ywindythesecond
11-Dec-09, 10:39
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?
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?