In article ,
Martin writes:
| On 19 Jan 2007 03:04:31 -0800, "La Puce" wrote:
|
| It's my pleasure. This Christmas, wind turbines in the UK generated
| sufficient electricity to meet the needs of over a million households
| (BWEA source). It's the fastest growing energy source world wide, with
| an average annual growth rate of 23% over the last 15 years. I think
| it's something to celebrate )
|
| I think you shouldn;t believe the crap the salesmen publish.
|
| Wait until the summer when there isn't enough wind for weeks.

In the UK? Don't be ridiculous. They are designed to start generating
at quite low speeds, and only the south east has calm conditions for
very long. Look at the statistics.

I have seen a couple of respectable papers on this, and (if I recall)
they indicated that calm conditions over the whole UK can be expected
for a day or so every 50 years. They also indicated that it would be
rare for the system as a whole to drop below (if I recall) 30% of
capacity. Yes, that means over-engineering by a factor of 3 and having
alternative methods (such as pumped water, gas-fired or whatever).

And then there are wave and tide generators, which are also viable,
too. Again, not without downsides, but with a lot of advantages.

| How much has been generated in the last 8 days?

Dunno. The figures would be interesting.


Regards,
Nick Maclaren.