major component in one of the five V164-9.5MW Vestas turbines at the site is understood to be in need of replacement.

The turbine is to be removed from the array and towed to an undisclosed port location while the work is carried out.

It is also understood the other four turbines that make up the project will continue to export power to the grid as normal.

Any wind farm constructor who believes the 'specs' from the manufacturers of 50%+ wind turbines is a fool. A 20% major failure every few months for turbines isn't a valid business model, neither is 7 years.

Every floating wind farm built so far has had initial capital costs exceeding those of the OL-3 reactor, god knows what the real costs are factoring in the 'heavy maintenance' and towing costs.

The fact that the developers of 50%+ capacity factor wind farm off Carna were willing to swallow losing a €35 million bond rather than a much more substantial loss than if they had gone ahead, tells us all we need to know about the commercial viability of Ireland's 50%+ capacity factor pipe dream.

A €35.4m bond lodged with the State relating to a proposed offshore wind farm in the vicinity of Sceirde Rocks off Carna in Conamara will not be returned to the project promoters.

Even though the company Corio Generation, and their Australian funders have pulled out of the Sceirde Rock enterprise their large bond lodgement is now lost.

Another “breezy” day of wind doing f all

we up to 122 turlough hills of storage needed just to cover last two days

The capacity factor is the average generated percentage of a turbines installed capacity measured over a year. It’s meaningless when wind is providing little or nothing as demand requirements are not a constant average. In fact demand is highest during winter and those are the two periods where we experience our highest winds and prolonged periods of low winds as well.

Not the point I was making. We are supposedly designing a system to supply our 2050 requirements where gas will be out of the generation mix by then. My point is how do those that favour wind propose to achieve this 2050 demand and at what cost in capital spend and cost of electricity to the consumer.That is the question they have been running away from when asked. Nothing to do with the present LOCE.

Could we have a nuclear plant running by 2050. The Simple asnwer is No, we couldn't

should we keep burning fossil fuel, no.

does RES displace fossil fuel, yes.

@ted1 That is just your opinion. The punitive CO2 fines were voted in to law based on unrealistic pie in the sky projections such as are peddled on here.

Does Wind or Solar deliver affordable electricity: no

At this stage burning dirty coal without carbon capture and scrubbing it is about the best option we have got until SMRs achieve acceptance across the world. Ireland is not going to be a technology leader in clean energy.

The global average construction time from first pour to grid connection is 6 - 8 years. Anything longer than that would be the result of us not getting our act together.

Yet again just another answer running away from how and what renewables will replace fossil fuels to achieve zero emissions by 2050, at what capital costs and the resulting subsequent cost to the consumer because of the realisation they would both be so outlandish they would be beyond laughable.

you don’t wake up in the morning and start pouting. It’ll take 42 years to get to that stage.

Far too many NIMBYS and planing laws. No government would be strong enough to put their neck on the line and push it through