An end to the flawed technology of wind "farms"
Wind "farm" technology is flawed and has been disproven. It's "popular" because the huge corporations make vast profits from the subsidies available.
If no other fact persuades you, our coldest spells of weather coincide with no or little wind and thus windfarms are redundant at times of peak demand - as happened in December.
Richard Gilbert
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617 comments
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Phil Driscoll
commented
Stuart, this is exactly the kind of misinformation I'm talking about. What you are implying is that the mid-wales wind farms operate 18% of the time, and by implication, produce no electricity for 82% of the time. I'd love to see the data to back this up. I can imagine that they might only produce peak output 18% of the time, but I'm sure it's misleading to say they produce nothing at all the rest of the time. See
http://www.eci.ox.ac.uk/publications/downloads/sinden05-dtiwindreport.pdf
page 5 which states "In the UK, a typical wind turbine will generate some
electricity for 80-85% of all hours in the year." -
anita ashworth
commented
The truth needs to be known
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Stuart Owen
commented
Thanks for the link Phil. I read the report and found a fact that was startlingly misleading, in that wind farms 'can' operate for 80-85% of the time. Mid Wales wind farms have been operating at closer on 18% of the time. That huge variation in calculated and actual output alone, should question the validity of using wind farms. Especially when plans exist to build 800 more turbines in the same area.
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Phil Driscoll
commented
In view of the extraordinary amount of unsubstantiated disinformation appearing on this thread, can I please encourage people to read the following report, 'Addressing public concerns about wind power'
http://www.cse.org.uk/news/view/1535
which tries to present the facts in a balanced manner, based on peer reviewed information sources. -
Mike Cullen
commented
Wind is shameful waste of money for something that is only,at best, 20% efficient. Whatever happened to Hydro? We are an island nation surrounded by water. Since the Moon was invented the sea has moved in and out every12 hours without fail you can almost set your watch to it. Forget wind,go water
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Carole O'Reilly
commented
Wind power is not green. Let's start calling it black.
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Carole O'Reilly
commented
Wind power causes mass destruction of our prime asset, the landscape, for derisory energy and no CO2 saving. Why are we continuing this madness? The enemies of our country are within. This is worse than China. Cumulatively the turbines will blanket our beautiful uplands like cloves stuck into a christingle orange - but 600 feet high. It's vandalism on a monstrous scale. Why isn't the Prince of Wales stopping this?
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Tom
commented
Everything positive I have read about wind turbines and thei effects on their surroundings do not outweigh their drawbacks. It seems most of the people in favor of wind turbines are the ones who haven't done much research on them or are benefiting financially from them.
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Sonya Smith
commented
The wholescale destruction of this landscape and wildlife can’t be justified. Wind factories don’t work; they require conventional power station back up, blow least when needed most, generate more carbon than they save,blanket bog destruction increases flooding risk. Communities they engulf will be profoundly and adversely affected . Time and money spend pursuing this inefficient intermittent technology should be spent on researching methods that will really address our energy and global issues.
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Anonymous
commented
Paul Taylor suggests we try "new technologies". Well, Denmark and Germany got there before us and are now finding out what a flawed technology it is.
20% efficiency and next to none in winter when High pressure arrives along with -15.0C and no wind.
Wind factories are over-hyped by those growing fat on the subsidies.
We need wise politicians to pull the plug on this blind alley. -
Gareth Thomas
commented
As before, didn't find the voting button
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Gareth Thomas
commented
I have only read the more recent comments here, but it is obvious that nobody really understands the true scale of what is being planned. It is not just the resulting massacre of the beautiful landscape, but also the mass disruption to local business' during the construction. The scale of what is being planned will gridlock the roads for years which will cause many business' to fold with many job losses (far more than any job creation that wind farms offer). People should look at the scale of the projects planned before offering illinformed comments.
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Tom
commented
Paul Taylor - the fact that so may people are pushing forward with wind turbines despite the proven inefficiencies and harm it causes communities shows that they are the ones who need to reconsider their actions.
If it was required that homes and buildings install solar panels, we would all see a much better way to save on electric costs.
All these wind farms being put up at such a frenzied rate (many of them way too close to where people live which causes a large percentage of them physical harm) shows that it it is THEY who are narrow-minded.
Yes, keep researching ways to make these wind turbines efficient (as well as other methods of power generation) but for now, I think they way too many landowners and many politicians are pushing forward despite such obvious shortcomings is short-sighted and greedy.
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nigel
commented
If the whole of the UK economy worked at less than 20% efficiency 50% of the time and worse at times like wind power, the debt we are in at the moment would be peanuts compared to being bankrupt. Why are politicians so keen when it opposes any business ethics normally adopted? If wind power could replace all the nasties like coal and nuclear fair enough, but it's not you are still going to have conventional power stations. All that any supporters of wind power are going to do is line the pockets of politicians and corporate big wigs through subsidies what we the tax payer will fund because it cannot generate profit on that sort of efficiency, Get real people, scottish windfarms have been paid thousands to shut down when they have too much wind, who by? us.
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R.Fairweather
commented
How green is their folly?
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Andy Mason
commented
Wind power? you cannot be serious?
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Andy Mason
commented
Wind power? you cannot be serious?
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Brigitte
commented
Renewables, yes. on shore wind farms, no. Other than micro generation that is.
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Paul Taylor
commented
Turbines may not provide the whole answer but they, like offshore wind & tidal power, can provided a fair chunk of future power. Passing the turbines in Cornwall does not show 'vast damage to the environment & natural landscape'.
I don't believe people of the future will worry so much about the countryside's beauty, so long as they can cook, keep warm and see in their homes at night!
You can all protest as much as you like about the 'greed' of land-owners, developers & Government but no-one does anything in this world unless money is involved. Regarding Coal-fired power stations, well don't you realise they are chucking out load of nasties? (http://tranquilityhouses.org.uk/wordpress/2010/07/climate-change-is-there-an-early-warning-system-4/)
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Phil Bettley
commented
Expecting windfarms to generate significant amounts of energy is like using a slow cooker to feed a 500 people. It's the minidisc of music - good idea at the time but soon superseded by better technology. But .. the bandwagon is rolling and a financial scandal looming. It has to be stopped.
