Wind turbines

[John D]

Originally Posted by Gill Catton

but it must be from the turbines to whatever contraption then gets the electricity in into the national grid or they would do it this way.

Yes Gill, from each individual turbine on a wind farm, underground cables will be used as each turbine may be rated at anything from say 1 to 3 MW approx. With such a relatively small output at relatively low voltage ( low compared to typical transmission voltages) there is no problem.
However like the wind farm I mentioned in an earlier post, where there are 71 turbines producing 213MW , the total generated output will be transmitted from the associated site sub-station to the grid by O/H lines.
Hope this clarifies the position.
John D

[thunder]

Originally Posted by m1.carson

Hi,

I know nothing about wind turbines, and have only seen one stand-alone at Reading, we were amazed at it's size, after watching it and reading about bird deaths, I can't understand how a bird can fly into a blade, they appear to travel so slowly, anyway, couldn't some sort of reflective material be used on the leading edges, I realise that wouldn't help night flyers of course but it might be a start, maybe it's not technologically feasable or too expensive.

Max.

The speed of the blade tip is extremely high, for all it looks so slow.

henrya

[Jez]

So everything is going digital. So is this the end of over head pylons?

[JennyS]

I've a feeling (though I could be wrong) thats there is an EU Directive due to come into force in the next few years compelling power companies etc to put the high voltage lines underground rather than overground.

Sorry about that - I was wrong......it was a EU study into over/under ground lines....

[Adam Cheeseman]

I was told recently that in some areas the windmills have to be 'turned off' if it gets too windy to prevent them being damaged Bad design methinks.

Cheers,

Adam

[Adam Cheeseman]

Leaving aside the emotive locations debate, I personally would plump for incinerators to generate energy by burning all of our rubbish as we are nearly out of landfill space. The rubbish from the London Borough of Hounslow is buried in Oxfordshire - think about all the extra energy that takes just to bury it. With the filters they use on incinerators today the manufacturers say that an industrial incinerator would produce in one hour the same amount of pollution as a packet of cigarettes. Don't know how accurate that is but if true it would surely be a viable option.

Cheers,

Adam

[nightshade]

I think incinerators are a good idea,if they will not make wind turbines to look
picturesque(like dutch windmills)I will go with using rubbish for fuel but do
you think that Bath(Georgian City)will have its furnace within its bounds?
or will it end up at one of the nearby small towns with raillinks that could be
expanded for the 24/7 delivery of rubbish,Oh and to make it even more economic
they would even contract for rubbish from the midlands or even europe
Face it the skyline studded with wind turbines what sort of noise would that make?
or the wealthy cities using the rest of us as dumps and incinerators
There must be a government long term plan in place already they cannot deal with
foot and mouth but they can push the human population about

[John D]

Originally Posted by Adam Cheeseman

I was told recently that in some areas the windmills have to be 'turned off' if it gets too windy to prevent them being damaged Bad design methinks.

Cheers,

Adam

Yes you are correct but it is not 'bad design'. With current technology generation starts when the wind speed is around 7-8MPH and is at an optimum when the wind speed is at 28-30MPH. Above this it is necessary to provide some control of speed and at 50MPH or slightly above, it is necessary to take action to suspend generation. This can be done by turning the blades in line with the wind direction. The reason for this is to avoid severe damage caused by the enormous forces that would build, due to significant increase of blade rotation. Given the size/weight of the blades,mast height and foundations etc the forces exerted by high wind speeds would result in destruction if the necessary action wasn't taken.
Maybe in time higher wind speeds will be acceptable but at this time there are limiting technological issues.
John D

[rscott74]

I heard on the local news that the MoD is joining objections to windfarms in Cumbria because they might curtail training in low level flighing. I broadly support wind generated power and if it interferes with low level flying that's just another plus!

[ChrisJB]

What worries me is when this current interglacial ends and we are plunged back into an age of ice, everyone will foolishly think wind farms have saved the day and their destruction of precious landscapes and habitats will have been worth it.

However it will have been the cycles as descrbed by Milankovitch (variations in the Earth's axial tilt, eccentricity and precession of the Earth's orbit) that have really done the trick, and in a most effective manner.

Regards, Chris