Green group in
row over wind energy
Renewables 'to re-industrialise us'
See also
Wind power failing to deliver energy that Scotland needs
The unreliability of Scotland’s wind power facilities was exposed yesterday
Dean Herbert - Daily Express - 7th April 2011
The unreliability of Scotland’s wind power facilities was exposed yesterday by a report produced by environmentalists.
It showed that over the past two years wind turbines metered by the National Grid ran at just 10 per cent of capacity for more than one-third of the time.
They ran at less than 20 per cent of their capacity for more than half the time.
The output from the 1,247 turbines across Scotland and 648 from other parts of the UK frequently dropped so low that the electricity produced could boil just 6,600 kettles – around three for every turbine.
Yet ministers are committed to building thousands more taxpayer-subsidised wind turbines in the quest for greener energy.
The report, by the Stuart Young Consultancy for conservation body the John Muir Trust, said wind power “cannot be relied on” when electricity is most needed.
During the four highest peak demands last year, the best wind could manage was 5.5 per cent of capacity.
Mr Young said there were 124 separate occasions from November 2008 till December 2010 when total generation from windfarms metered by the National Grid was less than 1.25 per cent of nominal capacity.
The report, Analysis of UK Wind Generation, also rejected the industry claim that wind farms generate on average 30 per cent of capacity.
It found that average output from wind was 27.1 per cent of metered capacity in 2009 and 21.1 per cent last year.
It concluded: “It is clear from this analysis that wind cannot be relied upon to provide any significant level of generation at any defined time in the future. There is an urgent need to re-evaluate the implications of reliance on wind for any significant proportion of our energy requirement.”
The report also suggested that back-up power generated from stored hydro power plants was not the solution to low periods of wind output. It said that if all four UK pumped storage plants were to be run simultaneously at full capacity, the stored water would be exhausted in 24 hours.
The John Muir Trust was founded in 1983 to safeguard wild lands against development and has fought windfarm schemes in sensitive areas across Scotland.
Mr Young said: “Over the two-year period studied in this report, the metered wind farms in the UK consistently generated far less energy than wind proponents claim is typical.
“The intermittent nature of wind also gives rise to low wind coinciding with high energy demand. Sadly, wind power is not what it’s cracked up to be and cannot contribute greatly to energy security in the UK.”
Helen McDade, head of policy at the John Muir Trust, said: “This report is a real eye-opener for anyone who’s been wondering just how much power Scotland is getting from the fleet of wind turbines that have taken over many of our most beautiful mountains and hillsides. The answer appears to be not enough, and much less than is routinely claimed.”
She was backed by anti-windfarm campaigners Country Guardian, whose spokesman Michael Hird said: “The countryside is being industrialised for a technology that doesn’t work.
“If we rely on wind power for energy we are living in cloud cuckoo land.”
First Minister Alex Salmond recently raised the renewable electricity target to 80 per cent of Scotland’s power output by 2020 as part of his vision for a “low-carbon economy”.
A Scottish Government spokesman said: “Wind power, alongside other forms of onshore and offshore renewables, cuts emissions and contributes to greater security of supply.”
[top]
Green group in row over wind energy
Chris Watt - Herald Scotland - 7th April 2011
One of Scotland’s top environmental charities has been accused of undermining its own work by launching a scathing attack on wind energy.
The John Muir Trust (JMT) yesterday released a report claiming the Government and energy industry routinely exaggerate the power of wind, and output for much of the past two years was below the official Government figures.
The industry body Scottish Renewables hit back, accusing researcher Stuart Young of serious discrepancies in his previous work and suggesting the was acting irresponsibly in supporting the report.
Mr Young, an energy consultant and anti-windfarm campaigner, found thousands of instances since 2008 where national output from wind energy dropped below 20 megawatts – barely enough for 6667 kettles to be boiled at once.
Mr Young’s study says wind turbines achieve a far smaller proportion of their capacity than is usually claimed.
Wind power is often said by industry figures to operate at 30% of its capacity. Mr Young’s study found average outputs were significantly lower, averaging 24% over 26 months.
His figures for 2009 were in line with the Scottish Government’s, although in 2008 the Government recorded the 30% output figure criticised in the new report. Mr Young had no figures for this period.
Energy consultant Garrad Hassan, previously commissioned by environmental groups such as Friends of the Earth, had higher figures than Mr Young for months where comparison is possible. In the year to November 2010 it recorded 24.8%, compared to 22% in the new report. Scottish Government figures for the period have not been released.
The John Muir Trust’s head of policy, Helen McDade described the report as “a real eye-opener for anyone who’s been wondering just how much power Scotland is getting from the fleet of wind turbines that have taken over many of our most beautiful mountains and hillsides”.
“The answer appears to be not enough, and much less than is routinely claimed,” she added.
Mr Young, the report’s author and the chairman of the Caithness Windfarm Information Forum – described on its website as “group of people concerned about the proliferation of windfarms in Scotland” – said as well as instances where output dropped to worryingly low levels, there were also widespread instances of output falling because of slow windspeeds as electricity demand peaked.
“Sadly, wind power is not what it’s cracked up to be and cannot contribute greatly to energy security in the UK,” he said.
“We have no confidence in these unofficial figures,” said Jenny Hogan, policy director for Scottish Renewables, the green energy industry body.
Referring to last year’s output, she said: “We recognise this is lower than the 30% average load factor. However, this was anticipated as it had been an exceptionally calm year. No form of electricity works at 100% capacity 100% of the time.”
She added: “It could be argued the trust is acting irresponsibly given their expertise lies in protecting our wild lands and yet they seem to be going to great lengths to undermine renewable energy which is widely recognised as one of the biggest solutions to tackling climate change.”
Ms McDade said the report concerns only large-scale windfarms and makes no mention of other renewables.
A Scottish Government spokesman said in 2009, renewables met more than 27% of Scottish electricity use. He added: “Wind power, alongside other forms of onshore and offshore renewables, cuts emissions and contributes to greater security of supply.”
Renewables 'to re-industrialise us'
Alex Salmond said green and low-carbon industries could create 130,000 jobs by 2020
SNP leader Alex Salmond said support for low-carbon energy would help "re-industrialise" Scotland, as he hit the campaign trail in Fife.
Mr Salmond was at a biomass plant being built to power Tullis Russell paper mill in Glenrothes.
The power plant, being built with funding support from the Scottish Government, will be owned and operated by RWE npower renewables and will provide 50 permanent jobs, as well as 400 jobs during its construction.
According to the SNP, it will reduce the carbon emissions of Tullis Russell by 72%, contributing to Scotland's reductions targets.
Speaking as he joined Mid-Fife and Glenrothes candidate Tricia Marwick on a tour of the site, Mr Salmond said: "At Tullis Russell they are leading the way as new technologies revitalise old industries. This plant will not only protect jobs at Tullis Russell, it will create jobs in construction and green-energy generation.
"And by 2020 we can create 130,000 jobs in our green and low-carbon industries."
He added: "Over the last four years we have approved 42 renewable energy developments, we have provided funding to support the biomass project here at Tullis Russell, to improve harbours here in Fife to ensure access for our renewable energy industry and the SNP government has established a £70 million fund to bring the infrastructure we need for our new green-energy industry into shape."
Ms Marwick said: "Fife has a bright future in our new green-energy industries and over the last four years the SNP has made sure that Fife is in prime position to play a key role in Scotland's green-energy future."
See also:
Significant Scots 1 - John Muir
Renewable energy: but at what cost for Scotland's scenery?
Research: Wind power pricier, emits more CO2 than thought
Windfarms only giving half expected power this year
Firms paid to shut down wind farms when the wind is blowing
Renewables 'to re-industrialise us'
See also
Wind power failing to deliver energy that Scotland needs
The unreliability of Scotland’s wind power facilities was exposed yesterday
Dean Herbert - Daily Express - 7th April 2011
The unreliability of Scotland’s wind power facilities was exposed yesterday by a report produced by environmentalists.
It showed that over the past two years wind turbines metered by the National Grid ran at just 10 per cent of capacity for more than one-third of the time.
They ran at less than 20 per cent of their capacity for more than half the time.
The output from the 1,247 turbines across Scotland and 648 from other parts of the UK frequently dropped so low that the electricity produced could boil just 6,600 kettles – around three for every turbine.
Yet ministers are committed to building thousands more taxpayer-subsidised wind turbines in the quest for greener energy.
The report, by the Stuart Young Consultancy for conservation body the John Muir Trust, said wind power “cannot be relied on” when electricity is most needed.
During the four highest peak demands last year, the best wind could manage was 5.5 per cent of capacity.
Mr Young said there were 124 separate occasions from November 2008 till December 2010 when total generation from windfarms metered by the National Grid was less than 1.25 per cent of nominal capacity.
The report, Analysis of UK Wind Generation, also rejected the industry claim that wind farms generate on average 30 per cent of capacity.
It found that average output from wind was 27.1 per cent of metered capacity in 2009 and 21.1 per cent last year.
It concluded: “It is clear from this analysis that wind cannot be relied upon to provide any significant level of generation at any defined time in the future. There is an urgent need to re-evaluate the implications of reliance on wind for any significant proportion of our energy requirement.”
The report also suggested that back-up power generated from stored hydro power plants was not the solution to low periods of wind output. It said that if all four UK pumped storage plants were to be run simultaneously at full capacity, the stored water would be exhausted in 24 hours.
The John Muir Trust was founded in 1983 to safeguard wild lands against development and has fought windfarm schemes in sensitive areas across Scotland.
Mr Young said: “Over the two-year period studied in this report, the metered wind farms in the UK consistently generated far less energy than wind proponents claim is typical.
“The intermittent nature of wind also gives rise to low wind coinciding with high energy demand. Sadly, wind power is not what it’s cracked up to be and cannot contribute greatly to energy security in the UK.”
Helen McDade, head of policy at the John Muir Trust, said: “This report is a real eye-opener for anyone who’s been wondering just how much power Scotland is getting from the fleet of wind turbines that have taken over many of our most beautiful mountains and hillsides. The answer appears to be not enough, and much less than is routinely claimed.”
She was backed by anti-windfarm campaigners Country Guardian, whose spokesman Michael Hird said: “The countryside is being industrialised for a technology that doesn’t work.
“If we rely on wind power for energy we are living in cloud cuckoo land.”
First Minister Alex Salmond recently raised the renewable electricity target to 80 per cent of Scotland’s power output by 2020 as part of his vision for a “low-carbon economy”.
A Scottish Government spokesman said: “Wind power, alongside other forms of onshore and offshore renewables, cuts emissions and contributes to greater security of supply.”
[top]
Green group in row over wind energy
Chris Watt - Herald Scotland - 7th April 2011
One of Scotland’s top environmental charities has been accused of undermining its own work by launching a scathing attack on wind energy.
The John Muir Trust (JMT) yesterday released a report claiming the Government and energy industry routinely exaggerate the power of wind, and output for much of the past two years was below the official Government figures.
The industry body Scottish Renewables hit back, accusing researcher Stuart Young of serious discrepancies in his previous work and suggesting the was acting irresponsibly in supporting the report.
Mr Young, an energy consultant and anti-windfarm campaigner, found thousands of instances since 2008 where national output from wind energy dropped below 20 megawatts – barely enough for 6667 kettles to be boiled at once.
Mr Young’s study says wind turbines achieve a far smaller proportion of their capacity than is usually claimed.
Wind power is often said by industry figures to operate at 30% of its capacity. Mr Young’s study found average outputs were significantly lower, averaging 24% over 26 months.
His figures for 2009 were in line with the Scottish Government’s, although in 2008 the Government recorded the 30% output figure criticised in the new report. Mr Young had no figures for this period.
Energy consultant Garrad Hassan, previously commissioned by environmental groups such as Friends of the Earth, had higher figures than Mr Young for months where comparison is possible. In the year to November 2010 it recorded 24.8%, compared to 22% in the new report. Scottish Government figures for the period have not been released.
The John Muir Trust’s head of policy, Helen McDade described the report as “a real eye-opener for anyone who’s been wondering just how much power Scotland is getting from the fleet of wind turbines that have taken over many of our most beautiful mountains and hillsides”.
“The answer appears to be not enough, and much less than is routinely claimed,” she added.
Mr Young, the report’s author and the chairman of the Caithness Windfarm Information Forum – described on its website as “group of people concerned about the proliferation of windfarms in Scotland” – said as well as instances where output dropped to worryingly low levels, there were also widespread instances of output falling because of slow windspeeds as electricity demand peaked.
“Sadly, wind power is not what it’s cracked up to be and cannot contribute greatly to energy security in the UK,” he said.
“We have no confidence in these unofficial figures,” said Jenny Hogan, policy director for Scottish Renewables, the green energy industry body.
Referring to last year’s output, she said: “We recognise this is lower than the 30% average load factor. However, this was anticipated as it had been an exceptionally calm year. No form of electricity works at 100% capacity 100% of the time.”
She added: “It could be argued the trust is acting irresponsibly given their expertise lies in protecting our wild lands and yet they seem to be going to great lengths to undermine renewable energy which is widely recognised as one of the biggest solutions to tackling climate change.”
Ms McDade said the report concerns only large-scale windfarms and makes no mention of other renewables.
A Scottish Government spokesman said in 2009, renewables met more than 27% of Scottish electricity use. He added: “Wind power, alongside other forms of onshore and offshore renewables, cuts emissions and contributes to greater security of supply.”
Renewables 'to re-industrialise us'
Alex Salmond said green and low-carbon industries could create 130,000 jobs by 2020
SNP leader Alex Salmond said support for low-carbon energy would help "re-industrialise" Scotland, as he hit the campaign trail in Fife.
Mr Salmond was at a biomass plant being built to power Tullis Russell paper mill in Glenrothes.
The power plant, being built with funding support from the Scottish Government, will be owned and operated by RWE npower renewables and will provide 50 permanent jobs, as well as 400 jobs during its construction.
According to the SNP, it will reduce the carbon emissions of Tullis Russell by 72%, contributing to Scotland's reductions targets.
Speaking as he joined Mid-Fife and Glenrothes candidate Tricia Marwick on a tour of the site, Mr Salmond said: "At Tullis Russell they are leading the way as new technologies revitalise old industries. This plant will not only protect jobs at Tullis Russell, it will create jobs in construction and green-energy generation.
"And by 2020 we can create 130,000 jobs in our green and low-carbon industries."
He added: "Over the last four years we have approved 42 renewable energy developments, we have provided funding to support the biomass project here at Tullis Russell, to improve harbours here in Fife to ensure access for our renewable energy industry and the SNP government has established a £70 million fund to bring the infrastructure we need for our new green-energy industry into shape."
Ms Marwick said: "Fife has a bright future in our new green-energy industries and over the last four years the SNP has made sure that Fife is in prime position to play a key role in Scotland's green-energy future."
See also:
Significant Scots 1 - John Muir
Renewable energy: but at what cost for Scotland's scenery?
Research: Wind power pricier, emits more CO2 than thought
Windfarms only giving half expected power this year
Firms paid to shut down wind farms when the wind is blowing
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