[GLLUG] What have BT done to our nearest cabinet?

[Alain Williams]

On Thu, Aug 01, 2013 at 06:50:50AM +0100, Christopher Hunter wrote:
> On Wed, 2013-07-31 at 21:16 +0000, Chris Bell wrote:
> 
> >    I have just been to the centre of Hounslow where the street lamps have
> > sprouted fairly large solar panels and wind turbines. I wondered how soon
> > one will blow down in a gale or collapse when nudged by a passing vehicle.
> > The lamps on the overhead A40 near White City were completely removed "for
> > safety reasons" because they were in danger of falling over without any
> > additional loads.
> 
> I am seriously considering starting a campaign against these silly
> windmills.  They only exist because the last government needed to be
> seen to be doing "something" to resolve the power generation issue.
> 
> When you point out that the manufacture, construction, transport and
> installation of a wind turbine will actually consume more energy than it
> will ever generate in its lifetime, that it will never offset the carbon
> expended to put it there, and actually gets fed electricity to keep it
> turning (to prevent it seizing) in low wind periods, the average "green"
> gets very upset!
> ...

There was an interesting article in New Scientist about a year ago that said
that the power generated by a windmill was proportional to the square of the
length of the vanes (ie the area swept). Thus small ones generate little power.
Also urban ones only get turbulent air (too many buildings upset nice wind)
which further reduces power generated.

Small ones are useful for where power is otherwise hard to obtain, eg on a small
yacht or sensor in the middle of a field; but to put something back into the
grid are a joke.

-- 
Alain Williams
Linux/GNU Consultant - Mail systems, Web sites, Networking, Programmer, IT Lecturer.
+44 (0) 787 668 0256  http://www.phcomp.co.uk/
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