Potential Wind Energy Investment Opportunity

We have been approached and asked to make known an opportunity to invest in a wind farm(s) project to Claverton members or their associates. Essentially this involves 600 MW capacity in a series of wind farms in various countries  with 30 MW in the UK. We have been told that agreements have been obtained with governments and land owners. […]

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Baseload nuclear power not needed in an all-renewable future

What square of land area of wind turbines would be needed in reasonable sites in the UK to in one year generate all UKs power demand?

Data

A 5 MW turbine rotor diameter is 126m ( from the Repower website http://www.repower.de/index.php?id=12&L=1 )

According to Martin Alder, a wind farm owner and developer:

Across wind turbine spacing = 3 x dia (Assume tower to tower)

Down wind turbine spacing = 5 x dia

According to Colin Palmer, of Wind Prospect, a leading wind farm developer, load factors of 30 – 35% onshore, and 40% offshore are readilly achievalbe.

So assume 33%.

Calculation

Take a 70 mile by 70 mile square. This equals 112 km by 112 km

So downwind, turbine spacing (tower to tower) will be 126 x 3 = 378m. Thus in 70 miles / 112 km we can accommodate (112 x 1000 / 378 ) +1 = 297.3 towers (allowing half blade length to protrude out of area at edges).

Similarly, cross wind, we need 5 x 126 = 630 m. Thus in 70 miles / 112 km we can accommodate (112 x 1000 /630) +1 = 178.8 towers (again allowing half blade length to protrude out of area at edges).

Thus a 70 mile by 70 mile square can accommodate 297.3 x 178.8 = 53,157 turbines..

At 5 MW each, these will generate at peak 265.7 GW.

Assuming reasonable sites and a 1/3 , 33% load factor, this will generate on average 79.73 GW.

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"They work and are quick to build: let the wind blow" Daily Telegraph, Thursday, July 16th – Dave Andrews is and independent energy consultant and Chair of the Claverton Group energy think tank

Daily Telegraph, Thursday, July 16th, page 5

Wind farms as is well know only work when the wind blows. This means that a turbine will on average, produce electricity on only one day out of three. However, this is not of itself an overwhelming disadvantage – as is often claimed.

Wind farms can still compete with other forms of electricity generation because although turbines are expensive to build, they have very low running costs.

The other argument against turbines is that they require back up when the wind is not blowing. This, too, is true. However, again it is not really a problem, since the power station needed to provide backup have already been built, and are cheap to keep on standby. Wind farms just make sure we use less of the fossil fuel than we would otherwise, therefore cutting emissions.

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