Wind Farms

[doodab]

That is pretty dire.

Indeed. We're absolutely ****ed. Unless we can invent some means of somehow storing energy for later or something.

[minestrone]

Lot of people were working on wind farm projects on the final year in Engineering. Basically feeding through tapes of the noise produced into frequency analysers and trying to work out the efficiency of the system. They would change in efficiency by 5% if the midges had clogged up the propellers and had to get washed every week.

[minestrone]

Indeed. We're absolutely ****ed. Unless we can invent some means of somehow storing energy for later or something.

Cruachan Dam, but that only lasts for a day and it is powered by nuclear during the day.

[scooterscot]

Indeed. We're absolutely ****ed. Unless we can invent some means of somehow storing energy for later or something.

One such company in the borders has already done this, some years ago in fact. Energy surplus to requirements is used to separate rain water via the process of electrolysis. Compressed hydrogen is stored within an underground tank for later use in fuel cells. It works a charm. The heat given off by the cells is used to maintain the building temperate while the generated electricity is consumed in the normal way.

This entire thread is nothing more than media reaction to support the news corporations agenda, which is nothing to do with progress. Denouncing science and engineering for headlines. Makes me

[scooterscot]

Cruachan Dam, but that only lasts for a day and it is powered by nuclear during the day.

I did the tour of that place some 15 year ago, have you ever been inside? It's like a tropical oasis with palm trees and other plants you'd expect to find in the far east! The next time you're driving towards Oban and it's snowing do the tour, it messes with your mind.

[d000hg]

So windfarms are great, provided we can make the world a windier place. Won't climate change mean lots of wind?

[doodab]

Cruachan Dam, but that only lasts for a day and it is powered by nuclear during the day.

I was thinking of things like say batteries or flywheels or some sort of thermal system. Perhaps by hoisting some big concrete or iron weights up and then letting them fall or something.

It could also be distributed so that energy was stored where needed, rather than having to build some massive thing the size of Belgium.

[minestrone]

I did the tour of that place some 15 year ago, have you ever been inside? It's like a tropical oasis with palm trees and other plants you'd expect to find in the far east! The next time you're driving towards Oban and it's snowing do the tour, it messes with your mind.

Done the Hunterston tour but not the Cruachan one. Driven past the place a few times.

[minestrone]

I was thinking of things like say batteries or flywheels or some sort of thermal system. Perhaps by hoisting some big concrete or iron weights up and then letting them fall or something.

The SNP are wanting to get a power cable to Norway who are offering to build multiples of these energy reservoirs. Someone has to get them told they are living in a fantasy land. Nuclear produces 55% of Scotland's energy with 2 stations.

[TimberWolf]

Another alternative I read about are smart meters. These aren't clever units of distance, but I guess are ones that vary the price per unit of electricity, dependent on supply. So a deep freezer might only operate at night or something and you hold fire on doing your washing until the wind blows unless you want to pay more. I might have made all that up though. It might also spark interest in home energy storage, which might even be sold back to the grid. Electricity speculation!