Michael Sage, Sale
LETTER TO THE EDITOR
WHERE are the engineers and economists who understand renewable energy systems and their effect on electricity prices and availability of reliable power?
The news that yet another massive investment in an unreliable solar electricity project is planned is very disappointing.
This investment would be better spent on reliable systems which generate power for 24 hours per day.
A typical solar system might generate power for an average of eight hours per day over a year; further investment in a back-up battery might extend this by up to a further one hour per day on average.
This is all part of the delusion that we can generate 50 per cent of our power from renewable sources.
What is the plan for power supply for the remainder of the time?
Wind farms, like solar, are site-dependant and might generate about 20 per cent of their nominal capacity as they need wind velocity to be above about 10 kilometres per hour, and must be shut down if the wind velocity reaches about 90kmh.
Like solar, they require massive subsidies and because of their unpredictable performance, they must be backed by spinning turbines driven by other sources such as gas, coal or nuclear fuels.
In Germany, with thousands of wind turbines, the average output from wind farms is about 20 per cent of the nominal capacity, and provides about two per cent of the national electrical load.
This obsession with renewable energy is therefore misplaced, and will lead to extensive blackouts at times of peak demand when the renewable generators are providing little or no power.
There is no credibility in the suggestion that they can provide 50 per cent of our needs in the absence of sunbeams (every night) and sea breezes (many days).
Battery technology is far from providing the capability for long-term back-up.
As well as driving up electricity prices, this obsession is minimising the investment in planning and constructing reliable generators, which will be required to sustain our domestic, business, leisure , travel and other power demands.
The obsession is also futile in the sense that the manufacture, construction, and maintenance of these renewable systems generates significant carbon dioxide in smelting steel, producing cement and the construction process itself.
The panels and turbine towers also present significant waste disposal challenges during maintenance and at the end of their operating life.
How many blackouts will it take to convince our community that reliable systems are essential?
