Posted on 02/07/2023 11:08:31 AM PST by Red Badger
From the “you can’t make this stuff up” department comes this inane story. Josh has his take on it.
Scottish Power admitted 71 of its windmills were hooked up to the fossil fuel supply after a fault developed with their power supply.
Full story ---
Dozens of giant turbines on Scotland’s windfarms have been powered by diesel generators, the Sunday Mail can reveal. Scottish Power admitted 71 of its windmills were hooked up to the fossil fuel supply after a fault developed on the grid.
The firm said it was forced to act in order to keep the turbines warm during very cold weather in December. But a whistleblower has told the Sunday Mail the incident is among a number of environmental and health and safety failings.
The worker, who asked to remain anonymous, said: “The Scottish Government wants to make our country attractive to foreign investors as 40 per cent of the wind that blows across Europe blows across Scotland. However, that should not mean we put up with our waterways and nature being polluted with carbon from diesel generators and hydraulic oil.
“People should be aware that, while their energy costs continue to rise, our windfarms are not operating as efficiently as they could be due to corporate greed.”
Labour’s South Scotland MSP Colin Smyth said: “The SNP and Greens have proven time and time again they cannot be trusted on environmental issues. They laud Scotland’s potential for renewables, yet don’t appear to ensure those already in existence are properly run. This isn’t the first problem raised about this site and there is concern at a lack of openness when problems arise.
"Whatever the reasons, having to use diesel generators to de-ice faulty turbines is environmental madness. This level of dishonesty cuts to the very core of the SNP and Green Government where their rhetoric on net zero is very different from the reality."
Sixty turbines at Arecleoch Wind farm and 11 at Glenn App near Cairnrayn in South Ayrshire were affacted and connected to six huge diesel generators. The windfarms are operated by Scottish Power Renewables, a subsidiary of Spanish-based Iberdrola, which operates 1183 onshore turbines which can produce enough electricity to power two million homes.
But the whistleblower revealed how they had to bring in generators after the issue was discovered.
The worker said: “During December 60 turbines at Arecleoch and 11 at Glenn App were de-energised due to a cabling fault originating at Mark Hill wind farm. In order to get these turbines re-energised diesel generators were running for upwards of six hours a day.”
He also claimed there had been other technical issues and environmental problems discovered. They include:
Turbines left operating on half power for long periods due to faulty convertor modules. Others in “test mode” where they take rather than contribute electricity to the grid. Over 4000 litres of oil leaked from hydraulic units on turbines and sprayed over the countryside. Concerns about safety standards and transparency. The whistleblower said: “Turbines are regularly offline due to faults where they are taking energy from the grid rather than producing it, and also left operating on half power for long periods due to parts which haven’t been replaced.
"Dirty hydraulic oil is also regularly being sprayed out across the Scottish countryside due to cracks in mechanisms. Safety standards have not improved since a worker was killed in 2017 at Kilgallioch wind farm.”
We revealed last year how the chairman of ScottishPower, Spaniard Ignacio Galan, earned over £11million in 2021. He took home the massive package as millions of customers face being plunged into poverty by rocketing fuel costs.
A spokesman for Scottish Power confirmed diesel generators were used for a “short period of time” due to an “external fault on the GB network” which left three windfarms unable to operate during extreme cold weather in December. The spokesman insisted that diesel was not being used to generate electricity through the blades.
He added: “For context, Scottish Power measures the availability of its 1183 onshore turbines and looks at the percentage of time each turbine is ready and available to produce green energy, in 2022 this reliability figure was 96 per cent.”
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Josh, as usual, is on the case.
Carbon is not a pollutant, it is a plant growth stimulant. Why do these supposed Greens not like plants!?
When the wind doesn’t blow, they can use the diesel generators to run thousands of fans directed at the wind turbines. Clever!
Environmentalists shocked that life isn’t perfect.
Since the critic in this story does not claim in any way that cold weather / icing causes the windmills to cease functioning, and the diesel is used to keep the system warm enough to function, what praytell does he suggest be used instead? Hot breath?
BTW the windmill ‘solution’ is a very, very expensive and delicate system that consumes more fossil fuel energy in its production and operations than will ever be generated during the useful life of the machine. Then you have to dump it in a landfill. This is a very good example of leftist ‘logic’.
As we used to say in MN...”That’s Different”
Translation: “That is the dumbest thing I’ve ever heard of”
I think the claim was that some of the turbines, for an unspecified period, needed electricity generated by diesels to power heater elements that prevent them from freezing, because of an electrical fault that prevented them from using their own electricity. (In which event the torque on the blades from wind could result in severe damage to the units if they froze, I suppose.) The way it is written it is difficult to tell what the problem was.
Becase, basically, they don’t know what they’re talking about.
Out on Big Island Hawaii there is a crew that maintains windmills that don’t do anything but spin. But they keep them spinning to show just how great wind energy is on the island.
I don’t see “good statistics” anywhere in that video. I am pleased. Am I a bad guy?
Little known fact, large wind turbines are dependent on grid supplied energy to keep the turbines moving in calm air. If you see a turbine spinning very slowly, it is being powered not by wind but by electricity. Letting the turbine sit still in one position for very long can distort the bearings and their races and lead to failure. In huge turbines it can also lead to blade distortion due simply to gravity pulling the blades down thereby twisting them. This is probably what they are addressing; since the power cables failed somehow, they had to bring in the generators to keep the blades moving.
I am 100% behind renewable energy and will invest in such without qualms when it is competitive on a cost basis with fossil fuels. As of today, I have not invested one dollar for this.
Oddly hydro energy is great, and the environmentalist are tearing dams down for a snail darter fish. This is insanity.
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