When the wind doesn't blow.

[DeppityDawg]

I realise the giant fans video is a total spoof...

Quack Quack at his absolute best. Comedy gold

[johnofgwent]

What's happened to the tidal generation proposals in Wales? It's not my area but I do remember schemes for Cardiff Bay and the Swansea lagoon. So far, only wind seems to be used...

They have been proven to be a huge overstatement in likely production and quietly abandoned. The idiots proposing them have thus been allowed to continue thinking up madcap schemes when they should have been thrown in a cesspit and left to die  In another post I showed that a full barrage across the River Severn would create roughly a third to two thirds of the output of an AGR power station I helped carry out the safety critical testing of back in 93/4. And that is when we have the full tidal range of the spring tide if forty feet six hours after high tide across the gates. Most of the time you'll be lucky to see 10% of that.

[HDQQ]

Wind power can only ever be a feasible alternative if developed in conjunction with some means of storing the energy it produces. We would then need enough wind generators to produce far more energy than we need when the wind blows so that we can store the surplus for when it doesnt. And there will have to be enough surplus generated and stored to cover long periods with relatively little wind. To do this would require a massive investment in many more wind farms, plus the development of more effective storage technology.

I actually don't know why we don't make more use of tidal energy as an alternative. As an island surrounded by the sea with numerous tidal estuaries all around our coasts, we are exceptionally well placed geographically to make use of the tides. And unlike the wind, tides are wholly predictable.

Grid-scale battery storage units are being built around the country, usually next to sub-stations. Here are three of them: . . .

https://stateraenergy.co.uk/Energy%20Storage%20Facility/pelham-storage/
https://www.euractiv.com/section/electricity/news/uks-first-grid-scale-battery-storage-system-comes-online-in-oxford/
https://www.ukpowernetworks.co.uk/internet/en/news-and-press/battery-energy-storage-facility-energised-to-support-renewable-energy-mix.html

Tidal power generation would be very effective and it would be predictable but the tidal barrage schemes like the Severn Barrage and Cardiff Bay lagoon have been turned down by the government. But at least we know they could be built and that they would work.

Right now, real-time, about 33% of our electricity is coming from wind (11GW) and about the same amount from gas. Today's graph shows that solar's contribution is negligible but yesterday's showed a significant amount during the middle hours of the day.

[patman post]

I actually don't know why we don't make more use of tidal energy as an alternative. As an island surrounded by the sea with numerous tidal estuaries all around our coasts, we are exceptionally well placed geographically to make use of the tides. And unlike the wind, tides are wholly predictable.

What's happened to the tidal generation proposals in Wales? It's not my area but I do remember schemes for Cardiff Bay and the Swansea lagoon. So far, only wind seems to be used...

[srb7677]

Wind power can only ever be a feasible alternative if developed in conjunction with some means of storing the energy it produces. We would then need enough wind generators to produce far more energy than we need when the wind blows so that we can store the surplus for when it doesnt. And there will have to be enough surplus generated and stored to cover long periods with relatively little wind. To do this would require a massive investment in many more wind farms, plus the development of more effective storage technology.

I actually don't know why we don't make more use of tidal energy as an alternative. As an island surrounded by the sea with numerous tidal estuaries all around our coasts, we are exceptionally well placed geographically to make use of the tides. And unlike the wind, tides are wholly predictable.

[HDQQ]

I realise the giant fans video is a total spoof but it's also an excellent demonstration of how facts can be distorted and rearranged to create fake news.

I remember that fake news video made by that man posing as an ex-military survivalist tough-guy who claimed that the UK had already secretly signed over sovereignty to the EU, including the control of our military, and that Brexit would make no difference. I think a link was posted to it on here, which is how I found it. Probably 4 or 5 years ago while Theresa May was PM.

The giant fans thing is out of the same mould.

There was also a story a few years ago that took the form of a scare story about solar panels. The fake info was that solar panels sucked energy from the sun and if everyone had solar panels the sun would go out within a hundred years. The main story from this is that one of the US oil companies reportedly backed the people who made this ridiculous claim.

[T00ts]

You're not supposed to take it seriously 

I didn't but there will  be some who would. 

[Nick]

There will be some who agree with him.   

You're not supposed to take it seriously 

[T00ts]

There will be some who agree with him.   

[Nick]

https://youtu.be/fjMRVmbdzK8

[HDQQ]

At this moment in time (11.00 am, 10th October 2021) the UK is getting about 5.5 GW of power from wind out of a total demand of 29 GW. That's about 19% on a day when it's not very windy. We're also getting 2.6 GW from solar (sunny, approaching mid-day, autumn) which is about 9% of total. So 28% from wind and solar. I reckon it's not bad. In 2020 wind accounted for a quarter of all electricity generation in UK and on 28th December that year wind generated over half our electricity for the first time.

New offshore wind projects are being added and the installed capacity is set to increase significantly in the next few years. Grid-scale battery storage units are being constructed for storing surplus energy so that supply can match demand better.

Wind and solar are 'opportunistic' sources of electricity generation which operate in symbiosis with gas-fired power stations. So the more wind and solar generation we have, the less gas is burned and the less CO2 is emitted. We're heading in a direction where gas-fired power stations become a back-up resource.

Tidal electricity generation has not really taken off despite being shown to work. Maybe it's just more difficult a solution than wind and solar, so it's taken a back seat. But it's a technology waiting in the wings for the future.

Oh . . .I forgot! This is Area 51. I should have said something crazy, like solar panels will make the sun go dim or something !!

[Streetwalker]

They should have all listened to Maggie and built Nuclear Power Stations.

Im seriously thinking of getting the chimney swept , there is a plentiful supply of wood down the road . 

[Streetwalker]

We might all have to learn to wear a jumper at the very least. I know so many who whack the heating up but go around in T-shirt.

Im married to a lizard , the heating is set at 20c and she wears a cardigan and puts a blanket over her when in the armchair . Im sweating buckets in shorts and vest .

[Nick]

They should have all listened to Maggie and built Nuclear Power Stations.

[T00ts]

We might all have to learn to wear a jumper at the very least. I know so many who whack the heating up but go around in T-shirt.