Wind Power
Friday 9th February, 2007 09:57 Comments: 4
UK wind power reaches milestone, reports the BBC. But is it really a milestone? The UK is about to become only the seventh nation in the world to have more than two gigawatts of operational wind power capacity when the Braes O'Doune wind farm begins producing electricity. The 36-turbine wind farm has a generating capacity of 72 megawatts, enough to supply electricity to 45,000 homes in the area, according to the British Wind Energy Association.
The government has set a target for 10% of electricity to be generated from renewable sources by 2010. Trade and Industry Secretary Alistair Darling said renewable electricity played a central role in the government's efforts to curb greenhouse gas emissions: "We want 20% of our electricity to come from these green sources (by 2020) and we are working hard on removing any barriers to achieving that aim."
Plans to create England's largest wind farm in Cumbria were thrown out last March after campaigners said it would ruin the landscape of the Lake District. The £55m development would have seen 27 turbines (far less than the Braes O'Doune farm), each 115 metres high, erected at Whinash, near Kendal (mmmm, mint cake). If a 36-turbine farm generates 72 megawatts, that suggests that a 27-turbine farm would only produce enough power to supply 34,000 homes. Or, roughly a large town/small city.
Are we really expected to spend £50m on wind turbines with a finite lifespan for every large town and country acoss the UK? On something that affects wildlife, ruins the look of the countryside, and cannot produce any power unless it's windy?
Don't get me wrong, I like the idea of renewable electricity, I just don't think (and never have done) that wind is the way to go. More efficient products, better insulation in homes, and the strategic use of solar panels should be far more effective.
The government has set a target for 10% of electricity to be generated from renewable sources by 2010. Trade and Industry Secretary Alistair Darling said renewable electricity played a central role in the government's efforts to curb greenhouse gas emissions: "We want 20% of our electricity to come from these green sources (by 2020) and we are working hard on removing any barriers to achieving that aim."
Plans to create England's largest wind farm in Cumbria were thrown out last March after campaigners said it would ruin the landscape of the Lake District. The £55m development would have seen 27 turbines (far less than the Braes O'Doune farm), each 115 metres high, erected at Whinash, near Kendal (mmmm, mint cake). If a 36-turbine farm generates 72 megawatts, that suggests that a 27-turbine farm would only produce enough power to supply 34,000 homes. Or, roughly a large town/small city.
Are we really expected to spend £50m on wind turbines with a finite lifespan for every large town and country acoss the UK? On something that affects wildlife, ruins the look of the countryside, and cannot produce any power unless it's windy?
Don't get me wrong, I like the idea of renewable electricity, I just don't think (and never have done) that wind is the way to go. More efficient products, better insulation in homes, and the strategic use of solar panels should be far more effective.
Yamahito - Friday 9th February, 2007 10:46 solar panels on every home would be a start.
I can't see anyone agreeing to that on existing homes, but it might be possible to demand that all new homes/buildings contain solar panels (just like all new homes must have water meters). But it will drive up the initial cost - in the long term it's beneficial - and house prices are already high enough as it is. Perhaps if it's bought in bulk by the developers it would become more affordable.
The Chinese can manufacture these panels for £100 each... Oh and I reckon a few offshore wind farms should be ok. Just the onshore ones suck.
The cheap ones don't really generate enough power though. You can get them for well under £100, but they only produce 40 watts. Even with energy saving lightbulbs, you'd struggle to light your lounge in winter, nevermind turn on the heating. A quick search on Google suggests that a typical home would apparently require around £8000 (and 26 square meters) of solar panels! Even with the fairly high cost of electricity in the UK, it's not going to be cost effective unless you use it for a number of years (it'd take me 10 years to break even, assuming the panels don't need to be repaired), and most people can't afford that sort of investment right now. If people could see a return on investment in 2-3 years then I think far more people would go for it.
The offshore ones cost more to build and maintain, then you have to transport the power back to the mainland, so there are disadvantages to them too.
The offshore ones cost more to build and maintain, then you have to transport the power back to the mainland, so there are disadvantages to them too.