2 ms·

> each one can generate enough electricity to power 16,000 homes, at less than the average price of electricity in the wholesale energy market. This is the kin

> each one can generate enough electricity to power 16,000 homes, at less than the average price of electricity in the wholesale energy market. This is the kind of wishes presented as facts that discredite almost all articles about new renewables. They don't say if this 16k figure is peak charge, they don't say how these homes are powered when the wind is down, if this price includes all costs (transport, subventions, storage...), etc. It gives the impression that electricity works like fuel : you just extract it, then use it when you want.

bambataa 6y ago
They don’t write “this nuclear power station powers X homes, apart from the 20% of the time when it’s tripped off”, so at least they’re consistent.
imtringued 6y ago
The 220m turbine is rated for 12MW meaning if it turns at full speed it will provide 12MW of power. What you are worrying about is the capacity factor. The capacity factor is a percentage of the average load on the turbine. Wind turbines generally have around a 50% capacity factor so if you install a 12MW turbine it will generate 6MW per hour averaged over the entire year. The capacity factor entirely depends on location so you cannot make a general statement about the capacity factor just based on looking at the turbine itself. > they don't say how these homes are powered when the wind is down You can run gas plants, which you have to do anyway because they produce less CO2 than coal plants. The nice property of gas power plants is that the fuel is quite expensive, meaning you only run them when you have to. So naturally they will yield to renewables if there is wind available. >It gives the impression that electricity works like fuel : you just extract it, then use it when you want. If you run wind power to avoid CO2 emissions then that's exactly the way it works. It doesn't matter when you stop burning gas. What really matters is that you are burning less gas. CO2 levels in the atmosphere were 280ppm before the industrial revolution. It took much less than 200 years to add another 45% CO2 on top of that. We are at 409.8ppm now. This means 120ppm or around 30% of the CO2 in the atmosphere is man made and that percentage is going to increase in the future. You have to consider that not all of the CO2 ends up in the atmosphere. A lot of it is also absorbed by the ocean. It took a lot of human effort to get this far and now we have to stop it from getting worse.

bambataa 6y ago

They don’t write “this nuclear power station powers X homes, apart from the 20% of the time when it’s tripped off”, so at least they’re consistent.

imtringued 6y ago

The 220m turbine is rated for 12MW meaning if it turns at full speed it will provide 12MW of power. What you are worrying about is the capacity factor. The capacity factor is a percentage of the average load on the turbine. Wind turbines generally have around a 50% capacity factor so if you install a 12MW turbine it will generate 6MW per hour averaged over the entire year. The capacity factor entirely depends on location so you cannot make a general statement about the capacity factor just based on looking at the turbine itself. > they don't say how these homes are powered when the wind is down You can run gas plants, which you have to do anyway because they produce less CO2 than coal plants. The nice property of gas power plants is that the fuel is quite expensive, meaning you only run them when you have to. So naturally they will yield to renewables if there is wind available. >It gives the impression that electricity works like fuel : you just extract it, then use it when you want. If you run wind power to avoid CO2 emissions then that's exactly the way it works. It doesn't matter when you stop burning gas. What really matters is that you are burning less gas. CO2 levels in the atmosphere were 280ppm before the industrial revolution. It took much less than 200 years to add another 45% CO2 on top of that. We are at 409.8ppm now. This means 120ppm or around 30% of the CO2 in the atmosphere is man made and that percentage is going to increase in the future. You have to consider that not all of the CO2 ends up in the atmosphere. A lot of it is also absorbed by the ocean. It took a lot of human effort to get this far and now we have to stop it from getting worse.