Opponents of wind power say that the wind is so unreliable as to be useless as a source of energy. Therefore gas-fired power stations are needed to generate spare electricity in case the wind suddenly drops. Any reduction in CO2 emissions is negligible, they say, and the cost of installing turbines is huge.
However, new evidence from Electrica de Espana, where 14% of electricity is generated from wind, shows that none of this is true.
1. Good grid management can integrate large amounts of wind energy provided that pumped storage and hydraulic power is available for storage and international connections enable easy export and import.
2. CO2 emissions during the night of 8/9 November, when strong winds were providing 53% of Spain’s electricity needs, were 145 g. per kWh – about a quarter of typical UK emissions from electricity generation.
3. The Spanish system pays wind park owners 75-90 euros per MW hour, which is considerably less than the UK pays to wind farm operators.
Chris Goodall, author of “Ten Technologies to Save the Planet” comments: “The Spanish system is therefore:
1) Improving Spain’s energy
2) Reducing CO2 emissions
3) Costing less per MWh than the British system
4) Providing incentives for building a huge number of extra wind turbines.
Source: http://www.carboncommentary.com/2009/11/15/853
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In memory of Steven M. Wise
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