And now for something....

[Guest]

completly different.

Windfarms on UK coast .. Good or Bad for yotting ? ... discuss !

 

[Guest]

Onshore or off.

As long as they are onshore, I don't think they will pose much of a problem for yachtsmen although they may prove a bit of an eye sore. The people who are going to complain are those who live nearby because, if they are anything like the ones I have seen and heard in Spain and elsewhere, they are infernally loud and visually very intrusive.

That said, they are better than a smoke belching powerstation and as green as an under-ripe gooseberry so we have to support them, don't we.

How many wind farms do we need to build to replace on moderate sized powerstation?

 

[Guest]

I think that we have plenty of wind, thank you, and do not need to be growing any more.

I mean, you can just here the farmers cant you...

"Oh Jim, been a bad year for wind it has, I guess I will just have to put in for my EU wind crop failure subsidy again this year."

Now, I think that if we are going to start a new crop, how about icefields? Right on the coast so we can always have some cubes for our drinks.

 

[Guest]

Do you think an icefield in the solent

would reduce the need to antifoul, cos I'll vote for that. Mind you McDonalds might want to build on it, or even nick the ice for their soft drinks. LoL.

Dave Beckett

 

[Guest]

Seen Onshore windfarms at Blyth and near Whitehaven.

They didn't cause me a problem. Noise from turbines not as great as noise from wind in mast and rigging.

Not seen the new off shore machine near Blyth - I assume its well marked and I think if you were near enough to hit the thing you would be in fairly deep do do anyway.

The big machines can generate up to 500kW the largest power station in the UK generates 4000kw - about 10% of the UK capacity. So we would need an awful lot of windmills to replace coal/oil/nuclear.

 

[Guest]

Offshore windfarms

Lets think a bit about th eoff shore variety. Will the sails/aerofoils clear masts? Will they create calm areas where we can't sail? If they come in flotillas or batalions, will they make large no go area in the sea? I think tye might be a dreadful menace.

 

[Guest]

Offshore on the East Coast...

The Anglia TV website had this little news story the other day:-

"Three major off-shore wind farms are set to be built in our region. It is part of a national strategy to increase Britain's supply of wind powered electricity. Two are set to be built in Norfolk - one site is 4 miles out to sea from Mundesley, near Cromer. The second is one a half miles off the coast at Caister, on Scroby Sands. In Essex - there are plans for a wind farm four miles out from Clacton-on-Sea. It is proposed each farm will hold 30 wind turbines."

 

[Guest]

Re: Offshore in the South West

Local TV reports that none are planned for our region, and quite right too. We've got enough of them inland - although they are relatively quiet and some people even regard them as "beautiful".

 

[Guest]

Re: Offshore windfarms

There is a row of 12, 500 kW units at Middelharnis in the Haringvliet, plus hundreds more all over Holland. Several observations:

I cannot detect any wind shadow thrown by them.

The sails are well clear of any yacht, although these specific ones are not in the water, just on its edge.

One or two turbines are almost always out of action, equating to availability of something like 85%. A typical steam turbine figure would be better than 99% and a gas turbine above 98%.

They only appear to synchronise and therefore generate at above something like wind speed force 4.

It is doubtful whether construction, manufacture and operational costs are ever recovered by power generated.

 

[Guest]

Re: Offshore windfarms

Have not heard from you lately Vyv, Where have you been? I cannot agree that "it is doubtful that operational costs will be recovered by power generated" These masts are being constructed for/by commercial organisations, and they would not be involved unless it paid.

I have seen wind farms in Wales and Portugal, and neither of these made any significant noise. Wind in the trees makes a lot of noise. I suspect that the noise argument is put forward by those that oppose everything new.

Wind farms would make good navigational marks.

 

[Guest]

Re: Offshore windfarms as navigational marks ...

would a new (nav) lighting would be required in order not to mistake them with anything else at night and differenciate them from other objects?