$10,000 is a totally insane price for that thing. These renewable energy companies seem to be operating with a rip-off mentality.

EvotingMachine0197 wrote:

$10,000 is a totally insane price for that thing. These renewable energy companies seem to be operating with a rip-off mentality.

That's bubbly investment-cycle stuff isn't it ? A frenzy starts from a something milder and then an industry rises on top of investment and then it's self-fuelled bubble for a while - STEP RIGHT UP. It's getting to the point where medium-sized towns will be able to buy small nuclear reactors. Want to chip in and move to Cloughjordan ?

I wonder will system demand for electricity fall with the recesssion ? I could start a thread on it. Here's system demand so far for today



The wind has looked good against it over the past three or four few days - up around 600 MW which is a good fraction of the daily demand averaged over day and night. Every small bit of electricity helps surely. As one fella from Iceland on TV was saying about the hot springs in Iceland generating 10% of power, Iceland gets energy one year in ten FOR FREE. It's worth remembering that the capacity factor of turbines is around 40% so if we had the equivalent system demand in turbines then we'd have four out of ten years worth of electricity produced at home - no imports of fossils.


Eirgrid

Auditor #9 wrote:

I wonder will system demand for electricity fall with the recesssion ? I could start a thread on it. Here's system demand so far for today

Global demand surely will what with a reduction in industrial output and that. However, I would have thought the vast majority of electricity consumed in Ireland is domestic, more so than most countries owing to there being less heavy industry, so I can't see Ireland's demand falling that much. Recession or no recession we need to heat and light our houses and most people aren't going to stop watching television or boiling the kettle. A reduction in petrol consumed seems more likely to me on the domestic front.

Some good figures on wind energy, although starting from a low base.

12/11/2008 - 12:09:23
Ireland's use of renewable energy is growing by almost 20% a year.

A report from Sustainable Energy Ireland shows our use of renewables doubled over the four years to 2007.

As a result of a 12% increase last year, 2.1 million tonnes of CO2 emissions were avoided.

Half of last year's renewable energy contribution came from wind energy.

Are decent batteries finally here which can be used to collect wind power ?


NaS battery pack

Some lads over in the States in Minnesota have rigged up a massive 80-ton battery which is the size of two tractor trailiers according to Ecogeek. The batteries can store enough charge for 500 homes for seven hours. How long does it take to charge those batteries though and are they themselves friendly to the world ?

The company which makes them, NGK in Japan, say on their site that the batteries can last for upto 15 years and produce no gas or noise pollution. These NAS (Sodium Sulfide) batteries can operate at high efficiency according to the NGK site because internal resistance contributes perfectly to the heat required to have the battery operate at its optimal. That temperature is 300 degrees centrigrade

If they work though and are affordable then whole communities could be chipping in to power themselves - maybe the likes of the lads in Cloughjordan have enough funds to get their hands on one of them things.

I'm still waiting to hear Mr. Ryan's reply on the energy plan for Ireland. After hearing about Ciaran Cuffe's ordeal by car park, my hopes are dwindling fast.

"Manhattan Project for Maine" - Massive 5 GW (Ireland's total demand)

Quote :

If T. Boone Pickens has decided the capital markets can’t fund his plan for a 4 GW wind farm right now, we’re wondering how a group called the Ocean Energy Institute plans to build one of the world’s largest wind farm — made up of 5GW of floating turbines — off the Gulf of Maine. This week the International Herald Tribune took a look at the Ocean Energy Institute and its plan to use funds “from major corporations and foundations” to build five 9.2-square-mile offshore wind farms in the Gulf of Maine starting in 5-7 years with full deployment in 10 years.
..
Dubbing the plan a “Manhattan Project for Maine,” the Ocean Energy Institute says it could create some 20,000-30,000 jobs.

http://earth2tech.com/2008/11/28/massive-gulf-of-maine-wind-farm-proposed/


The start of the ... ?

Wind Stocks

The Bloomberg Wind Energy Index. Went to 1100 in June but is now down to around 500 - that's not as bad a % fall as other indices like the ISEQ ..



http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/quote?ticker=BWIND:IND

Auditor #9 wrote:

I wonder will system demand for electricity fall with the recesssion ? I could start a thread on it. Here's system demand so far for today

Yes, as the level of economic activity contracts, so too does the concomitant electricity consumption. Offices need light, sites need generators, factories need heat and so on. However, the effect should be largely minimal as the shrinkage in the economy should be approximately 5% over 2008 and 2009 with a 2% contraction possible for both years in terms of GDP. That would lead to only a marginal drop in electricity consumption and the fundamental decline may be masked by seasonal factors throughout the year.

http://www.breakingnews.ie/ireland/mhidididcwql/

They're doing an Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) up North, for off shore wind energy. That will look at impacts of an increase and allow applications for permission to be assessed.

Did anyone here a guy from "Friends of the Earth" Oisin someone? yesterday saying that Government is in an EU committee today trying to argue down the planned level of renewable energy? Where are the Green Party on this?

Does anyone know if it is true?

cactus flower wrote:

http://www.breakingnews.ie/ireland/mhidididcwql/

They're doing an Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) up North, for off shore wind energy. That will look at impacts of an increase and allow applications for permission to be assessed.

Did anyone here a guy from "Friends of the Earth" Oisin someone? yesterday saying that Government is in an EU committee today trying to argue down the planned level of renewable energy? Where are the Green Party on this?

Does anyone know if it is true?

Sorry, I don't anyway. Which would be unfortunate in case wind technology developed and we didn't buy it. The yoke below is one of the latest in designs applied to turbines. I've a feeling the concept could also be applied to the undersea tidal machines we've seen here.

Jet engine technology comes to the wind turbine
http://www.ecogeek.org/content/view/2337/86/

Some crowd in Massachussets called "FloDesign" has invented a way of capturing more of the wind that normally passes over the turbine blades of conventional windmills. This thing funnels the wind into and around itself like a jet engine. I guess it uses some energy itself in focusing the wind that is normally deflected but then again it is a much smaller device than the lovely monstrosities we see around the place.

It makes sense for tidal turbines too - water will displace itself around a blade but if forced to go through a tunnel by virtue of design then surely more power can be wrung out of the moving stream of water.


Reproduced with permission from Ecogeek

The thing in action