Wind power in the uk

[Juicyfruity]

Ok so solar panels would be pointless here, but we do have a lot of wind so why have we not got more wind turbines everywhere? Cost of building or eyesores that would spoil the scenery?

[sandyRoe]

They're not economical. Say it cost £50000 to build one. Over it's lifetime it wouldn't produce enough electricity to cover its costs.

[treetops1]

Wind power has helped me a lot. The company had to pay for nearly every house on my estate to have a digital box and new ariel as the turbines were interfering with the TV signal . I am now ready for the switch over,at no cost to myself.

[Juicyfruity]

Sandywroe is that a rough price or is that the cheapest that you could get a windturbine that could power your whole house?
treetops so windpower helped you save money indirectly. If they interfere with tv signals then is it possible it may also interfere with phone and internet wireless signals?

[treetops1]

It`s possible Juicy, these were six miles away not exactly on top of us.

[sandyRoe]

I don't know the costs, but I do know they're not economical.

[Juicyfruity]

Sorry treetops I had a vision of one towering 60 ft directly above you.

[jomifl]

2 mw turbine =2000 kw @ £.05 per kwh=£100 per hour income
@20% availability=£1.752 million over 10 years
That should pay for it sandy, and the price of electricity might go up, possibly?

[jomifl]

There are a lot of people who would love to build turbines but cannot get planning permission. The residents of the Isle of Wight like electricity (nobody makes them use it) but don't want it made on their island.

[wildwood]

I am sure I've seen a forest of wind turbines somewhere on/in the sea, on the telly.
This creates minimum interference with the inhabitants.

I think it were the Dutch.

[woofgang]

there is one forest of turbines off the coast of norfolk and quite a few inland ones there. I think they are quite beautiful. SR I think your statement is a bit of a sweeper although I agree they aren't economic everywhere with power at its current cost; however if enough people believe that the planet needs us to switch to cleaner forms of generation, then we may just have to accept that the days of cheap energy are over....if energy costs more then wind and solar energy won't be so expensive by comparison

[jake-the-peg]

This is an American site but it covers the profitability of wind farms.

http://www.awea.org/faq/wwt_costs.html

The problem with (almost) all renewable energy forms is that the supply is not controllable. You cannot suddenly whistle up a storm when it's half time at the cup final and everybody goes and puts on the kettle.

Storing energy is difficult - sure there are a couple of systems with reservoirs that pump water up and down but you lose 25% of the energy everytime and there are only so many Welsh lakes.

This is why we need a mixed energy generation strategy probably underpinned with nuclear

[rov1200]

Wind Turbines are said on average to be active for only 44% of the time through lack of wind. To get maximum effect they have been sited to catch the sea breezes or on the sides of mountains to catch vortex's.

If you walked through a tunnel with openings at both ends there is a tremendous breeze. Maybe we could design these turbines with a connecting complex to get better effect?

[jomifl]

wind turbines work best with a steady breeze with minimum obstacles upwind to cause turbulence and VORTICES.That is why they are usually sited on hill ridges where the airstream is smooth and has a higher velocity owing to the venturi effect of the hilltop. In the UK I believe 30% availability is regarded as a good average in favourable areas which is why my earlier estimate of the earnings of a tubine was based on a conservative 20%. Wind turbines will come into their own when the UK is held to ransom by energy suppliers such as Russia and the middle east. Jake.. is absolutely correct in saying that the UK needs a well thought out energy supply policy.

[Juicyfruity]

I think i understand this a little better than when i asked the original question. So Wind Turbines are not a viable option except some places offshore and some strategically scattered places, correct? What about the much rain we receive could that ever be a viable energy source here in the uk?

[jomifl]

sorry juicy, the hydro reserves were all exploited about 50 years ago. there are a few places where low head turbines could be installed but they don't amount to much, and we can't really afford to let the water run away too much.
Using solar panels for water heating is viable and would be more so if the manufacturers and suppliers of solar heating systems concentrated on getting the costs down, but they won't while gullible people pay uneconomic prices for solar heating installations.

[Juicyfruity]

jomifl so you really think that solar panels would be enough to generate all the electricity to completely run our homes in the uk?

[jomifl]

Hi juicy..I said 'solar panels for water heating.' Electrovoltaics would have to get more efficient (not very likely) and a lot cheaper. In addition you have the same electricity storage problem as you have with wind turbines. Batteries are improving rapidly, The lithium ion batteries as used in mobile phones are far superior to anything in the recent past and as they are now being developed for powering electric and hybrid cars there will be more big improvements. One interesting developement is for each house to have a small gas turbine to produce electricity and using the waste heat to supply the central heating and domestic hot water. This combined with efficient electrovoltaics and batteries would make a very efficient installation.

[vascop]

This online book will answer almost all questions about sustainable energy.
http://www.withouthotair.com/
You can also buy it as a traditional book.

[boxtops]

There certainly are people with solar panels here in the UK, I believe you don't need wall-to-wall sunshine for them to work well enough to heat water.
We have an array of wind turbines in the sea off Margate - they look spectacular, if unnatural.