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7 years ago
Well On topic. DIY wind turbine.
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7 years ago
"the wind turbine has an electrical power output of 15 kilowatts". So allowing for a capacity factor of say 20%, they'll get 3kW out of it on average. I wonder how much it costs!
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7 years ago
How much it will cost *us* you mean?
"The homes, farm etc are still connected to the national grid and can still draw power from the grid when the turbine isn?t running."
Why would it not be running? Oh, I know, it's broken or there is not enough or too much wind.
"The community group receives the Feed In Tariff and export tariff payments for generating renewable electricity"
Which isn't magic money but money coming from ordinary electricity users out of their hard earned case.
"The community group can use this income to spend on other community projects."
So, you can make money (off of other / innocent people), not content with creating a pointless and dangerous eyesore in the middle of the 'community'.
"... Buying their own turbines gives these communities some security in their electricity supply"
How does that happen then? If the grid is overloaded the chances are there will be no wind blowing anywhere. If there is a power cut locally, what if the wind isn't blowing? Secure supply?
"and also earns them some finances to spend on other community projects."
Yes, you said. ;-(
Or, you could use your own windmill to produce electricity that you could store in your own battery and maybe save enough up over a couple of weeks to be able to have a shower (and leave the rest of us out of your white elephant project).
"We would welcome anyone who would like to join us in making this turbine."
Yes, we would like free labour and to steal money off other people.
I wonder if they would answer my questions:
What is the initial carbon footprint of all the hardware and installation and how many years will it take to become carbon neutral (including the extended carbon footprint of any servicing and maintenance etc)?
How much money do you predict it will cost the other people paying your FIT 'income'?
Cheers, T i m
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7 years ago
well its around £1000/kw (capacity) for a large turbine So at least £15k.
to just about get rid of your electricity bill. Mines around 1k per year which wont pay for that., Of course you probably get a huge FIT bunce ....
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7 years ago
Unless its an approved design by an approved installer they won't be paid for any electricity.
So what microgeneration certificate does a home built wind mill have?
No its actually about 0.5% of the approximately 10% green energy tax that is spent on FIT payments.
Harry has probably gone to buymysolar.net by now.
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7 years ago
A lot more than the old oil drum cut in half to make a Savonius rotor and the generator from a bus or lorry out of a scrapyard that was cutting edge DIY windmill design in the 1970s.
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7 years ago
R i g h t .... and that 'Green energy' tax is paid by ... ? Yup, electricity bill payers.
Or the South of France on his FIT 'income'.
Cheers, T i m
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7 years ago
"Officials admitted that so-called ?green? energy schemes will require a staggering £9 billion a year in subsidies - paid for by customers - by 2020. "
So, most electricity consumers are paying a minority of people for the privilege of not only *not* actually helping with our base energy supply but expecting us to pay for what they generate (when they do ... which often is not when we actually want it) and use themselves!
You really couldn't make it up.
Cheers, T i m
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7 years ago
No,I'd be bored. I do have a Rolls Royce out of the profits.
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7 years ago
will require
But not as much subsidy as nuclear power. Or the fossil fuels.
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7 years ago
Somebody who lived next door to a store that hada wind turbine on its roof successfully had it removed due to the noise it made whining all night. Brian
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7 years ago
Be OK to charge up batteries for various devices with though. I don't think most diyers of such things think about cost, 8its the challenge of getting it to work. Brian
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7 years ago
Though much of this is true, is not this how the current capitalist system is supposed to function? Nobody asks about carbon footprints etc about other stuff we buy. I was musing about energy efficient lights and wondered how efficient they were if you add development costs etc into the mix. Brian
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7 years ago
Good, at least that's predictable and can be relied on 24/7.
The only way you can bring the use of fossil fuels into a conversation about energy is if you are willing to accept the alternative and have no power *every* night and many days (especially when we need power most, in the winter).
A true 'alternative' (when it comes to alternative energy sources) would be something that would offer the same capacity and availability as what we have no and with Solar and Wind we all know that is *NEVER* going to happen.
Cheers, T i m
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7 years ago
True Brian, but few other things we (the majority) *have* to buy earn cash for a small minority and for something they are also consuming themselves!
It's like you are buying a cake and harry is eating it and we are all supposed to think that deal is fair?
One assumes that has already been done somewhere along the lines? I know the first CFL I bought (a Phillips in a glass jar jobby) probably cost me in excess of 20 quid then but they went down in price over the years (as most things do).
Except for the cash a minority are going to be earning from us for using the energy they produce themselves ... that's guaranteed and index linked for 20 years! ;-(
Cheers, T i m
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7 years ago
I don't think 'most people' think about lots of stuff, including those being suckered into the whole alternative energy / green bs and the lack of thought and understanding re where their 'Magic Money' is actually coming from. Whilst there are people like harry who would happily take a fiver out of a blind buskers cap, many of us like to find out who exactly pays for these handouts and won't go for them if they upset our moral compass.
It's exactly the same thing as why I didn't buy any shares when they were selling off public utilities (to make a quick buck from) because I considered it wrong in the first place.
Whilst those of us who feel the same may be considered 'mugs' but unlike the thieves and greedy, I like being able to sleep well at night and believe 'what goes round comes round'. You never know, harry could be outside on a breezy day and one of the blades comes off his 'let's see just how much money I can earn of other people' wind turbine and ... ;-(
Cheers, T i m
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7 years ago
Yup, this is all just another instance of being 'socially responsible / considerate' and a having a sense of community.
Now, if he had put the turbine on a nearby hill and shared the electricity with the community, maybe they would put up with some noise?
Cheers, T i m
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7 years ago
Noise is something that is hard to put up with. Unlike solar where the most you can complain about is the glare if it reflects in a bad way noise can cause sleep deprivation and murder.
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7 years ago
Gosh . If only one could do that with wives...
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7 years ago
Clearly this has changed a lot then, or maybe it is being expressed differe ntly. It used to be that the FIT paid 4-5 times the price of grid electric ity.
Robert