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Wind figures don't add up
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I and most of the UK population have been led to believe that wind turbines are the way forward and they are the cutting edge of power generation.
Just what we need in our fight against climate change and CO2 emissions. No one has gone out of their way to dispel this belief.
It is about time that they did.
Look at any website which has asked questions on their viability and you will very soon see that we as a nation are being taken for a ride.
It is no wonder that companies are queuing up to erect wind turbines in this country virtually anywhere they please because they have the backing of the Government, in their quest to have 10% of our energy produced from renewable sources by 2010.
Do wind turbines actually achieve their full output? No, that would be impossible because the wind does not blow all the time. At best the turbines will only produce 29% of their maximum output. This can be a lot less depending on the site.
So why are these companies queuing up? It is a licence to print money. The government pays huge subsidies for each turbine, for example, a single two megawatt wind turbine operating at 30% load factor, would receive an annual subsidy of over £235,000.
That is our money. No wonder they can pay large sums to land owners for rent. A one megawatt wind turbine at 30% load factor will support 600 homes
A 1,000 MW “proper” power station at 80% load factor will support 1,600,000 homes
No real contest is there, given that it would require 2,667 one megawatt wind turbines to make as much electricity and that they would occupy over 500 km2, not to mention the constant fluctuation of supply, with all its disadvantages.
So the urgent question we all need to be asking the government is: Why is it still pursuing this form of renewable energy?
Keith Mursell
Bodmin
5 December 2007
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