Profs: Massive use of wind turbines won't destroy the environment

Wind Turbines...

.... not a big fan.

Re: Naughty Lewis

Though to be fair, this isn't some silly spat between iPhone and Android users. This stuff actually matters.

We really are stuck in a world which, both at the same time, has politicians who largely accept that we're stuffing up the climate with emissions, yet by their decisions are guaranteeing that civilisation will continue to be powered mainly by digging up and burning vast quantities of fossil fuels and liberating it into the atmosphere.

Wind Turbines in the UK are effectively just expensive, occasionally operating spare parts for gas and coal fired power stations. We still need just as many of these fossil plants as we would do if there were no wind turbines, because sometimes the wind doesn't blow at all.

What we need to be doing is removing the reliance of fossil base-load power stations in the first place.

Germany - supposedly the 'Greenest' large country in Europe, is busy pushing up its carbon emissions massively (only they take place over the border. How convenient). In the UK, we've watched our nuclear industry atrophy to the point that most of it will be offline in 20 years, and we're belatedly having to bus in the French to tell us how to build new ones because our own people are retiring.

So, at the very point in history where we ought to be racing to completely replace our dependence on fossil fuels, the world is, each year, growing at an extremely fast rate the amount of CO2 liberated from fossil sources.

The world has gone mad, I tell thee!

It doesent matter how many 3xn times the words output it costs

The moment its cheaper than the alternative they will do it, or similar with other options.

Its only expensive untill the opportunity cose changes from, "we do this and I cant afford my iPhone 7" to "we either do this or we die"

And the costs to the country are not actually as bad as they seem. Tre money being spent on people within the various countries, which is kind of the point of Governments having cash in the first place (outside of lineing their own pockets as it the case currently)

Anyway all the need to do is funnel the money they are currently giving the dirty pig bankers to the energy dudes and voila, jobs a good en

Even better in that we can then use the power we create to burn the bankers to little smidgens of dirty ash

"extraction of massive amounts of energy from the atmosphere by huge numbers of wind turbines (as would be required if the human race were to be powered to any large degree by renewables)"

That doesn't follow. You could put the hyperbole in massive bold font, to make it look impressive I guess, but it still doesn't follow.

neodymium

efficient turbines require lightweight magnets requires Neodymium requires rare earth mining means a giant hole in Inner Mongolia, China results in all our monies are belong to them.

how green is the rare earth mine in Bāotóu? But that's OK, because it's over there, along with all our jobs.

Wind Power doesn't have to be expensive.

We should be seeing micro generation everywhere. Instead of a cihmney, you'd see a small turbine. Smaller generation everywhere. It's not a be all end all its a link in the chain of power generation. That much less power needs to be generated by conventional means.

It's not rocket science. There are just too many skeptics/haters. Shame that waste of energy couldn't be put to much better use.

Cant do right for doing wrong....

Climate, Is it changing? .......... yes

Is Human activity responsible for this change? ... Maybe, maybe not.

Can we do anything?..... if it is indeed human activity then not unless mankind as a whole changes the way we live our lives, but this is not likely to ever happen, so no.

Wind farms and solar arrays are not the answer for large scale power generation. The cost per KWH to supply the renewable power sources is too high. The only real advantage to wind farms I can see is that they can be made in our own country so we will not be relying on Australia, Indonesia and Russia for coal, Russia and the Arab league for gas/oil and Kazakhstan, Canada, Australia and some African nations for uranium to supply us with the fuels to generate power, The only real option is nuclear power.

That said, Living on the coast, with an un-obstructed south facing roof, we opted to get a large solar panel and a wind turbine fitted. Combined they produce about 15KWh on a sunny but windy day (like today). During the summer months it generates about 80% of our daily power requirements and about 35% of the winter requirement. With the payments from the feed in tariffs it has reduced our energy costs by a significant amount and will have covered the installation costs within about 4 years. less, with the rate energy has gone up and is likely to go up, this will be less, maybe, 3 years. I have even considered getting a diesel generator for the shortfall and go completely mains free....

We are situated in a near enough perfect position for solar and wind generation. Many places are not so well suited. I have seen some damn awful installations, one house not far from us has solar panels on its north facing roof, they will be lucky to make back what it cost to buy and install it in its serviceable lifetime.

My choices for renewable energy sources were not made on any preconception that I was saving the earth, but purely one of a long term economic saving, which with the rise in energy costs is going to mature sooner than anticipated. Do I wish I had gone"green" sooner, hell yes, If I had gone for it first time I considered it I would be on "free" energy by now....

"With the payments from the feed in tariffs it has reduced our energy costs by a significant amount and will have covered the installation costs within about 4 years."

The FIT are a subsidy paid for by everyone else (who does not have solar).

Without the subsidy it would be a complete NON starter as the payback would be never.

'"Do I wish I had gone"green" sooner, hell yes, If I had gone for it first time I considered it I would be on "free" energy by now...."

Paid for by people with less money than you obviously. These solar installations are put in either by companies or richer individuals so essentially paid for by everyone else - i.e. typically poorer people (who could not afford the installation) or probably 50% of people who do not have a suitable (south facing) roof and people in flats, people who rent etc.

So before you get too smug that you are saying some cash remember it's other people that are paying for it and also the increased energy cost - well you are fuelling that rise - the more solar we install the more expensive electricity will become.