Wind farms, what really happens when there's no wind ?

[Justin Smith]

And how many days do we have when there is no wind?

 

Of course that depends what you mean by no wind.

Absolutely no wind, i.e. smoke rises vertically, not many.

Days with minimal wind, say less than 5 mph, quite a few ?

 

Just out of interest, how much power does a wind turbine give in a 5mph wind ?

[Fogey]

There were times when many of the fossil fueled technologies were unreliable. The cost of continuing with the fossil fuel ethos will sooner or later be complicated by the fact that some countries will have it and some wont, the result is quite possibly war, in fact some would say it has already happened. We need to invest in getting these alternatives working. If we don't then the cost won't be measured in financial terms but in the cost of human life.

 

Hydrogen is a possible alternative to storing energy in a battery but you still need a power source to generate hydrogen.

[Justin Smith]

Apparently the new governement are withdrawing support for the new wave of replacement nuclear power stations, so the question as to what`s going to keep the lights on when the wind drops is even more pertinent. If they`re not in favour of "dirty" coal, that just leaves gas, of which more and more is imported, with all the worries about possible supply interuptions.

Worrying times indeed.

[Justin Smith]

Hydrogen is a possible alternative to storing energy in a battery but you still need a power source to generate hydrogen.

 

But you still need to build a power station to produce electricity from the hydrogen.

How much is all this going to cost ? ! ?

[Fogey]

But you still need to build a power station to produce electricity from the hydrogen.

How much is all this going to cost ? ! ?

 

Use the renewable alternatives to generate the hydrogen.

Think of the hydrogen as a really effective battery. When theres lots of wind, sun e.t.c. you generate a surplus. When theres less wind, sun e.t.c. then you draw off from your stocks.

[Cyclone]

Industrial scale hydrogen generation as a storage technique. I doubt that it's practical on the scale that would be required.

There's a phenomenon in the winter sometimes where we can have up to two weeks of practically still air. And of course the nights are long, the days short and the sun attenuated during that period.

Storing sufficient power to run from reserves for over two weeks would be uneconomical compared to more realistic alternatives like building some nuclear power plants.

[Fogey]

Like I said, don't rely on one form of generation. Wind, Hydro, solar, tidal, biomass.

 

 

Given the costs of nuclear I don't see how its more realistic.

[TimmyR]

You can't escape from the fact that we all need to:

 

a) stop breeding

b) stop using so much energy.

[Cyclone]

Like I said, don't rely on one form of generation. Wind, Hydro, solar, tidal, biomass.

 

 

Given the costs of nuclear I don't see how its more realistic.

 

Hydro produces a steady and predictable amount of power, as does tidal. If the wind and solar power are contributing a significant portion of the power requirement of the country then you either need long distance HV lines to bring in power from abroad in the conditions I mention, or a large amount of rapid response gas generation, which is uneconomic if only used periodically.

Overall it's cheaper to build nuclear power stations and provide for the full base load that way.

[Panthera]

a lot of research goes into where a wind farm is likely to be placed and generally they are very windy places, I.E the coast line i believe theres actually some windfarms in the ocean just off the coast aswell