tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6156940350159100953.post8395709532306885347..comments2024-01-14T22:07:22.183-08:00Comments on Sustainable Energy - without the hot air: Whitelee powers Glasgow againDavid MacKay FRShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08023079754784119955noreply@blogger.comBlogger7125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6156940350159100953.post-49448930166438918792009-07-11T14:42:22.105-07:002009-07-11T14:42:22.105-07:00"Why do some of them not turn?"
I can t..."Why do some of them not turn?" <br />I can think of three reasons.<br />1) On a gentle day, each turbine will [I believe] be making its own decision whether to try switching on, based on local wind measurements on the turbine. To try to extract energy on a gentle day, power must be used to get the blades going. I saw a wind farm where you could see turbines in ones and twos giving it a go, and sometimes giving up. <br />2) On a reasonably windy day, the upwind turbines get the best conditions; downwind turbines may be in the wake of upwind turbines, and thus are more likely to not go on.<br />3) Faults - software glitches, mechanical problems.<br />If you really want to know the reason, I would contact the owners of the wind farm. It is huge so I am sure they have a PR office that will spin an interesting story.David MacKay FRShttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08023079754784119955noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6156940350159100953.post-72845105913550342772009-07-10T06:55:44.689-07:002009-07-10T06:55:44.689-07:00Hi David! I have to admit you do know your stuff. ...Hi David! I have to admit you do know your stuff. I have to agree with Mike about all turbines not being on at the same time. I live in North Ayrshire and would be interested to know the reason why?Martinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02690590522550100062noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6156940350159100953.post-45617137516664787342009-07-09T14:40:54.168-07:002009-07-09T14:40:54.168-07:00kaet, typical annual household electricity consump...kaet, typical annual household electricity consumption is about 4000 kWh - e.g. see <a href="http://www.berr.gov.uk/files/file41499.pdf" rel="nofollow">here</a>.<br /><br />There are 8760 hours in a year. So typical domestic electricity demand is 4000/8760 or about 460W.<br /><br />You're right - the focus on this figure ignores commercial, industrial and public sector demand.Gavin McPhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12358419644841459212noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6156940350159100953.post-52556273773996335612009-07-09T12:39:10.461-07:002009-07-09T12:39:10.461-07:00More on the funny unit of "households of ener...More on the funny unit of "households of energy": about 430W on BBC News today. Very mysterious.Unknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11241488117725900526noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6156940350159100953.post-75094762181089424562009-07-03T06:29:38.108-07:002009-07-03T06:29:38.108-07:00I've been wondering about the size of the medi...I've been wondering about the size of the media unit "home", for some time. When you do get an occasional Watt figure, it seems to be being used to mean about 400W. I know that this isn't anything like a per capita figure for electricity consumption, or anything, but it does seem to be the conversion rate which I hear the most on/in the news. I wonder if "the homes in" artificially separates domestic from industrial consumption, as if factories and offices exist for their own edification rather than to make stuff for people in their "homes"!?<br /><br />Perhaps I should keep a time series of the size of the "media home"?Unknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11241488117725900526noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6156940350159100953.post-39204244175611824402009-05-17T05:05:00.000-07:002009-05-17T05:05:00.000-07:00"The government's 2020 target is for 33 GW of wind..."The government's 2020 target is for 33 GW of wind capacity."<br /><br />As a fellow enthusiast for numbers, I might be wrong, but I'm not aware of a government target for 33 GW of onshore wind capacity for 2020. I have seen mention of 33 GW of <B>offshore</B> wind in this timescale - e.g. see <A HREF="http://www.bwea.com/pdf/publications/33GW_08.pdf" REL="nofollow">this report</A> from the BWEA - but I've seen no equivalent figure for onshore wind. <br /><br />Also, I'm not convinced the 33 GW figure was an official "target" for offshore wind. I've seen it described in the press variously as a "target", an "aspiration" and a "potential". <br /><br />I haven't been able to find 33 GW referred to as a "target" in any government literature (thought I'd be happy to be corrected). The figure appears to come from <A HREF="http://nds.coi.gov.uk/environment/fullDetail.asp?ReleaseID=337237&NewsAreaID=2" REL="nofollow">this speech</A> by (then) Energy Secretary John Hutton in December 2007 (emphasis mine): <br /><I>John Hutton announced proposals to open up [UK] seas to <B>up to 33GW</B> (gigawatts) of offshore wind energy ...<br /><br />"The draft plan I'm setting out today <B>could allow companies to develop</B> up to 25 gigawatts of offshore wind by 2020, in addition to the 8 gigawatts already planned."<br /></I>In this speech he clearly refers to "up to 33 GW" of offshore wind development potential, but carefully avoided referring to this as a "target".<br /><br />This might seem a picky point, but if the government doesn't call something a "target" then it isn't a government target. "Target" reflects a degree of commitment that terms like "could allow" and "up to" do not share. In energy policy, sometimes words can be just as important as numbers.Gavin McPhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12358419644841459212noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6156940350159100953.post-59893147230652249752009-05-16T10:29:00.000-07:002009-05-16T10:29:00.000-07:00Thanks for the posts on UK wind power. Very intere...Thanks for the posts on UK wind power. Very interesting.<br /><br />I live in sight of Goonhilly wind farm, built 1993. There are 14 turbines and it is a rare day when all 14 are in operation. Do you have any data on how the number of turbines operating affects the load factor?Mikehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02658956458147420429noreply@blogger.com