Windmills

[Potstubsdustbins]

I am not a fan, I see it as a trendy thing and not a good long term solution and much prefer wave power.

Having said that a couple of years ago we had a new wind farm open round here. Having had experience of them on the continent I stopped with my son as we were passing so he could judge the awful noise for himself. It was red faces all round........ stood right next to the power house in the middle of five turbines and you could hardly hear them.

[skeggijon]

We also have a solar farm nearby and I have to say, I much prefer the look of the wind farms

[mothhawk]

I absolutely love them,
I find them to be full of grace and hope...

We're coming full circle, from a long age when windmills and water wheels were the main power producers for manufacture, through the discovery of engines powered by fossil fuels, and now back again to wind power.

There's something very satisfying about the idea that after a mere 150 years or so of using fossil fuel driven machines, we are returning to a source of power known to the ancient Greeks.

[Martin H]

There's something very satisfying about the idea that after a mere 150 years or so of using fossil fuel driven machines, we are returning to a source of power known to the ancient Greeks.

Well, yes. But...

Unless we are prepared to go back to pre-industrial levels of energy usage then we are going to need something more than just wind, water and solar energy.

My personal view is that a large expansion in our nuclear energy generation capability is the least worst option. Maybe they'll finally crack fusion...

[Alison]

Well, yes. But...

Unless we are prepared to go back to pre-industrial levels of energy usage then we are going to need something more than just wind, water and solar energy.

My personal view is that a large expansion in our nuclear energy generation capability is the least worst option. Maybe they'll finally crack fusion...

There is however a lot to be said for local generation and diversity of supply as that minimised (for example) the risk of terrorist attack. I don't think that anybody is saying that wind will provide all our energy requirements but it seems sensible to harness our natural resources as far as possible. Personally I find turbines very graceful and quite beautiful from an engineering standpoint and find it amusing that so much of what is quoted about them is based on old information and not on the modern, far more efficient models.

Re nuclear, it probably does have a place but the timescales to bring a plant on line are immense even with the new build agenda trying to move things forwards. There is a very high risk that the lights would have gone off before one is up and running and that's before we even think about the nuclear legacy of clearing it all up afterwards - a job that's currently costing many millions of pounds from previous installations. Oh and we also need to develop more energy efficient technology and stop wasting the energy we do have - there's loads that can be done without having a cave dwelling level lifestyle.

[Potstubsdustbins]

Some of the energy saving ideas are good but many are bad and I mean bad.

The high efficiency boiler we now have to fit by law, save a little on fuel, but not as much as we are led to believe. Yes they might be 91.5% efficient when they are running in the condensing mode, but as soon as the return temperature rise's they go back to being a normal boiler. Couple that with the fact the life expectancy of the appliance has gone down from 15/20 years to just 10 years, that's an awful lot of extra boilers we have to make with all the ensuing pollution of getting the raw materials and the manufacturing process.

[Alison]

Yes, totally agree Potty, there is a lot of green wash that actually turns people away from the good stuff which doesn't help any of us

[Potstubsdustbins]

Alison I do like that term 'Green wash' fits the bill completely.

[rary]

Staying in an area where wind farms are everywhere 1,12turbine, 1,26 turbine and 1, 176 turbine along with a nuclear power plant, I would rather have hydro power

[Potstubsdustbins]

I was watching Coast Australia the other day, The Aussies have come up with a very promising idea for using tidal power, using the tide to create mechanical energy. Full trials had just started when the program was made, best of all it is totally submerged so you see................nothing, well unless your a diver that is.

[Snadger]

I will agree to like them when i see them installed in the grounds of Buckingham Palace!

How's that for a deal?

Until then,I will do as Don Quixote did and go tilting at windmills!