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Saw an article yesterday and I can't remember where, (well - I - was in a pub for hours waiting for an uncancelled train..) about a new design of 12Mb turbines, with obviously higher load factors. I'll leave Martyn to flesh out the detail.
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Many thanks Winky.
The incredible thing about these ever larger WT's is that by simply being taller, they catch better/stronger winds, and this means more generation per year, by that I mean a 12MW generates more than just 1.5x more than an 8MW over a year.
The early off-shore wind farms were running at something like 30% capacity factor (that's approx 30% of their nameplate eg 2MW x 24hrs x 365 days).
Now we are getting around 40% cf from the later deployments, and the government and industry expect averages of about 50%cf with the even bigger 'monsters' being deployed now and in the future.
More boring stats, whilst cf tells us that on average they will generate about 50% of their nameplate over a year, they will also generate for about 85% of the time, and the UK wind farm fleet now generates approx 100% of the time when all combined, though of course at times that generation will be very low.
UK offshore wind capacity factorsMart. Cardiff. 5.58 kWp PV systems (3.58 ESE & 2.0 WNW). Two A2A units for cleaner heating.
For general PV advice please see the PV FAQ thread on the Green & Ethical Board.0 -
Scientists in the US have had enough!
Politics & Climate Change: More Scientists Running For Congress In Affront To TrumpMart. Cardiff. 5.58 kWp PV systems (3.58 ESE & 2.0 WNW). Two A2A units for cleaner heating.
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Nice news, both lower CO2 transport, and good use of waste to make bio-gas, and a good use of bio-gas.
Reading Buses Testing 17 Scania Double-Decker Biogas BusesMart. Cardiff. 5.58 kWp PV systems (3.58 ESE & 2.0 WNW). Two A2A units for cleaner heating.
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A big battery for Swindon. 50MW/50MWh batt planned.
Green light for Swindon Council’s huge energy storage facilityThe project is designed to have a 30-year lifespan and will offer a long-term land rental income for Swindon Borough Council. It will be able to deliver balancing services for National Grid, to help enable the growing proportion of renewable generation in the UK, making a significant contribution to the future flexibility of the UK’s energy system and helping reduce costs for consumers.Connecting large batteries to the National Grid helps to smooth out the peaks and troughs which occur in power demand, and match them better with variable supply. The batteries can be used to store energy when it is abundant, and therefore cheaper, and discharge it when demand is greater and the cost is higher. The technology also helps reduce the need for expensive investment in upgrading the grid, also helping reduce energy costs for consumers in the long run.
Swindon Council gets planning consent for 50MW battery storage scheme, seeks developersMart. Cardiff. 5.58 kWp PV systems (3.58 ESE & 2.0 WNW). Two A2A units for cleaner heating.
For general PV advice please see the PV FAQ thread on the Green & Ethical Board.0 -
Martyn1981 wrote: »Hiya, the guy behind it chats on the navitron forum under 'azps'. Incredibly helpful and informative, really knows his stuff, I've posted this old article before as it's so interesting:-
The UK is the Saudi Arabia of wind energy
From the article: "So, as the chart above shows, the UK!!!8217;s annual average offshore wind resource is somewhere between 1.5 times larger, and 11 times larger, than 2011 Saudi Arabian energy production. And the great thing is that the wind won!!!8217;t run out."
But, as the many RE skeptics will tell us, the wind can stop blowing (or vary hugely in strength). However, the answer to that is a European wide linked grid to balance out the lulls:
https://www.theguardian.com/news/2017/jul/27/balancing-out-the-lulls-of-wind-power-with-a-wider-reach-across-europe
"For example a winter blocking pattern over northern Europe (where high pressure slackens the wind for days on end) is often balanced by increased wind speeds in surrounding areas. So, wind turbines in the Balkans, Greece, the western Mediterranean and northern Scandinavia all have great potential for filling the energy gap."5.18 kWp PV systems (3.68 E/W & 1.5 E).
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Hipile-o-stone wrote: »From the article: "So, as the chart above shows, the UK!!!8217;s annual average offshore wind resource is somewhere between 1.5 times larger, and 11 times larger, than 2011 Saudi Arabian energy production. And the great thing is that the wind won!!!8217;t run out."
But, as the many RE skeptics will tell us, the wind can stop blowing (or vary hugely in strength). However, the answer to that is a European wide linked grid to balance out the lulls:
https://www.theguardian.com/news/2017/jul/27/balancing-out-the-lulls-of-wind-power-with-a-wider-reach-across-europe
"For example a winter blocking pattern over northern Europe (where high pressure slackens the wind for days on end) is often balanced by increased wind speeds in surrounding areas. So, wind turbines in the Balkans, Greece, the western Mediterranean and northern Scandinavia all have great potential for filling the energy gap."
Yes, however ... the UK has one of the greatest offshore wind resources on the planet simply because of location, therefore it would be pretty hard to make up for a wind generation shortfall here by simply relying on other (less windy) areas .... To place this into context, in 2017 the UK installed over 50% of the total for new net wind generation capacity for the EU!
The key to the issue is storage, most likely large scale pumped hydro, the problem is that it's a reality that is in denial, particularly by politicians ... just look at the number 'save-the-everything' groups that wind turbines have upset enough to become politically vocal, just imagine the number that would come out of the woodwork if proposals were made for flooding significant areas of the UK's upland valleys !! ...
HTH
Z"We are what we repeatedly do, excellence then is not an act, but a habit. " ...... Aristotle
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pile-o-stone wrote: »But, as the many RE skeptics will tell us, the wind can stop blowing (or vary hugely in strength). However, the answer to that is a European wide linked grid to balance out the lulls:
Some good news is that UK off-shore wind farms each generate approx 85% of the time, and collectively it's about 100% of the time. Of course it's important to note that actual generation at those 85th and 100th percentiles will be very low, but at least some generation will be trickling in.
See load duration curves in this link, once again from the mighty azps.
The start of that link also shows the capacity factors of the UK off-shore fleet, and they have been rising as the newer farms use ever taller WT's that can 'farm' stronger more consistent winds from higher up.
But, there's no hiding from the problem of intermittency, so a mix of RE sources and storage is needed, but personally, I think it's also important to mention the gas fleet - we can meet our CO2 targets so long as we use only a small amount of gas, perhaps 10%. But of course CO2 is not a daily/local problem, it's an average problem, so we could use gas for 50% or even 100% of our needs at times, so long as the annual average is low. The existing gas fleet is over 20GW, so can meet 50% of demand on average.
Leading me on to bio-energy, particularly bio-gas, or hydrogen, which can be made and stored, possibly from excess RE generation at times of low demand/low export price, and stored quite compactly.
No easy answers here and any solution will almost certainly involve some overcapacity (and spill) of RE generation, but so long as the average cost is low, that should be absorbed within a reasonable overall price.
................. I think? :think:Mart. Cardiff. 5.58 kWp PV systems (3.58 ESE & 2.0 WNW). Two A2A units for cleaner heating.
For general PV advice please see the PV FAQ thread on the Green & Ethical Board.0 -
Hi
The key to the issue is storage, most likely large scale pumped hydro, the problem is that it's a reality that is in denial, particularly by politicians ... just look at the number 'save-the-everything' groups that wind turbines have upset enough to become politically vocal, just imagine the number that would come out of the woodwork if proposals were made for flooding significant areas of the UK's upland valleys !! ...
HTH
Z
Another possibility, I think I've mentioned years ago, is for the UK to pay for catchment lagoons to be built at Norwegian hydro plants.
We then build two-way interconnectors (can interconnectors be one way?) and use excess generation to pump water back up, then use that PHS as ours when needed.
Alternatively, but similar, is for Norway to do this themselves, and also to build new hydro resources, as apparently they have 20GW of relatively easy additional potential. They then act as Europe's battery, a role identified way back under the Desertec idea, which listed the UK's role as one of off-shore wind ..... bringing me back to the start.Mart. Cardiff. 5.58 kWp PV systems (3.58 ESE & 2.0 WNW). Two A2A units for cleaner heating.
For general PV advice please see the PV FAQ thread on the Green & Ethical Board.0
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