Green issues and power. Who like me thinks that these windfarms are a big investment?

Question

for a small return. And that years down the line we will find them lying idol and will become a blot on the lanscape. Whereas if new builds (houses) had solar panels included into the structure this would be a more energy efficient way of producing the heating needs for individuals instead of lining the pockets of the the Big energy producing giants.

What is your own opinion? Do not be swayed by the majority..your own views please.

Answer 1

Wind power is not reliable. Just think of it this way. U are on the operation table and the only power u have is wind power. Quit pushing the idea that it is reliable and it will not tie into other power system without problems. The power station will be rolorcostering to try to stay in sync.

Answer 2

Both windmills and solar panels are not efficient enough, cost effective or even environmentally friendly enough yet.

Windmills use more energy to produce them than they are likely to generate in their lifetime! The power is variable. Special transmission and storage is required.

Solar panels are costly to produce and fit and loose power as they age. in current form they will not recover their cost before needing to be replaced.

But both are a step in the right direction and the technology should come right eventually.

The most efficient method of producing energy would be to use solar collectors focussing sunlight onto Stirling engines and similar devices to generate electricity. If large areas were sited in remote regions of the Sahara and other deserts they could generate enough power to run Europe on their own but it would take a lot of infrastructure building and transmission line building etc.

There is currently only two methods of producing electricity for a home that is cost effective. A water wheeel if you live on a river - not much hope there then! Or a small generator run by a car engine. These can be housed in a cabinet in the garden which muffles the noise and they can generate enough power for four or five houses much cheaper than it can be bought from the grid - hardly ecelogically sound thoug are they?

Currently all the devices sold for home genration are a con - if examined carefully, even selling some electricity - they cost more to buy, install and run than it is claimed for them and it will end up costing you more.

However, if people do not buy them then the manufacturers will back off from improving them and seeking new methods that are more efficient. They have the right ideas and it is all being done for the right reason - it is just going to take a few years yet before they really are good enough to save you money and cut pollution.

Answer 3

have you done the maths.

You need a lot of solar panels to make a house self sufficient, especially in the northern hemisphere. It is not about financial effecieny but energy. The world has plenty of money to build them with, provided the energy output is sufficient, to justify the energy used to build, transport and maintain them afterwards.

Geo thermal(either borehole or flat bed) is better, but this only gets you hot water for heating purposes. No electric. Wind is ok, but it is not going to provide you with all your energy needs without considerable battery back up.

Unless you are willing to reduce the number of electric devices in your home , then self sufficiency is along way off.

You really think all these new houses actually have top quality insulation through every wall, you would be shocked. But once it is up, how can the buyer check?!

If you have some land, you should grow trees, and use a rayburn style stove to cook, and heat your house. The trees grow back - Carbon neutral. no high transport costs either.

Industry are the big power users, new industrial estates should have wind turbine erected on site.

Answer 4

I agree with you - it takes something like 7 years to recoup the energy used in their manufacture (everything from mining the ore, refining, manufacturing and installation). The lifespan of a windfarm turbine is only a few years more, and with maintenance I doubt there is much point in them.

In my opinion, they're an eyesore, ruining the few remaining areas of natural beauty we have. The only reason they're installed is as a PR stunt and to comply with the governments renewable energy requirements (which were determine through that tried and tested method of 'guessing').

We need an answer to our (global) long-term power needs. My opinion is:
> Re-invest in nuclear power
> Invest in fusion research
> Invest in bio-fuels research
> Legislate that each new home must meet minimum insulation requirements (higher minimum standards than they already are)
> Offer reduction in council tax to houses with solar panels

Answer 5

I don't think that wind farms are a bad investment, but I totally agree with you about new builds. Solar electricity and heating should be standard, along with grey water recycling, and top notch insulation.

Answer 6

They'r a good thing , but why they cant come up with something similar to go in or under the tide is beyond me !!

Answer 7

I think we should use both wind power and solar power. Whatever we use, it should be environmentally friendly and a renewable resource.

These are just my views. =)

Answer 8

hey the new ethanol gas is not gonna be cheap, but its not a fossil fuel and we can grow it, but, i could grow its like hydroponicly and quikly and efficiently and make it cheaper, but, say your prayers cuz bush is out there asking every tom dick and harry to grow it and he aint asking the right people. i think we could for one engineer plants better for ethanol use, i would like to make a big ethanol plant factory, like a big one like one square mile, and have it all automated, and have it like 5 miles underground just in case and to use nuklear power to run the whole joint, if nuke energy is more efficient, im not sure if it is but whatever. i think we could make big factories to produce the plants to make it, we could even make these factories in lakes to save space or make highrise buildings to save space. my point is, why go buy it from anyone, when we could mass produce it in factories and we should at least attempt to maximize the efficiency of produing it, if at all possible, and it is very possible. i think they could make a place that could grow the plants indoors and have a very high output compared to just growng it in the fields. would it be acceptable to use science and technolegy to make this better? would it be acceptable to not hope for better? i think that they could make factories that could grow the plants VERY rapidly and process them inside these plants, and to question the expense of this idea, i would say that it would pay for itself in saving the landspace blah, or saving the gas used to transport it by having many local factories competing, i mean it could be worth an investment if it worked out and why should we settle for less when we could have better. i think this ethanol thing is great ... for now, if it will run in my car, i have seen a company that knows that it will fry the sensors in my car but that, the air sensors can be replaced or they can be tricked by special mixtures of fuels, yet they tell me ethanol wont work in my car cuz why? what it might make the air sensors o2 sensor cadilac sensor go haywire, yet these sensors can be cheaply replaced and even cheaper if the masses bought them, and there are mixtures that will work with the current sensors anyhow, but, in order to put ethanol into my car, the car might need new sensors, thats cheap, or the ethanol mixture can be modified to work anyways. but my point is that fuel is a billion dollar biz and that the people in the bizness should be ashamed of themselves cuz the whole country has been crying about your sins for years and nobody has done anything about it, wich leaves ample opportunity to profit from a solution, wich we have not even seen, so, what the ****? no wait a second the most hated man in america GEORGE W BUSH is the only one doing anything about it, so, thats like a slap in the face to the fuel industry, i hope bush realizes whats he's doin... he is taking matters into his own hands, he is violating our free trade industry, thank god he is tho cuz NO ONE has done anything about the millions upon millions of cries about gas prices, i hope bush realizes that he needs to do that extra something and make sure he puts these gas companies where they belong, ethier in their graves, or in the welfare office. he needs to realize that our free trade industry is the death of us, that the rich have used our laws against us and that they have ruined the america that could have been today, and that, we the people DESERVE justice for those sins... we have the right to this justice just as they used their rights against the masses to impoverish them to slavery having 90% of the people making 10% of the profits from the work and sending their wages to babylon, bush is president right now for a reason and gee i wonder what that is because we the people really havnt the slightest clue why HE is president, and that he would benifit from answering this question. hey look he's got his hands in the fuel industry today, against our rights to free industry, he has already stepped up and in some way stood up against these criminal free trade destroyers, im saying destroy THEM.