10 ms·

Impressive. But the headline is slightly deceptive, as 53% is the maximum ever recorded. What's more impressive is the that over the 24 hours presented the co

by chrisb 17y ago

Impressive. But the headline is slightly deceptive, as 53% is the maximum ever recorded. What's more impressive is the that over the 24 hours presented the contribution from wind never drops beneath 30%. Contrast this with the current UK renewables target of 15% by 2020 (http://www.decc.gov.uk/en/content/cms/what_we_do/uk_supply/energy_mix/renewable/res/res.aspx http://www.decc.gov.uk/en/content/cms/what_we_do/uk_supply/e...)

electromagnetic 17y ago
Spain receives colossal amounts of wind energy from the Sahara. IIRC winds have been known to continue without a break for weeks, if not months. When you have 9 million square kilometres to your south and an oceanic climate to your north, you tend to get a lot of wind. The reason the UK gets so little wind in comparison is that the prevailing wind comes directly from Spain, just a lot later. Although anyone who's spent a few years in the UK can testify, you either have a weak Saharan wind or a strong Siberian wind. The UK's best potential for renewable energy is if we ever get the technology to tap the gulf stream, as it wraps around the UK meaning it likely won't have to disrupt any shipping lanes. As the Gulf stream holds over 100 times the energy used yearly by the whole world, it could certainly be marginally tapped without any effect on the circulation. By marginally I mean we could likely supply the present day world without consequence.
- narag 17y ago
  Where did you get your data from? Most of the time, here in Spain, the wind come from the Atlantic Ocean, from an area a hundred miles to the west of UK. And it's nothing special, compared with France, AFAICT. The wind from the east blows a half as often and it's only strong near Tarifa.
dbz 17y ago
I don't see how it is deceptive. It's stated quite plainly that it is a record, and not a normal occurrence. (None of this is spoken in a harsh, rude, or sarcastic tone.) How would you say it differently? (Real question.)
- iujhgfvvgbhnj 17y ago
  The title suggests peak energy demand, in fact it achieved it at minimum energy demand (early hours of Sunday morning) It's like an airport saying that all it's flights were on time at peak - then saying that they didn't mean thanksgiving, they meant that on sunay morning they peaked by getting both flights out on time.
- chrisb 17y ago
  The headline has been edited since I made the comment. It originally didn't start "At peak". It is now more representative of the article.
lallysingh 17y ago
Hmm, I don't know if I'm so jaded by bs news attention grabbing at this point or what, but I assumed that it hitting 53% was the news story, hence it being an event (and implicitly, a peak), not a steady-state average.

by chrisb 17y ago

electromagnetic 17y ago

Spain receives colossal amounts of wind energy from the Sahara. IIRC winds have been known to continue without a break for weeks, if not months. When you have 9 million square kilometres to your south and an oceanic climate to your north, you tend to get a lot of wind. The reason the UK gets so little wind in comparison is that the prevailing wind comes directly from Spain, just a lot later. Although anyone who's spent a few years in the UK can testify, you either have a weak Saharan wind or a strong Siberian wind. The UK's best potential for renewable energy is if we ever get the technology to tap the gulf stream, as it wraps around the UK meaning it likely won't have to disrupt any shipping lanes. As the Gulf stream holds over 100 times the energy used yearly by the whole world, it could certainly be marginally tapped without any effect on the circulation. By marginally I mean we could likely supply the present day world without consequence.

narag 17y ago
Where did you get your data from? Most of the time, here in Spain, the wind come from the Atlantic Ocean, from an area a hundred miles to the west of UK. And it's nothing special, compared with France, AFAICT. The wind from the east blows a half as often and it's only strong near Tarifa.

dbz 17y ago

I don't see how it is deceptive. It's stated quite plainly that it is a record, and not a normal occurrence. (None of this is spoken in a harsh, rude, or sarcastic tone.) How would you say it differently? (Real question.)

iujhgfvvgbhnj 17y ago
The title suggests peak energy demand, in fact it achieved it at minimum energy demand (early hours of Sunday morning) It's like an airport saying that all it's flights were on time at peak - then saying that they didn't mean thanksgiving, they meant that on sunay morning they peaked by getting both flights out on time.
chrisb 17y ago
The headline has been edited since I made the comment. It originally didn't start "At peak". It is now more representative of the article.

lallysingh 17y ago

Hmm, I don't know if I'm so jaded by bs news attention grabbing at this point or what, but I assumed that it hitting 53% was the news story, hence it being an event (and implicitly, a peak), not a steady-state average.