06-02-2013, 10:43 AM
"Energy conservation? I can't help but wonder just how much energy has been used to manufacture one of these monsters and more to the point how many years would payback be before it even produced a profit. I mentioned to Gary ages ago that as an engineer it seems strange to me to hoist such a heavy turbine so high into the sky when wouldn't it be possible to simply design a huge fan and connect this to a large turbine on the ground via a prop-shaft thereby simplifying installation and making future maintenance much easier?"
Hi Col, I guess it's down to the balance point up top (blade weight/generator weight) coupled with minimum mechanical transmission losses. I would have thought that a 200 ft vertical prop shaft would increase maintainance costs and installation costs significantly.
So far as I am aware the the energy used in their manufacture is paid back in months, not years.
As to the economics well that's another argument as so far as I am aware they are partly subsidised but then any new power station would be also either directly or indirectly, one of the first wind farms down here was at Carland Cross, the old turbines are being replaced with some new larger higher capacity ones although less in number.
The main grump down here is that some folks think they are a blot on the landscape but so are roads, cars and transmission masts both communication and electrical, acres of farmland under bright shiny polythene sheeting but we wouldn't want to be without them would we.
Don't forget that a lot of wind turbines don't go through the National grids monitoring network, as a lot are connected directly to the local distribution networks etc.
Lawrence.
Hi Col, I guess it's down to the balance point up top (blade weight/generator weight) coupled with minimum mechanical transmission losses. I would have thought that a 200 ft vertical prop shaft would increase maintainance costs and installation costs significantly.
So far as I am aware the the energy used in their manufacture is paid back in months, not years.
As to the economics well that's another argument as so far as I am aware they are partly subsidised but then any new power station would be also either directly or indirectly, one of the first wind farms down here was at Carland Cross, the old turbines are being replaced with some new larger higher capacity ones although less in number.
The main grump down here is that some folks think they are a blot on the landscape but so are roads, cars and transmission masts both communication and electrical, acres of farmland under bright shiny polythene sheeting but we wouldn't want to be without them would we.
Don't forget that a lot of wind turbines don't go through the National grids monitoring network, as a lot are connected directly to the local distribution networks etc.
Lawrence.
