This is the problem about energy from wind

[ywindythesecond]

It is 9.30 am on Friday 11th December 2009. It is a beautiful morning with frost on the ground and not a breath of wind. Not a turbine blade is turning in Caithness but we are still getting electricity to keep us warm.
This comes from conventional power stations which have been kept on stand-by just for this occasion. They have been using fossil fuels to be ready to step in when there is no or little wind, and we have been paying for it in the meantime whilst using hugely expensive wind generated power.
When the wind comes back, the supply from the conventional power stations will be cut off because the grid is obliged to take power from renewables when it is available. The conventional station will continue to use fossil fuel to be ready for the next time the wind drops, and we will continue to pay for it to do so.
How GREEN is it to burn fossil fuel for NO benefit simply to provide certainty of power when it is needed because of a reliance on an uncertain, unpredictable power source?

[Rheghead]

The energy required to keep a conventional power station in warm standby roughly equals to a mere 1000th of its fully operating capacity but then much more energy, some 70% would be wasted when the plant is running under normal operations in the absence of any wind farms.

The benefit of wind farms is that 99.9% of the carbon dioxide will be mitigated from entering the atmosphere.

[EDDIE]

With dounreay on the rundown why run it down when they could turn into a nuclear powerstation and that would also protect the jobs and economy in the area

[tonkatojo]

With dounreay on the rundown why run it down when they could turn into a nuclear powerstation and that would also protect the jobs and economy in the area



Ask the first minister.:(

[Cinderella's Shoe]

And I thought it was all about catching the fart so you can burn it......

[Fly]

With dounreay on the rundown why run it down when they could turn into a nuclear powerstation and that would also protect the jobs and economy in the area

Would seem to be the most sensible idea but "Sense" and "Salmond" don't appear to be compatible.[disgust]

[Amy-Winehouse]

I personally ave no problem whatsoever with wind farms, there are how many days in Caithness without wind in a year?????? Answers on a postcard.

My own preference is for tidal energy to be harnessed because the old saying tide & time waits for no man is true. The tide in the firth is amazing & has so much energy just not being used , its clean energy & will probably never ever run out- only thing it will like ly require is good maintenance. I dont think it will create an awful amount of jobs