Shetland windfarm - Viking Energy

[Colliedogs]

Windpower is virtually useless; visit http://www.bmreports.com/bsp/bsp_home.htm and then scroll down to the Peak Wind Generation Forecast; here you'll see how much of the UK's installed capacity of 1588MW's is actually producing. National Grid have to keep 1320MW's of spinning reserve to cope with a potential busbar fault at Drax tripping off 2 x 660MW machines. Now that all these subsidised wind generators have been installed, NG has to cope with their varying output which therefore means more conventional plant is at spinning reserve level and of course this is highly innefficient. The only reason that windfarms are being built is that somebody is making a nice wedge of government subsidised money from them under the pretence that they're tying to save the world!

[Gorgonzola Butt-cheese]

Exactly correct collie dog, not 1 litre less fuel has been burned here thanks to our 5, more if you include the energy required to erect them.

 

But if we were all prepared to live with intermittant power supply, with key buildings such as hospitals, coastguards,police, businesses requiring cold stores and refrigeration etc backed up with emergency generators .

Perhaps a lot of fuel could be saved from being burned.

If that became regulation that all domestic households were only allowed access to wind ( or tide power) and portable generators were outlawed for private use, it might actually lead to a reduction in fossil fuel burnage.

You would also find things springing up like community owned cold stores if nobody can rely on regular power for fridges freezers...

 

But of course nothing as radical as this has happened since wartime rationing and it will probably take another war to make it happen again.

[Skunnered]

^^^I don't understand this. Perhaps someone with the technical know-how can explain why it is that the Lerwick power station cannot reduce its output, and hence its fuel consumption, during the periods when Burradale is generating a substantial amount of power. And actually the same thing goes for the power that's generated from Sullom Voe.

 

I can understand that coal-fired power stations would be unable to switch off and on, but diesel engines should be able to be flexible.

 

Also bearing in mind that an engine running at "tick-over" doesn't use as much fuel as it does when the load comes on for generating power.

[Skunnered]

Windpower is virtually useless

As I understand it, windmills in Shetland are expected to produce about 50% of their max. capacity, whereas elsewhere in the UK the efficiency ranges from 20% to 30% and even lower in south of England.

[keetiebairdie]

don't forget that the power genreated by the proposed wind farm will all go sooth to provide cheap electric for mainlanders. We don't get any of it.

[groilick]

don't forget that the power genreated by the proposed wind farm will all go sooth to provide cheap electric for mainlanders. We don't get any of it.

 

It's certainly not cheap - depending on location, wind power electricity is 5 to 10 times more expensive than conventional means of generation.

[ArabiaTerra]

don't forget that the power genreated by the proposed wind farm will all go sooth to provide cheap electric for mainlanders. We don't get any of it.

 

It's certainly not cheap - depending on location, wind power electricity is 5 to 10 times more expensive than conventional means of generation.

Keetiebairdie, that's just not true. Why do you bother commenting here if you can't be bothered to find out the basic facts about the windfarm?

 

Groilick, that depends on how you measure the cost. At the moment fossil fuel power is subsidised because the power companies are allowed to simply pour the waste products of combustion straight out into the atmosphere. If the true costs of safely disposing of this were factored in, then fossil fuel would be much more expensive.

 

Wind power, on the other hand, doesn't produce any waste products. No pollution at all.

[unlinkedstudent]

... Wind power, on the other hand, doesn't produce any waste products. No pollution at all.

 

Oh dear AT, one appears to have forgotten the pollution involved in building the damn thing.

 

Wanders off wondering if dead birds count as pollutants.

 

Edit: Bet ya a fiver he mentions the fact I said birds.

[JohanofNess]

... Wind power, on the other hand, doesn't produce any waste products. No pollution at all.

 

Oh dear AT, one appears to have forgotten the pollution involved in building the damn thing.

 

 

I think what AT is saying is that when a wind farm is creating electricity it has no pollution being created as a consequence. I don't think he is saying the build would create no pollution.

[ArabiaTerra]

... Wind power, on the other hand, doesn't produce any waste products. No pollution at all.

 

Oh dear AT, one appears to have forgotten the pollution involved in building the damn thing.

 

Wanders off wondering if dead birds count as pollutants.

 

Edit: Bet ya a fiver he mentions the fact I said birds.

Whereas building a new coal plant produces no C02? All of our coal plants are at least 40 years old. They all have to be replaced soon and we can't build more of the same.

 

There will be a CO2 cost in rebuilding our power generation system. The choice is whether there will be a CO2 cost running the things once they're built. With wind, there won't be.

[skaterboy]

SSE get a lot of the electric up here from the power station at SVT yet still charge us a premium, why should this be, why are we paying more than folks south who's electric is also produced by gas fired power stations?

And some damn fools up here want to get into bed with bunch of rouges.

Are they not screwing us enough already?

[ArabiaTerra]

^^^^ We pay exactly the same price as South, despite the fact that our power costs considerably more to produce than down South. Our electricity has been subsidised by South since the fifties.

 

You really are just making it up, skaterboy, aren't you?

[skaterboy]

No we don't AT

and the same could very well be said for you.

[unlinkedstudent]

^^^^ We pay exactly the same price as South, despite the fact that our power costs considerably more to produce than down South. Our electricity has been subsidised by South since the fifties.

 

You really are just making it up, skaterboy, aren't you?

 

AT - Speaking as someone who has been in Shetland for a year (well, in 2 days time LOL) having moved from London, might I assure you that my electricity costs here in Shetland are a LOT higher than they were in London. Granted, in London I had gas and electric but still lived in the same size of accommodation. Our combined outgoings for gas and electricity (and I hasten to add all but the last year was not with a modern gas boiler) were £50 per month during the winter. The cost in Shetland is £107.

 

Now mathematics has never been my strong point but even I can manage the calculation on that one.

 

In addition, if you take into account the amount per unit, not even mentioning the horrendous daily standing charge tariff on Total Heat, Total Control; I think you will find that too is a lot higher than other standing charge tariffs.

[Ghostrider]

The choice is whether there will be a CO2 cost running the things once they're built. With wind, there won't be.

 

[Pedantic Mode] Not quite, don't forget there's always going to be ongoing inspection, maintenance, replacements and repairs, morseso as the plant and infrastructure gets older.

 

Yup, no argument, a lesser cost than an old coal fired furnace, but zero it ain't. [/Pedantic Mode]