tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6908362959739425575.post8006175754327071475..comments2024-03-26T21:47:45.016+00:00Comments on MEI's Barry Wills: Just how energy efficient are wind turbines?MEIhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14834780351452765156noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6908362959739425575.post-73333458266440123292019-08-27T03:57:49.430+01:002019-08-27T03:57:49.430+01:00Some times I wonder why so called Centres of Exce...Some times I wonder why so called Centres of Excellence of Science and engineering do not produce about 100 Ph.D. on various aspects raised above and then come up with some directions?Fully possible,partially possible etc.<br />Teaching institutes have to take a lead because they do not have bias to one or the other;; less expensive because they have excellent resultsRao,T.C.https://www.blogger.com/profile/11160713677908165404noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6908362959739425575.post-26744226796557419262019-08-26T13:17:35.018+01:002019-08-26T13:17:35.018+01:00Great idea Barry, but I'd like to see these st...Great idea Barry, but I'd like to see these stats over the last 20 years. Coal is a mature technology, so price and efficiency of construction are somewhat stable. Renewables are getting cheaper and more efficient with every generation, which is why we should be building them. Adam Johnstonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13311089192999695352noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6908362959739425575.post-34175253858843850942019-08-26T09:07:48.189+01:002019-08-26T09:07:48.189+01:00Agreed Patrick. We could argue that much energy is...Agreed Patrick. We could argue that much energy is also needed to build nuclear power stations, but then the energy produced by the subsequent nuclear reactions would easily offset this input. I would think that the net energy in a coal-fired power station would also be large enough to justify the input. My question is what is the net energy produced by a wind turbine over its life time? Is it large enough to justify its construction, bearing in mind that the energy required to produce the metals is likely to be mainly from fossil fuels?MEIhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14834780351452765156noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6908362959739425575.post-42759116701493145542019-08-26T09:07:07.312+01:002019-08-26T09:07:07.312+01:00Coal fired power stations also need mined metals. ...Coal fired power stations also need mined metals. The generators driven by steam use as much copper, rare earths and a lot more steel and concrete than a wind turbine. How much concrete in a cooling tower? Then there's the fly ash, and tailings ponds, the acid mine drainage issues at the coal mine, the haulage trucks quaffing diesel etc. A one sided look at the inputs to wind turbines isn't enough. It really should be a comparison of the total energy footprint of all alternatives.<br />Patrick Jay, Director at Adroit Process Equipment Pty Ltd, AustraliaAnonymousnoreply@blogger.com