glrnet Posted November 30, 2011 Share Posted November 30, 2011 Today I drove from Glasgow to Chester Le Street and this involved travelling on the M74, it's fair to say it was very windy. My question is this, why were the majority of the wind turbines on my route not "working". Was it too windy, or are they automatically shut down when they have produced their energy quota? Sorry if this is a daft question but I am intrigued Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beavis Posted November 30, 2011 Share Posted November 30, 2011 One for AK to answer Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DoogyRev Posted November 30, 2011 Share Posted November 30, 2011 Perhaps as it was windy, that had generated enough electricity and were turned off before they overloaded the system blew scotland up Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ricey Posted November 30, 2011 Share Posted November 30, 2011 No doubt a stupid question but.......was the wind blowing in the right direction? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
glrnet Posted November 30, 2011 Author Share Posted November 30, 2011 That did occur to me but they seemed to face in random directions and the one area that was working was much the same as others No doubt a stupid question but.......was the wind blowing in the right direction? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DoogyRev Posted November 30, 2011 Share Posted November 30, 2011 No doubt a stupid question but.......was the wind blowing in the right direction? I thought they have swingy tops so can always face the wind.... well the one in reading does Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Neilp Posted November 30, 2011 Share Posted November 30, 2011 Today I drove from Glasgow to Chester Le Street and this involved travelling on the M74, it's fair to say it was very windy. My question is this, why were the majority of the wind turbines on my route not "working". Was it too windy, or are they automatically shut down when they have produced their energy quota? Sorry if this is a daft question but I am intrigued you passed me probably, I left southport to come up the road at 3pm the turbines rotate with the wind, unsure why they were off, my guess is that they had met their energy demands Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DoogyRev Posted November 30, 2011 Share Posted November 30, 2011 the turbines rotate with the wind, unsure why they were off, my guess is that they had met their energy demands Whats the point in having them then.... oh you have made 36p today, have the rest of the afternoon off Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChrisS Posted November 30, 2011 Share Posted November 30, 2011 No doubt a stupid question but.......was the wind blowing in the right direction? They are designed to always face into the wind, designe of the blades I think. They would have been locked because of too much wind. Produces too much torque in the gear box. (or something like that ) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rtbiscuit Posted November 30, 2011 Share Posted November 30, 2011 i think wind turbines are a conspiracy, the queen has ordered tons of them, but they aren't really turbines, they are propellors and she plans to get the UK to fly so she can move us further away from the french. you just wait and see Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ricey Posted November 30, 2011 Share Posted November 30, 2011 http://www.telegraph.co.uk/earth/energy ... owing.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ioneabee Posted November 30, 2011 Share Posted November 30, 2011 There are a couple of reasons (or excuses) the turbine is incapable of running in high wind situations - they "break" and are expensive to fix, so they get locked down - this is the most likely the energy produced can not be effectively put back into the grid - ie nowhere for it to go it might already be broke !! and too costly to fix Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
glrnet Posted November 30, 2011 Author Share Posted November 30, 2011 We must have done, I left Glasgie just before 3!! Today I drove from Glasgow to Chester Le Street and this involved travelling on the M74, it's fair to say it was very windy. My question is this, why were the majority of the wind turbines on my route not "working". Was it too windy, or are they automatically shut down when they have produced their energy quota? Sorry if this is a daft question but I am intrigued you passed me probably, I left southport to come up the road at 3pm the turbines rotate with the wind, unsure why they were off, my guess is that they had met their energy demands Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChrisS Posted November 30, 2011 Share Posted November 30, 2011 And they need a reinforced electricity supply to start then. Yep uses leccy to start them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zollburgers Posted November 30, 2011 Share Posted November 30, 2011 http://www.telegraph.co.uk/earth/energy/windpower/7840035/Firms-paid-to-shut-down-wind-farms-when-the-wind-is-blowing.html How do I apply to be paid for not producing electricity? I'm quite good at it, could be a nice little earner. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spursmaddave Posted November 30, 2011 Share Posted November 30, 2011 Why on earth have a wind turbine in scotland that breaks in the wind, next they will be opening a chain of salad bars Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Will370z Posted November 30, 2011 Share Posted November 30, 2011 Why on earth have a wind turbine in scotland that breaks in the wind, next they will be opening a chain of salad bars Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris`I Posted November 30, 2011 Share Posted November 30, 2011 Sure Mr AK can answer this properly The main fault in the proposal of wind power is as of yet (AFAIK) there is no way to store the engery now for use later. So if there isnt high enough demand for the energy they produce at the time, then its better to stop them and stop wear and tear on them I'd guess. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
glrnet Posted November 30, 2011 Author Share Posted November 30, 2011 Deep fried, surely? And I'm sorry I called you Shirley Why on earth have a wind turbine in scotland that breaks in the wind, next they will be opening a chain of salad bars Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chesterfield Posted November 30, 2011 Share Posted November 30, 2011 Sure Mr AK can answer this properly The main fault in the proposal of wind power is as of yet (AFAIK) there is no way to store the engery now for use later. So if there isnt high enough demand for the energy they produce at the time, then its better to stop them and stop wear and tear on them I'd guess. Thats the same for any electricity generation, it cant be stored. Wind turbines are one of the biggest white elephants to ever grace our country. They are one reason why everyones energy bills are a lot higher than they should be. Tidal would be a lot more efficient, and predictable. Nuclear or, if we really must follow this green path at ridiculous expense, carbon capture. Our council spent £86,000 on a 20KVA turbine in our business park. It generates £500 per year in electricity (or maybe now £700 at todays rates) but is on a £1500 per year maintenance contract. But didn't they blow their trumpet in the local rag some years ago when they were being "green". Driving into work each day seeing that complete waste of public money really cheers me up, especially on corporation tax return day.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris`I Posted November 30, 2011 Share Posted November 30, 2011 Bit hard to stop a nuclear reactor though Chris, a lot easier with a turbine The turbine in Reading seems to be going most of the time and apparently powers most of the business park its on - or so I hear. No idea if thats true. But £500 of leccy a year sounds like sod all, thats about as much as a few houses use? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chesterfield Posted November 30, 2011 Share Posted November 30, 2011 Bit hard to stop a nuclear reactor though Chris, a lot easier with a turbine The turbine in Reading seems to be going most of the time and apparently powers most of the business park its on - or so I hear. No idea if thats true. But £500 of leccy a year sounds like sod all, thats about as much as a few houses use? Just lift the rods. Its easy enough to "turn down" a nuclear plant. France has to do it all the time in summer when there isnt enough river water to cool the stations. Without going into too much detail. A business park, if it's sizeable will have a COP 5 electricity meter, which means minimum 100KVA availability, and the distribution company will charge for this availability. If there is the requirement for a 100KVA meter, then the turbine would need to be a 100KVA which could be a 25-30m (75-90 ft) turbine with blade span of 20m (60ft). A business park with the likes of frankie & bennys, nandos and maybe an office building with a few floors of PC's could use maybe 500,000 or more Kwh per year. Which means the turbine would need to be running with windspeed of 20mph for 13 hours a day, every day. An awful lot of these wind installations on land will NEVER pay back their installation cost, never mind save money - but nobody dare admit it. They just put them in so the green fans think the company is "doing their bit". They are all advertising gimmicks and not real money saving devices. Offshore they are better, but still the most expensive way of generating electricity known to man. The only way of actually making money is (or should I say was) the governments Feed In Tarrif scheme, but thats been cut dramatically now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AK350Z Posted November 30, 2011 Share Posted November 30, 2011 Today I drove from Glasgow to Chester Le Street and this involved travelling on the M74, it's fair to say it was very windy. My question is this, why were the majority of the wind turbines on my route not "working". Was it too windy, or are they automatically shut down when they have produced their energy quota? Sorry if this is a daft question but I am intrigued Top reasons for non-spinningness: 1) Too windy. Chances are the past few days it's been well over 30m/s wind speed in some areas, so the turbines shut down and feather the blades to avoid structural damage. They will normally still turn to face the wind though. 2) Grid work/maintenance. Would require whole park shut down for that. 3) Faults or service. Recognisable by just one or two being off usually. They don't turn them off after having met some "quota", they keep producing, but whether the power produced gets used is all down to the dizzying quota and purchasing system the energy companys and government have. As some articles have mentioned, renewable schemes can get paid for "unused" energy and load balancing, but it's all contract stuff and I'm sure Chris knows more about that side, hatred notwithstanding! If the average business park turbine is only 50-100kw, then I would say yes, they are pointlessly small! One of mine is 5MW, and we have 30. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zugara Posted December 1, 2011 Share Posted December 1, 2011 And who was driving maybe try too keep your eyes on the road eh! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris`I Posted December 1, 2011 Share Posted December 1, 2011 Without going into too much detail. A business park, if it's sizeable will have a COP 5 electricity meter, which means minimum 100KVA availability, and the distribution company will charge for this availability. If there is the requirement for a 100KVA meter, then the turbine would need to be a 100KVA which could be a 25-30m (75-90 ft) turbine with blade span of 20m (60ft). A business park with the likes of frankie & bennys, nandos and maybe an office building with a few floors of PC's could use maybe 500,000 or more Kwh per year. Which means the turbine would need to be running with windspeed of 20mph for 13 hours a day, every day. That really is laughable then! To be fair to the Green Park one, it does spin most of the time I see it and we do get a pretty constant 15MPH wind (I have to cycle back into it most days!), and its a fairly small business park of just offices. I guess they should just say its for publicity rather than try and argue it earns its keep though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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