Wind Turbines
- Thread starter Hysteresis
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I'd rather have a windmill go wrong than a nuke.
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Not sure if this is the right place to ask but the title says Wind Turbines so ........
I currently own a small 3 bedroom bungalow in Wales - it's surrounded by loads of fields and I even own one of them as part of my property (the field is only about 1.5 acres in size).
Would it be cost effective to install a wind turbine in my field to not only provide electric for normal use but also to provide enough power for an electric boiler for hot water and central heating?
What size of turbine would I be looking at? What kind of costs would be involved? Or is there a recommend online site to ask this, get estimates, inspections, etc?
I get plenty of wind in my location so getting the thing to spin wouldn't be a problem. I would though need planning permission.
I currently own a small 3 bedroom bungalow in Wales - it's surrounded by loads of fields and I even own one of them as part of my property (the field is only about 1.5 acres in size).
Would it be cost effective to install a wind turbine in my field to not only provide electric for normal use but also to provide enough power for an electric boiler for hot water and central heating?
What size of turbine would I be looking at? What kind of costs would be involved? Or is there a recommend online site to ask this, get estimates, inspections, etc?
I get plenty of wind in my location so getting the thing to spin wouldn't be a problem. I would though need planning permission.
This organisation used to give informal advice but in recent years they seem to have become more of a business, They have a one day course in January but it costs £125
cat.org.uk
Centre for Alternative Technology,
Machynlleth,
Powys,
SY20 9AZ,
UK
For general enquiries call us on +44(0)1654 705950
Renewables for Households: Wind Turbines (Only three places left) - Centre for Alternative Technology
Rethinking household energy provision - a one day course providing you with an an in depth look at wind turbines.
cat.org.uk
Centre for Alternative Technology,
Machynlleth,
Powys,
SY20 9AZ,
UK
For general enquiries call us on +44(0)1654 705950
Sponsored Links
I thought I had a vague recollection of a web site that gave suggested wind speeds and predicted viability of wind turbines by inputting grid reference or post code.
I have found this which might be a good start:
https://www.renewableenergyhub.co.uk/main/wind-turbines/wind-turbine-installers
Other websites offer free quotes.
I have found this which might be a good start:
https://www.renewableenergyhub.co.uk/main/wind-turbines/wind-turbine-installers
Other websites offer free quotes.
Last edited:
In short: No
You may have enough wind where you are, but low down it is very turbulent which makes it very hard to extract power from it. You have to go tall, which makes it expensive. No one has managed to make the sums add up for the last decade or so.
You could look at a large ground mounted PV array though. It won't work well with an electric boiler but would make money.
In other news today,
"Britain’s flagship Hinkley Point C nuclear plant has been delayed until 2029 at the earliest and could end up costing up to £35bn, or nearly twice the initial budget, in the latest blow to a project meant to kick-start the country’s nuclear revival.
The spiralling bill and slipping schedule, announced on Tuesday by the French state-owned operator and constructor EDF, will put pressure on the UK government to provide extra financial support for the struggling scheme which lies at the heart of long-term energy plans.
EDF, which has also experienced long delays on recent parallel projects in Finland and France that use the same reactor technology, said the project could slip until 2031, blaming the complexity of installing electromechanical systems and intricate piping at Hinkley, the design for which it had only recently finalised."
FT.com
"Britain’s flagship Hinkley Point C nuclear plant has been delayed until 2029 at the earliest and could end up costing up to £35bn, or nearly twice the initial budget, in the latest blow to a project meant to kick-start the country’s nuclear revival.
The spiralling bill and slipping schedule, announced on Tuesday by the French state-owned operator and constructor EDF, will put pressure on the UK government to provide extra financial support for the struggling scheme which lies at the heart of long-term energy plans.
EDF, which has also experienced long delays on recent parallel projects in Finland and France that use the same reactor technology, said the project could slip until 2031, blaming the complexity of installing electromechanical systems and intricate piping at Hinkley, the design for which it had only recently finalised."
FT.com
Problem - the fact that we need it to completely kick fossils on the head. This touches on why we want more N Sea gas. More efficient and greener than importing liquefied which we are currently doing anyway.
But less efficient, less green, and less cheap than renewables.
What a pity that Britain is not an island surrounded by a tidal sea full of waves.
Oooops.
My mistake.
It is.
People say that nuclear is needed but at £35 Billion you could buy roughly 35GW (140GWh) of Lithium ion batteries (Tesla Mega packs). That's most of the 50GWh needed for net zero in 2050.
Or £35 Billion would buy roughly 10 GW of offshore wind. Including transmission infrastructure .That's 30% of installed capacity now. That'd probably be about 10% of our annual electricity use.
Or half of each. 5GW of wind and 17GW of battery (70GWh) for the price of one 3.2GW nuclear plant, which don't forget still needs fuel and security guards.
Or £35 Billion would buy roughly 10 GW of offshore wind. Including transmission infrastructure .That's 30% of installed capacity now. That'd probably be about 10% of our annual electricity use.
Or half of each. 5GW of wind and 17GW of battery (70GWh) for the price of one 3.2GW nuclear plant, which don't forget still needs fuel and security guards.
The basis of the nuc need comes down to it doesn't matter what number of wind turbines are installed as lack of wind still causes problems. Leaves me wondering what nuc capacity we actually need. It seems we will not meet initial aims. Costs to some extent come down to how long it takes to build them. It's covered by borrowed money that takes a long time to show a return. The other aspect is inflation. So what happened to the small prefab ones? RR just produced some nice pictures but it seems they can be ordered. Not from RR though.
Current gas turbines cover any shortages. That option is set to remain for some time.
UK LNG imports hit a record high of 25.6 bcm in 2022, up 74 per cent on the previous year. The UK holds significant regasification infrastructure, which meant the UK was used as a land-bridge for increased natural gas exports to Europe, while supporting domestic gas demand.30 Mar 2023
However
Other major LNG exporters were those with large natural gas reserves, including Russia, Malaysia, Indonesia, and Nigeria. Europe is not a major exporter of LNG, accounting for just 0.7 per cent of global exports in 2022. The UK does not produce LNG but is able to re-export imported LNG – this is called reload. However, the last reload was in 2018.
Some business needs gas. More here
How many days a year does the sea have no tidal flow?
Currently irrelevant and when examined it doesn't offer that much.
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