Readings new landmark!!
Readings new landmark!!
Author
Discussion

white_van_man

Original Poster:

3,848 posts

279 months

Thursday 17th November 2005
quotequote all
Wow Has anyone else seen readings new wind turbine? you cant miss it if you drive past junc 11 on the M4. It was connected to the grid today. Good to see things like this been done.

www.ecotricity.co.uk/projects/plan_greenpark.html

simpo two

92,891 posts

295 months

Thursday 17th November 2005
quotequote all
Hope 1500 families won't mind sitting in the dark and cold when it's a calm day. They can cheer themselves up knowing that the planet is safe after all. Can't burn anything to keep warm, it's against H&S regs and you might get cancer.

deckster

9,631 posts

285 months

Thursday 17th November 2005
quotequote all
white_van_man said:
Wow Has anyone else seen readings new wind turbine? you cant miss it if you drive past junc 11 on the M4. It was connected to the grid today. Good to see things like this been done.

www.ecotricity.co.uk/projects/plan_greenpark.html


Good? You're having a laugh aren't you? Costs far more to construct than it'll ever realistically produce and looks hideous.

Pigeon

18,535 posts

276 months

Friday 18th November 2005
quotequote all
article said:
Capacity - 2MW

Generation kWh - 4.5 million

...and after 6 months it's kaput.

srebbe64

13,021 posts

267 months

Friday 18th November 2005
quotequote all
simpo two said:
Hope 1500 families won't mind sitting in the dark and cold when it's a calm day. They can cheer themselves up knowing that the planet is safe after all. Can't burn anything to keep warm, it's against H&S regs and you might get cancer.


Well that's the genius! In effect, it's a self regulating valve. The greater global warming the, more likely there will be extreme weather!

Parrot of doom

23,075 posts

264 months

Friday 18th November 2005
quotequote all
deckster said:
Good? You're having a laugh aren't you? Costs far more to construct than it'll ever realistically produce


Proof please.

White_van_Man

Original Poster:

3,848 posts

279 months

Friday 18th November 2005
quotequote all
Parrot of doom said:
deckster said:
Good? You're having a laugh aren't you? Costs far more to construct than it'll ever realistically produce


Proof please.


i would be interested to see that aswell.

it can only be a good thing, ok its not that pretty but iv seen worse things, and it will generate enough power to run the whole of the new estate that they are building in reading.

Eric Mc

125,742 posts

295 months

Friday 18th November 2005
quotequote all
When there is no wind, there generate no power. When there is no wind, they actually CONSUME power as they have to be kept rotating to keep the mechanism lubricated and functioning properly. The power to keep them running has to come from the national grid.

If wind power was so marvellous, we would still be sailing ships like The Cutty Sark amd HMS Victory. There had to be some reason why no one uses it anymore.

>> Edited by Eric Mc on Friday 18th November 08:39

White_van_Man

Original Poster:

3,848 posts

279 months

Friday 18th November 2005
quotequote all
fair point but the power generated is going to be greater than the tickover power

Rob-C

1,488 posts

279 months

Friday 18th November 2005
quotequote all
It's not the wind that drives those turbine blades round. It's the cash subsidies.

2MW is a piffling amount of electricity and 4.5 million kWH/annum is only 25% of 2MW.

White_van_Man

Original Poster:

3,848 posts

279 months

Friday 18th November 2005
quotequote all
im all for these things, i would rather see a few of these appear around the country that a neuclear power station!!!!!

Thelemming

4,319 posts

295 months

Friday 18th November 2005
quotequote all
White_van_Man said:
im all for these things, i would rather see a few of these appear around the country that a neuclear power station!!!!!



One of these produces a tiny tiny fraction of a percentage point of the power produced by a single Nuclear power plant. A few thousands or tens of thousand perhaps to match the power from a single reactor...

cptsideways

13,885 posts

282 months

Friday 18th November 2005
quotequote all
Crikey the NIMBY's have been out in force everywhere with their propaganda.


Even if they are expensive, so what thats jobs created, thats wealth created. In exchange for what? electricity of course. Yes there are non windy days here in the UK, about 40 a year on average tops (though thats not UK wide - except in exceptional anticyclone weather like today!). Going by my very rough calculations thats 320 days a year of FREE to the "enviroment" electricty.

Utter B*****X about needing them to kept turning they just sit idle until a gust blows, they only need 3 knots of wind to start working.


Don't let the nimby's propaganda machine fool you.


If I was the government, I section the country up so each town/village/city had to provide its own electricty from its own resources, then we'd soon see a change of heart. What a power station in my back yard! OK what will it be then? No electricty at all? I think a locally sourced supply system would soon have everyone with a small wind turbine in their back yard if there was little or no alternative. Another 50 years when the coal/gas/oil supplies are drasticly expensive you'll soon change your minds



>> Edited by cptsideways on Friday 18th November 09:55

fidgits

17,202 posts

259 months

Friday 18th November 2005
quotequote all
I saw that yesterday - what an eyesore!

cptsideways

13,885 posts

282 months

Friday 18th November 2005
quotequote all
fidgits said:
I saw that yesterday - what an eyesore!


Which do you prefer then ?



White_van_Man

Original Poster:

3,848 posts

279 months

Friday 18th November 2005
quotequote all
cptsideways said:
fidgits said:
I saw that yesterday - what an eyesore!


Which do you prefer then ?





Munter

31,331 posts

271 months

Friday 18th November 2005
quotequote all
White_van_Man said:
im all for these things, i would rather see a few of these appear around the country that a neuclear power station!!!!!



Personally I'm up for nuke power. Ok so we need to store the waste REALLY safely. But that can be done and in time it'll become safe. I like wind turbines as well but think of all the energy that went into collecting the iron ore/smelting/casting/transporting, and then theres the fact if it's a still day they produce no electricity so it has to come from somewhere. If we dont have the coal and oil power stations wheres it coming from? Hydro?... I dont think we have any continuous Hydro power in the UK. Solar's out for the UK really.

If someone can come up with a really good reason not to build a new generation of nukes I'd like to hear it.....

>> Edited by Munter on Friday 18th November 10:04

jims2

208 posts

302 months

Friday 18th November 2005
quotequote all

Eh, "I dont think we have any continuous Hydro power in the UK"

Does your UK stop somewhere south of Watford ?

www.hydro.co.uk/

p.s. only joking with the Watford comment but we have had Hydro power in the UK
for a very long time.

cptsideways

13,885 posts

282 months

Friday 18th November 2005
quotequote all
I agree maybe that Nuke power would be a solution, but you would'nt want one in your back garden would you?


Anyway who mentioned reading & eyesores I think I'd rather see a wall of wind turbines from the M3 than whats currently there

Munter

31,331 posts

271 months

Friday 18th November 2005
quotequote all
jims2 said:

Eh, "I dont think we have any continuous Hydro power in the UK"

Does your UK stop somewhere south of Watford ?

www.hydro.co.uk/

p.s. only joking with the Watford comment but we have had Hydro power in the UK
for a very long time.


Oh we have hydro. But the only ones I know of store up water and then let it go ina "burst" significantly less than a day long. E.g. they are not a source of continuous power. Very usefull for TV ad brake spikes in demand, not so good for covering a non windy day. If you can find a hydro station in the UK that supplies continuous power i'll bet it provides less than a nuke...