Worlds Largest Wind Farm Operational

[Blib]

The Thanet wind farm officially starts operation today. Apparently, it cost £750 million and will power "up to" 200,000 homes. It is, the report states, the beginning of a massive investment in such schemes. Oh joy.

Here's the BBC's film. Surprisingly balanced for once.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-11395824

The irony that this report was filmed on an almost still day is delicious.

[V88Dicky]

Exactly. What happens when the wind doesn't blow?

[williamp]

Dont know. But I saw a film once called "when the wind blows" and that was terrefying, so I'd rather it didnt.

[thinfourth2]

V88Dicky said:

Exactly. What happens when the wind doesn't blow?

The lights go out

[odyssey2200]

thinfourth2 said:

V88Dicky said:

Exactly. What happens when the wind doesn't blow?

The lights go out

The turn the motors on to make it look like they are working.

[thinfourth2]

odyssey2200 said:

thinfourth2 said:

V88Dicky said:

Exactly. What happens when the wind doesn't blow?

The lights go out

The turn the motors on to make it look like they are working.

You maybe joking but that has happened in japan

[MilnerR]

I take it the "up to" figure is used in the same way that my broadband is "up to" 8 meg.....

On an unrelated note, how do windfarms react to surges in demand?

[thinfourth2]

MilnerR said:

I take it the "up to" figure is used in the same way that my broadband is "up to" 8 meg.....

On an unrelated note, how do windfarms react to surges in demand?

They don't

[Fish]

Thats why all the power stations keep running to cope....

[odyssey2200]

thinfourth2 said:

odyssey2200 said:

thinfourth2 said:

V88Dicky said:

Exactly. What happens when the wind doesn't blow?

The lights go out

The turn the motors on to make it look like they are working.

You maybe joking but that has happened in japan

I was not joking.

[JMGS4]

So what happens when we run out of wind because the turbines are using it all up? Are we headed for catastrophic climate change?

[Fetchez la vache]

MilnerR said:

I take it the "up to" figure is used in the same way that my broadband is "up to" 8 meg.....

On an unrelated note, how do windfarms react to surges in demand?

Something like this.. maybe... wind turbine collapsing

[Adrian W]

who owns them, who paid for them and who is going to get the profits, why do i think its going to be France

[Elroy Blue]

Blib said:

The irony that this report was filmed on an almost still day is delicious.

Thought exactly the same when I saw Breakfast TV this morning. There was only one of the buggers moving and that was going so slowly, it almost stopped.

[TEKNOPUG]

How does the energy even get into the grid, seeing as they have no ability to store the energy and they can't react to demand?

[Shay HTFC]

Why can't they store up the energy? Just hook up the rotor to the world's biggest elastic band which winds up. Then when demand goes up, let the elastic band unspin and harness the energy from that. Sheesh, engineers nowadays.

[odyssey2200]

Shay HTFC said:

Why can't they store up the energy? Just hook up the rotor to the world's biggest elastic band which winds up. Then when demand goes up, let the elastic band unspin and harness the energy from that. Sheesh, engineers nowadays.

or use them to pump water up to a reservoir at a height, that can be released later to generate power.

Or why not just build a mahoosive, fk off big barage across the Severn esturary and be done with it.

IIRC the worlds second biggest tidal flow and as regular as clockwork so lang and an accident on Moonbase Alpha doesn't blow the moon out of orbit!

Edited by odyssey2200 on Thursday 23 September 17:07

[Blib]

News 24 just interviewed a representative of a renewable energy lobbying group.

The questions were so inept that they defy parody. Not one challenge to the guy's statistics. A half-arsed enquiry about what happens when the wind doesn't blow, swiftly side stepped and then four or five questions about their aesthetic qualities.

Lamentable. But not unexpected.

[thinfourth2]

TEKNOPUG said:

How does the energy even get into the grid, seeing as they have no ability to store the energy and they can't react to demand?

Which is why large turbines are fecking useless

Small turbines however are in my opinion utterly brilliant idea.

A small turbine stuck on top of your house can then generate DC which is shuffled into a battery bank.

This DC battery bank then goes through a inverter to power your house.

It solves both the storage problem and transmission problem.

If everyone had one on their roof it would hugely cut the amount power needed to be generated in power stations.

[jains15]

thinfourth2 said:

TEKNOPUG said:

How does the energy even get into the grid, seeing as they have no ability to store the energy and they can't react to demand?

Which is why large turbines are fecking useless

Small turbines however are in my opinion utterly brilliant idea.

A small turbine stuck on top of your house can then generate DC which is shuffled into a battery bank.

This DC battery bank then goes through a inverter to power your house.

It solves both the storage problem and transmission problem.

If everyone had one on their roof it would hugely cut the amount power needed to be generated in power stations.

Thinking locally like this is the way forward IMHO. Everyone, has a small turbine, everyone has solar panels, everyone has a storage facility. It would lessen a lot of problems I think.