WHY WE DON'T NEED MORE WIND POWER ON THE BRITISH GRID

Regarding wind turbines: the bottom line in all these debates, blogs, etc., is the fact that the general public is waking up to the understanding that we have gone past the point of no return, where any further deployment of wind-turbines in the UK cannot offer any carbon dioxide emission savings. So what is the point of subsidising any future wind-turbine developments when it is making the carbon emissions position worse?

Above this break even threshold, every 1MW generated by a wind turbine now de-loads a conventional power plant or gas turbine by 1MW. Because conventional generators are already de-loaded for a significant proportion of time, through each day and each year, their efficiency is lowered further and causes more CO2 emissions to be generated than is saved by the deployment of more wind-turbines.

If all factors including the carbon footprint of the double generation capacity factor requirements are accurately evaluated and the additional carbon footprints of all factors related to additional transmission systems such as manufacturing, installations, operations and maintenance and the energy transportation losses (caused by wind-turbines being located in far away places) are then added to the ever increasing carbon footprint total, then more carbon dioxide emissions will be generated than are saved.

This is staggering in itself, but what is more surprising is that the government is committed to more and more wind-turbines being put onto the system, turning a blind eye to the fact that it is making carbon emissions worse.

I believe that even reaching the target of 'so-called renewables' of 20% by 2020 will all ready be a step too far and yet there is a proposed target of reaching 50% by 2050. Why are our politicians continuing to bury their heads in the sand and take no notice of what is really happening around them???

What is being perpetuated is absolutely futile in that the government actions and future strategies are making CO2 emissions worse rather than better, and whilst doing so, they are burdening the nation with huge levels of debt to foreign companies.

It is costing the country a fortune in wasted money, taxing the poor, and giving to those who already have enough, and worse still, letting more of our monetary exchanges be transferred to other countries. We have already stripped our gold and silver and now we are effectively placing extra energy taxation burdens on each and every one of us to send abroad to foreign owners of our electricity assets.

How can this be allowed to continue?




George Wood, ex-Grid Controller (retired ‘Head of Technical and Economics, Balancing Services’, National Grid).


Published by permission .....-ND