Re: Wind Turbines (to be built somewhere "relatively windles : Thu Jan 24, 2013 11:30 am  

Big Graeme wrote:

I did, I was questioning the article, not the poster there.
that persecution complex is coming along nicely I see...

if you say so, you've got the green username and the "ban" button afterall.

Re: Wind Turbines (to be built somewhere "relatively windles : Thu Jan 24, 2013 11:43 am  

Standee wrote:

if you say so, you've got the green username and the "ban" button afterall.

Re: Wind Turbines (to be built somewhere "relatively windles : Thu Jan 24, 2013 11:49 am  

I'm one of those strange people who don't find wind turbines to be a massive intrusion on most landscapes and can even see some majesty in them. The array at Middelgrunden on the approach to Copenhagen looks fantastic as your plane is landing, also the ones on the shore at Rotterdam couldn't be classed as intrusive.

The fact that this proposal comes from private enterprise suggests to me that someone has done their homework and won't be looking to sink £millions into a venture that is never going to offer a return, especially given the insecure nature of government feed-in subsidies

Re: Wind Turbines (to be built somewhere "relatively windles : Thu Jan 24, 2013 11:52 am  

cod'ead wrote:

I'm one of those strange people who don't find wind turbines to be a massive intrusion on most landscapes and can even see some majesty in them. The array at Middelgrunden on the approach to Copenhagen looks fantastic as your plane is landing, also the ones on the shore at Rotterdam couldn't be classed as intrusive.

The fact that this proposal comes from private enterprise suggests to me that someone has done their homework and won't be looking to sink £millions into a venture that is never going to offer a return, especially given the insecure nature of government feed-in subsidies

I think they are amazing constructions, I just wonder about having to build oversized ones because it's not a windy place. The feed in tarriffs are quite robust for wind aren't they, thought it was solar that was questionable?

Re: Wind Turbines (to be built somewhere "relatively windles : Thu Jan 24, 2013 1:28 pm  

Standee wrote:

I think they are amazing constructions, I just wonder about having to build oversized ones because it's not a windy place. The feed in tarriffs are quite robust for wind aren't they, thought it was solar that was questionable?

They're building oversized ones precisely because it's a "relatively windless" place (at ground level at least). Wind is more persistent as you gain altitude and therefore to tap into the prevailing winds they need to elevate the turbines.

A private enterprise will not invest millions in such an enterprise before carrying out exhaustive research and testing. Someone at the top will want evidence they can deliver a product that can satisfy their customers and bring in profit. An investment on that scale that doesn't deliver could mean the end of the company.

Windmills can be an eyesore but you get used to them. There are plenty around where I live, and you barely notice them after a while, in fact they're quite impressive. The boglands of central Ireland are pretty sparsely populated, probably another reason they've been considered as a location. I don't buy the argument "wild areas should be left alone". How much of the UK and Ireland is truly wild? Very little, and those areas that are probably have the weather best suited to wind turbines. Numbers of urban and city turbines are growing, but if we want affordable electricity on demand we can't worry too much about a few ramblers and sheep complaining about the view.

Re: Wind Turbines (to be built somewhere "relatively windles : Thu Jan 24, 2013 6:26 pm  

I've been occasionally banging on for years how the energy needs of this country could be solved by the fluke that we sit right in the middle of absolutely gigantic tidal ebbs and flows, and if we simply harness the power of the tides, then job done. I read somewhere last month that finally some plans that are more than pipedreams are actually afoot. Not before time. Sounds plainly obvious that it would be a lot more productive and effective than wind turbines.

I do in general agree with the plan, though. I wouldn't want them literally all over the place, but by the nature of the beast, they are best sited in higher and windier, and therefore wilder, places and inevitably that means some wild places must be "spoiled" by a windfarm. The fact that it may be hard to decide which, doesn't to me mean the decision shouldn't be taken.

Re: Wind Turbines (to be built somewhere "relatively windles : Fri Jan 25, 2013 1:02 pm  

WIND TURBINES by the very nature of their designs are neither able to produce instant nor economic energy. Too much wind/too little wind, and they are switched off. Two warm they break down/two cold they freeze up completely. Were it not for the massive Government subsidies, no sane business would be involved with them. This bloggers name raised a smile, however this one appears to talk some sense

WIND TURBINES by the very nature of their designs are neither able to produce instant nor economic energy. Too much wind/too little wind, and they are switched off. Two warm they break down/two cold they freeze up completely. Were it not for the massive Government subsidies, no sane business would be involved with them. This bloggers name raised a smile, however this one appears to talk some sense

Re: Wind Turbines (to be built somewhere "relatively windles : Fri Jan 25, 2013 6:18 pm  

cod'ead wrote:

I'm one of those strange people who don't find wind turbines to be a massive intrusion on most landscapes and can even see some majesty in them.

I tend to agree - they have a rather elegant appearance that makes them, in my view, a not unnattractive addition to the lanscape; as for the noise - I'm baffled by that objection, as I've stood right underneath a working example and the noise, even that close up, was minimal.

I'm healthily sceptical about their efficiency, but I have to make an assumption that a private business wouldn't invest the multi-millions of £ required to get them up and running, if the evidence for a RoI didn't exist.

For me, if they work and genuinely produce renewable energy, it seems churlish for anyone who uses electricity to argue against them; I gather there are a number of offshore farms in the offing, under the stewardship of the rather marvelously monikered 'Dong Energy.'

Re: Wind Turbines (to be built somewhere "relatively windles : Fri Jan 25, 2013 8:16 pm  

rumpelstiltskin wrote: WIND TURBINES by the very nature of their designs are neither able to produce instant nor economic energy. Too much wind/too little wind, and they are switched off. Two warm they break down/two cold they freeze up completely. Were it not for the massive Government subsidies, no sane business would be involved with them. Where does it say they break down or freeze up? A turbine's efficiency is reduced in periods of hot or cold weather simply because those usually coincide with periods of high pressure: i.e. when winds don't blow rumpelstiltskin wrote: This bloggers name raised a smile, however this one appears to talk some sense Talks sense? This si how he describes himself: "Conservatve Political Blogger, Climate Realist, Tea Party supporter and NRA member. I dont buy into the Man Made Global Warming Scam, science is never settled"

rumpelstiltskin wrote: WIND TURBINES by the very nature of their designs are neither able to produce instant nor economic energy. Too much wind/too little wind, and they are switched off. Two warm they break down/two cold they freeze up completely. Were it not for the massive Government subsidies, no sane business would be involved with them. Where does it say they break down or freeze up? A turbine's efficiency is reduced in periods of hot or cold weather simply because those usually coincide with periods of high pressure: i.e. when winds don't blow rumpelstiltskin wrote: This bloggers name raised a smile, however this one appears to talk some sense Talks sense? This si how he describes himself: "Conservatve Political Blogger, Climate Realist, Tea Party supporter and NRA member. I dont buy into the Man Made Global Warming Scam, science is never settled"

Re: Wind Turbines (to be built somewhere "relatively windles : Sat Jan 26, 2013 9:00 am  

cod'ead wrote:

Conservatve Political Blogger, Climate Realist, Tea Party supporter and NRA member. I dont buy into the Man Made Global Warming Scam, science is never settled"

why didn't he just call himself a prat, would have saved a lot of effort.