CAPACITY LETTER on RENEWABLE ENERGY PROJECTS

For the past twenty five years, Renewable Energy Developers have weaved a web of legal deceit, by sleight of words, over outputs claimed from their project proposals. The crucial word used has been ‘capacity’, and linked to that ‘the capacity to power a quoted number of homes’. What they never say is that homes need schools; shops; factory workplaces; hospitals; offices that consume about two thirds of the grid. The number of houses is only one third of what they claim. A major difference. The gullible or conspiring Politicians, and some of the Public, have swallowed these presented figures as being real without questioning the meaning of ‘capacity’. The Press and Media has in general knowingly gone along with this.

The real meaning of capacity is ‘maximum’ under the most fleeting favourable conditions of wind and sunshine. We all know how variable wind can be and the sun does not shine at night. Yet these developers glibly or deliberately always use capacity.

The term needed over a whole year for any project is ‘effective of capacity’. For solar, it is admitted by Government, following probing freedom of Information Questions, to be only about 10% in most of the UK. As for onshore UK Wind Turbines it has been around 25% only. However, with advanced technology Solar Power effectiveness has increased a little but obviously not at night or under thick dark clouds. As for Wind Turbines their sizes have been changing to gargantum heights and are now being construced way off shore to reap steadier ocean winds. Certain countries boast that they are due to build extremely tall turbines with enormous blades to reap steadier open ocean wind to be 60% effective in future. These are boasts of foreign developers that may be dubious as I said above, so far in recent history they have weaved a web of legal deceit. I simply do not trust them.

However, an important new issue has just arisen and demands questions if we are to rely on offshoer ocean floating giant Wind Turbines. That issue is “60% capacity”, as ammazingly good it may be. Any fool should be asking where will we get the power from for the remaing 40%. Yes, even oceans can get becalmed, Ask the ghosts of sailing ship ancient mariners and ask the meaning of the word doldrums. Wind Power will always need readily available back up. We can’t rely on international connectors. Nuclear power is a beast if it is ramped up and down to follow wind fluctuations. We don’t have big UK rivers flowing down great heights, like some other natons, to rely on hydro at short notice. At present the only solution must be gas until some new science is introduced for the ‘Net Zero Carbon Brigade’. The root of all this has been extremely gullible Politicians accepting ‘capacity’ figures to bolster their warped beliefs! Otherwise we will freeze in hard harsh winters.

I. Richard, Swansea.