Dispelling the hot air over windfarms. (Crewe Chronicle, August 2013).

Dear Sir

 

As a Chartered Electrical Engineer I believe I can offer some common sense and objectivity in the discussion over a proposed Wind Turbine.

 

The case for Wind Turbines, and justification for the 11% surcharge on everyone’s energy bills which subsidises them, is based on published government figures, claiming that the 4072 Wind Turbines in the UK will contribute 6.3GW (Gigawatts) of power for the National Grid. A quick bit of maths reveals this would require each turbine to produce over 1.5MW (Megawatts).

 

Technical Data from the Danish Manufacturers of most of the UK’s wind turbines shows that to achieve this, each Turbine would need to be at least 64m in diameter (large off-shore turbines have rotors of this size) and the wind would need blow at a constant and ideal 15m/s (meters per second).

 

Clearly, the government’s figures are based on a best-case, ideal set of circumstances that can never be achieved. The wind seldom blows at exactly 15m/s, let alone constantly. Indeed at wind speeds of above 20m/s, most Wind Turbines must be deactivated to prevent damage or destruction to their delicate mechanisms. Hence, the case for this particular form of renewable energy is completely flawed.

 

My reasoning is confirmed by consideration of the National Grid’s own on-line, real-time information for the amount of power produced by each source at any time. (http://www.gridwatch.templar.co.uk/). As your readers will see, the actual amount of power generated by Wind Turbines rarely exceeds 0.5GW, less than 10% of the figures claimed by the government.

 

The environmental justification for Wind Turbines also flawed. Because the power they produce is intermittent and unpredictable, Gas Fired Power Stations must be kept running ‘on standby’ to make up the difference when they are not operational. Running a Gas Fired Power Station in this ‘on-off-on-off’ manner is far less efficient than running it constantly, just like a car engine.

 

On this basis, I would suggest that the funding of Wind Turbines through massive public subsidy is based on a con, is costing us billions of pounds, and storing up huge energy generation capacity issues for the future. It makes far more sense to invest in more predictable tidal and wave renewable energy sources, and in the research and development of Thorium based Molten Salt Process Nuclear Reactors, which have many advantages.

 

It is this sort of accurate scientific and economic based reasoning that underpins all UKIP policies, including that on Energy.

 

Cllr. Stuart Hutton CEng MIET (UKIP).