how many windmills would it take to supply all of scotland with enough energy?

Answer 1

The amount of electricity produced by a wind energy development can be estimated by

Electricity produced = B x 0.3 x 8760

where B = the rated capacity of the wind energy development in kW
and constants 0.3 and 8760

This is only an average estimation given that in many places, particularly Scotland, the wind speeds are higher leading to a greater electricity production per turbine, as power output is a cube of the wind speed.

On average then, a typical turbine in the UK, rated at 1 MW, produces 2.63 million units of electricity each year. This is equivalent to 2630 MWh or 2.6 GWh.
Homes Equivalent

A more realistic measure of the amount of electricity a wind project generates is to calculate how many households this will supply

Number of households = B x 0.3 x 8760/4700

where 4700 is the average UK household electricity consumption in kW hours.2

A typical turbine therefore produces enough electricity each year to meet the needs of 560 homes.

So you need to estimate how many homes in Scotland and estimate how many business etc and then devide by 560.

Answer 2

Please keep in mind that the wind does not blow all the time. While it would be possible to calculate the number needed to produce that much power ON AVERAGE, but without a way to store that energy during times of no wind, the country could not be supplied by wind alone. The state of Texas has a larger percentage of its electricity provided by wind than most other U.S. states, but the upper limit of how much is could be is around 5% because there has to always be enough generating capacity from non-wind sources just in case it is calm at every windmill for some period of time. Development of some kind of cheap super battery or other storage technology would change all that. It would also make solar power and electric cars viable. That would also be really useful to regular coal and oil generators since half of them sit idle at times of low power usage. With the super battery they could build fewer generators, store the extra energy at times of low use and run off batteries at time of high use. Sort of like a hybrid car but for the entire power grid.

Answer 3

Windmills themselves do not supply energy, so the answer must be zero. Most windmills were used for milling, whereby grain was crushed to flour, although some were used for pumping (Denver Mill in Norfolk was a good example).

Answer 4

well a population of around 5 millon around 3 ppl 2 1 home and 560 homes powerd by 1 windmill means it would take around 2500 2 3000 windmills

Answer 5

windmills only work when wind is blowing.........what will you do when wind is not blowing......are u ready to live in power failure then?

Answer 6

With all that beer and haggis, three Scots farting would do the trick.

Answer 7

None ?...........You can only get Energy from Turbines.

Answer 8

One .... no wait ... two? :)