229 lines
6.0 KiB
Plaintext
Executable File
229 lines
6.0 KiB
Plaintext
Executable File
earth
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energy
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windpower
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8234616
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-----
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# Wind farms becalmed just when needed the most
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## Wind farms in Britain generated practically no electricity during the
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recent cold spell, raising fresh concerns about whether they could be relied
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upon to meet the country's energy needs.
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![][1]
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Cross-country skiers at the wind farm at Whitelee near Glasgow, which is
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Europe's largest, but conditions in the cold spell left turbines still Photo:
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CHRIS JAMES
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By Louise Gray, Environment Correspondent 8:00AM GMT 01 Jan 2011
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[Comments][2]
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Despite high demand for electricity as people shivered at home over Christmas,
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most of the 3,000 wind turbines around Britain stood still due to a lack of
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wind.
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Even yesterday , when conditions were slightly breezier, wind farms generated
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just 1.8 per cent of the nation's electricity -- less than a third of usual
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levels.
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The failure of wind farms to function at full tilt during December forced
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energy suppliers to rely on coal-fired power stations to keep the lights on --
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meaning more greenhouse gases were produced.
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Experts feared that as the Government moved towards a target of generating 30
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per cent of electricity from wind -- while closing gas and coal-fired power
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stations -- cold, still winters could cause a problem in the future.
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Prof Michael Laughton, emeritus professor of engineering at Queen Mary
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University London, said wind turbines became still just when they were needed
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most, meaning that the country was reliant on imported oil or coal.
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## Related Articles
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* [Earl Spencer in wind farm row][3]
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19 Feb 2011
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The wind turbines may even use up electricity during a calm period, as they
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were rotated in order to keep the mechanical parts working. There are more
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than 3,000 turbines in Britain and the Department of Energy and Climate Change
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planned to have up to 6,000 onshore and 4,000 at sea by 2020.
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Charles Anglin, of Renewable UK, which represented the wind energy industry,
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said that over a normal year wind turbines were working about a third of the
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time. He said future energy plans took into account periods when wind turbines
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were still, just as current models had backup available for when nuclear or
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coal plants were down.
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"There are periods, of course, when it is not windy but year on year we are
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seeing growth," he said.
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Britain had 2 per cent of electricity from renewables in 2002, but that figure
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was now almost 10 per cent, with wind providing about half.
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The Met Office said yesterday that there would be a bit more wind and
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unsettled weather, particularly in the North, this weekend, with colder
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weather returning tomorrow. The week ahead would be cold again, with overnight
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frosts.
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It was confirmed yesterday that December had been the coldest since national
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records were first kept in 1910, with the average temperature little more than
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-1.5C.
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Þ Government grants for up to a quarter of the cost of an electric or ultra-
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low emission cars -- up to a maximum of £5,000 -- will be available from today
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.
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Philip Hammond, the Transport Secretary, hailed the £43 million scheme as the
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start of "an exciting green revolution", but most of the nine cars eligible
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would cost well over £20,000 even taking into account the grant. The
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Electrical Contractors' Association expressed concerns over the number of
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charging points.
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[X][4] Share & bookmark
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[What are these?][5]
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* Share: [Share][4] [ ][6] [ ][7]
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[Tweet][8]
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http://www.telegraph.co.uk/earth/energy/windpower/8234616/Wind-farms-becalmed-
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just-when-needed-the-most.html
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Telegraph
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## [Wind Power][9]
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* ### [UK News »][10]
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* ### [Earth »][11]
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* ### [Earth News »][12]
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In earth
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[![More than 195,000 wind turbines to appear outside homes by 2020: The Burbo
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Bank Wind Farm, Liverpool][13] ][14]
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### [Wind turbines would need to cover Wales to supply a sixth of country's
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energy needs][14]
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[![Environmental benefit of wind farms: overstated ][15] ][16]
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### [Wind farm benefits 'overstated'][16]
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[![Floating wind farms to be developed as part of government-backed
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research][17] ][18]
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### [Floating wind farms to be developed as part of government-backed
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research][18]
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[X][4] Share & bookmark
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Delicious Facebook Google Messenger Reddit Twitter
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Digg Fark LinkedIn Google Buzz StumbleUpon Y! Buzz
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[What are these?][5]
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Share:
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* [ ][4]
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* [ ][6]
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* [ ][7]
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* [Tweet][8]
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* Advertisement
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![][19]
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telegraphuk
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Please enable JavaScript to view the [comments powered by Disqus.][20] [blog
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comments powered by Disqus][21]
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sponsored features
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[![Gil Scott-Heron][37]][36]
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Advertisement
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Classified Advertising
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* [Property][44]
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