Wind Farms

christo2024

christo2024

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I was originally against wind farms but now that I work on the Gunfleet Sands project (turncoat, I hear you say) and seen the dynamics of the project, I think they are admirable. It just shows how much power we all consume

The Ramsgate site has 100 turbines and I recently saw details of the massive (450 turbine)London array at the Long Sand.

Has anyone else warmed to these sites or is there still opposition to them? There will be no restriction to sailing through them once construction is finished.
 
christo2024 said:
I was originally against wind farms but now that I work on the Gunfleet Sands project (turncoat, I hear you say) and seen the dynamics of the project, I think they are admirable. It just shows how much power we all consume

The Ramsgate site has 100 turbines and I recently saw details of the massive (450 turbine)London array at the Long Sand.

Has anyone else warmed to these sites or is there still opposition to them? There will be no restriction to sailing through them once construction is finished.
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I like them !

Just a personal view of course. I think we will get quite fond of them in the end. Like we get intimate with friendly landmarks now.

I like the control tower on the Gunfleet . When going past, I picture the Essex equivalent of Homer Simpson eating doughnuts with his feet up !
 
christo2024 said:
Has anyone else warmed to these sites or is there still opposition to them? There will be no restriction to sailing through them once construction is finished.
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1. No I have not warmed to them .. They are a BLOT on the landscape

2. Sail through them .. Until someone hits one .. Then what .. A NO GO ZONE
 
wind farms

I understand why people must hate them. They do take some getting used to.

I dont think sailing through them will be any more hectic or dangerous that, say tacking up the Orwell. There's plenty of room.

But you wait till the London Array arrives. Its massive, believe me. There will be 4 or 5 "Homer occupied Sub Stations"!
 
Ships

So what happens when one of your very large ships gets into trouble and comes to rest on one on a flood tide .. I would like to see if the concrete will hold .. Ok .. its a once in a 100 year possibility but .. It could happen tommorrow and the day after .. As soon as someone gets hurt they will put tape round them all .. Which says KEEP OUT .. We live in a NANNY State it won't be long ..
 
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wind farms...... and barrages

the windfarms was one of the reasons to do my trip around britain - I wanted to see the coast before it changed

the thames estuary will be utterly transformed by the time I get around to re-crossing it in five years time at the end of the trip

and then we will have the tidal barrages

this country is rich in renewable energy and we have to exploit it - or cut down on the number of children we have

we can't have it both ways

and I would much rather see the turbines out at sea - better than sticking them on every hill

I also like the fact that working men are returning to the sea for a living

and any engineer (I am an ag engineer by training ) has to admire the skills that go into producing these remarkable machines

can anyone get permission for me to spend a couple of days filming the crews at work?

I earn my living filming difficult things in difficult places - Loggers, cowboys, cranes



Dylan

it would be a shame if they stopped sailors from going in among the towers - and I can't see why they would - the places we sail are full of things to bump into - bouys, moored boats, pier heads, pontoons - even a mobo would be hard pushed to damage one of the towers
 
I do not object to the look of the wind farms.
I also believe in the need to get away from fossil fuels as they are going to run out.

I do not believe that wind is the solution that we should be betting on to this extent.

Looking at the cost per Kw of all the forms of generation including:-
capital costs,
running and fuel costs,
Carbon offset costs
and the cost of standby generations
all as appropriate for each system.

Nuclear fission 2.26p
Gas-fired CCGT combined cycle 2.57p
Coal-fired PF pulverized fuel 3.33p
Coal-fired Fluidized-bed 3.45p
Gas-fired OCGT open-cycle 3.64p
Coal-fired Integrated gasification 3.86p
Onshore wind farm 5.35p
Wave and marine technology 6.63p
Biomass-fired 6.76p
Offshore wind farm 7.19p

Why are we concentrating on the most expensive system?

data from http://www.raeng.org.uk/news/publications/list/reports/Cost_of_Generating_Electricity.pdf
 
Those costs may be true now but I would bet the relative costs change quite significantly when a) the oil, gas and coal really start to run out or b) Russia turns off the tap and c) you take nuclear decommissioning and waste product management fully into account.

I like wind power, my dad is a power engineer who has spent the last 20 odd years designing wind turbines - he was consulting engineer on the largest wind turbine built at the time, Eole on the Gaspe peninsular in Quebec. He specialises in vertical axis machines though he doesn't like the propellor type ones. He will say, though, as will I, that you do not build your energy strategy on any ONE generation method but go for a diversified mix of technologies. This makes you less dependent on volatile sources of fossil fuels and you average put the vagaries of "natural" energy sources (wind, solar for example).

Can't wait to be able to sail through them and I agree with Dylan it's good to see engineering/commercial activities at sea again on this scale - I'd much rather that than a new nuclear reactor I must admit as I still don't trust the waste story.
 
I agree with you that the costs of fossil fuels will go up.

"The capital cost estimate for nuclear plant includes an allowance for the costs of decommissioning."

As I said above I do not object to the Wind farms.
It is just that there seems to be to big an emphasis on this and not enough on other alternative technologies.
 
windfarms expensive but clean

the reason for backing windfarms is that they are the cleanest

when placed out at sea they have almost zero aesthetic impact on the majority of the British population

Clacton is not harmed at all by the windfarm

and the least environmental impact - sea life improves around oil rigs because of the improved surfaces for vegetation - the odd bird will bump into a moving blade - but I assume they will learn to stay clear

and as a side line windfarms offer good solid long term jobs along the coast - and I for one want to see a vibrant coastal economy based upon the sea and its products

I myself wouldn't mind working as a supply vessel helmsman - although I am probably too old to pass the tests now

Dylan
 
I like them, there's something graceful about them turning and they're only going to be here for 25 years anyway, that's their operating life. By the time they are due to be replaced, at the current rate of technological advancement, the generation and storage of electricity will have been revolutionised so that offshore wind farms will seem as bizarre as burning coal for electricity. My grandchildren will get to sail in wind farm free waters but I have to put up with them. No biggy. Can't see a ship hitting them as the water is so darned shallow around them.
 
Oh well, I must be the only one.
I hate them, they spoil the view. You have to get a long way offshore to be out of sight of everything now. Great shame.
 
FullCircle said:
Oh well, I must be the only one.
I hate them, they spoil the view. You have to get a long way offshore to be out of sight of everything now. Great shame.
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You're not the only one, Ian doesn't like them either. Me, I'm ambivalent towards how they look. I like the idea though, of harnessing the wind as power.
 
Same here I'm afraid, the development out in The Wash is an eyesore as far as I'm concerned, and the impending increases have done nothing to help the area at all. Prices for mooring are going up for one, and that's not going to help anyone.
 
My gut feeling is 'nice in theory but in practice, pointless'

I think they look bleedin awful Yep they are generating some work etc so that has to be applauded but i'm guessing that once the total cost of ownership from the original plan to the decomissioning of the dead ones, they won't of made a significant impact on our Energy uses but a significant effect on the East Coast coastline.

I think their only real impact will be on the 'willy waving' by the Government to other countries to say how 'Modern' and 'Green' we are when infact the environmental improvement will be virtually nil.
 
I remember in Norfolk when it was suggested wind generators be sited on the coastal hilltops. The residents went crazy. When asked if the council should therefore demolish the remaining windmills the residents thought they were lovely???
 
EdWingfield said:
I remember in Norfolk when it was suggested wind generators be sited on the coastal hilltops. The residents went crazy. When asked if the council should therefore demolish the remaining windmills the residents thought they were lovely???
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Apples and Potatoes...

Modern day, metal-built 'windmills' in large numbers next to eachother are a far cry from a traditional windmill.
 
As I have said before and I will say again...the best place for any such wind farm is NOT in the shifting sand banks of the East Coast, but in the emminently more suited areas like the Gower Peninsular, maybe Studland Bay, could be Chichester Harbour, anywhere on the West Coast of Scotland...maybe even somewhere in central Berkshire, just PLEASE leave the East Coast alone!!

They are an eyesore, and as has been said, they are NOT an economical way of producing electricity.

Lets have another Bradwell!!
 
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