Growth of Renewable Energy Far Exceeds Predictions
One of the central themes here at 2GreenEnergy is that the rapid migration to renewable energy is happening right in front of our eyes. I’m reminded of the UK’s Duke of Edinburgh’s (pictured left) position on wind turbines (“They don’t work.”), which carries the same level of absurdity as pointing to plane in the sky and saying, “vehicles that are heavier than air can’t fly.”
Here’s an article that speaks to this very issue: the growth of clean energy is exceeding all expectations.
Craig,
Good Grief, i suppose you are aware that you are commenting on part of a private conversation by the 93 year old Duke of Edinburgh in 2011 ?
The Duke’s main opposition to the 410 ft wind generators in the location under discussion was aesthetics, wildlife preservation, and complaints about noise causing the Turbine to be shut down during peak periods.
The Guardian article also made the common error of associating the Crown Estates as being under the control of the Royal Family. In fact, the Crown in this case refers to the UK government.
Although technically independent of the political process, and activity is issued under the Sovereign’s name, The Crown Estate is formally accountable to the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Much as prosecution in the UK are headed, the Crown (or the Queen) v Joe Citizen.
The Duke’s comments are widely supported by many UK experts and refer to the siting of wind farms in unsuitable locations.
Support for the Duke’s opinion in 2011, was based on the determination by the EU and endorsed by the the PM Tony Blair that by 2020 40% of the UK’s power would be provided by Wind, and both consumers and taxpayer would be financially better off.
The reality is very different, and despite your fanciful defence of UK wind generation here is a summary from the Independant Auditor of Assisted Industries report.
” Intermittency of UK Wind Power Generation 2013 and 2014
April 2015
Executive Summary
This summary covers the principal findings of an analysis of electricity generation from all the UK wind turbine farms which are metered by National Grid,covering the period January 2013
to December 2014
.
The analysis shows:
Monitored wind turbine output (as measured by the National Grid) increased from 5,894MW to 8,403 MW over the period.
The average capacity factor ofall monitored wind turbines, onshore and offshore, across the whole of the UK,was 29.4% in 2013 and 28.8% in 2014.
The monthly average capacity factor varied from 11.1% (June 2014)to 48.8% (February 2014).
The time during which the wind turbines produced less than 10% of
their rated capacity totaled 3,278hours or 136.6daysover the two year period.
The time during which the wind turbines produced less than 5% of their rated capacity totaled 1,
172 hours or 48.8daysover the same period.
Minimum wind turbine outputs averaged 132MW (1.8% of capacity) in 2013 and 174MW (2.1%) in 2014 as measured over 30 minute intervals.
Variations in output of 75 to 1 have been observed in a single month
Maximum rise and fall in output over a one hour period was about 1000MW at the end of 2014 with a trend increase of about 250MW per year as measured over four years.
There is no correlation between UK wind turbine output and total UK electricity demand, with output often falling as demand rises and vice-versa.
The conclusions to be drawn from the analysis are that the increase in nominal capacity:
Does not increase the average wind turbine capacity factor.
Does not reduce the periods of low (less than 10% of installed capacity) or very low (less than 5%)output.
Does not reduce intermittency as measured by average monthly minimum output
Does not reduce intermittency or variability as measured by maximum rise and fall in output over one hour period
Does not indicate any possibility of closing any conventional, fossil-fuel power stations as there is no correlation between variations in output from wind turbines and demand on the Grid.
Therefore, based on the above, there is no case for a continued increase in the number of wind turbines connected to the Grid, or for the associated subsidies for wind energy, since this is an ineffective route to lower carbon dioxide emissions.”
It would seem that despite his advanced years the 93 year old Prince, may have some validly in his argument ?
(Oh, by the way, the Prince learned to fly on of those heavier than air machines before you we born !)
The growth of renewable power sources is creating significant problems which may curtail that growth.
“China’s government announced Thursday the country will shut down the production of new wind turbines in five provinces, as they cause serious damage to the electrical grid.”
Here is the source of the above quotation:
http://dailycaller.com/2016/07/21/china-shuts-down-construction-of-new-wind-turbines/
Australia is having similar problems:
http://dailycaller.com/2016/07/25/australia-considers-banning-wind-power-because-its-causing-blackouts/
Here is a more comprehensive article about the problems caused by intermittent sources of power; the article contains useful links:
http://oilprice.com/Energy/Energy-General/How-Intermittent-Renewables-Are-Harming-The-Electricity-Grid.html
So far the problems are less serious in the U.S., partly because the penetration of intermittent sources of power is much lower.
Obviously huge amounts of energy storage would mitigate the problems caused by intermittent sources of power. Here is a link to a thread in which energy storage systems are discussed. It would appear that it is questionable whether it would ever be possible to have sufficient energy storage to make intermittent sources of power practical:
https://bravenewclimate.com/2011/11/13/energy-storage-dt/
I’m not sure the good folks at OilPrice.com can be counted on to be objective.
We all know that there are going to be an array of challenges in the migration to renewable energy. Keep in mind that there are 74 GW of wind installed in the US alone; it’s already fairly big, and it’s working fairly well by most accounts.
Even a stopped clock is right twice per day. Of course it is reasonable to consider the source, but it is also necessary to evaluate careful what has been written than simple to dismiss it because of the source.
Wind power penetration here in the U.S. is much lower than in a number of other countries so the problems are less apparent. Also, the last link, i.e., the one about storage, is not influenced by the OilPrice.com organization.
Craig,
Maintaining a loyal optimistic faith in the efficacy of wind power in the face of mounting opposition and increasing evidence of inadequacies, isn’t really helpful.
You could say the same thing about ethanol or any other overpriced, taxpayer/consumer dependent technology.
Allowing inadequate industries to grow pervasive creates a dynamic where the development of superior technologies is retarded or even prevented.
The author of an article in “Oil Price’ may or may not be biased, but when the information is supported by such reputable source as Independent Auditor of Assisted Industries reports, and similar studies start to emerge it might be time to stop sneering at the opinions of elderly commentators, and start reconsidering whether you should re-examine the dynamics of Wind Power with a little more objectivity.