In the early Nineteen hundreds the foundations for the coal fired Battersea Power Station in Southwest London were laid and when the building was completed in 1929 it was, and still is, a large brick-built structure dominating the skyline with four tall chimneys at its corners.
It continued producing electricity for fifty-four years up until 1983, after which it lay dormant for some time, however after some head scratching and redesigning it has been turned into luxury flats overlooking the River Thames.
A little personal tale; we used to love messing around in boats especially the type with a mast and a sail, perfect, the canvas playing with the wind as it propelled the vessel along. There was always a need to be aware and ready to adjust the sheets as suddenly the breeze could change and come from another direction with a different force or maybe it just stopped blowing.
On one occasion in late October, when the wind is normally fresh and strong, an ideal time to spend a long weekend sailing, but it was not to be. It was fun the first morning, then the wind dropped, nothing, not a breeze or a gust to get excited about. So instead of enjoying the time being busy dodging around the vessel to adjust the canvas for speed and comfort as the craft sailed through the water it wasn’t going to happen, if we had wanted to go anywhere then it was diesel power from the small outboard motor.
There have been reports recently that the UK is running out of gas to drive the power stations which are used as a back up to the wind turbines, because of the severe cold weather they are not producing enough energy to supply the grid, in other words wind turbines do not always work.
About the time the power station was being planned in London a German scientist Betz Zimit studied consequences of generating electricity from wind turbines and the Betz Report states no matter how fast the wind is blowing it is only possible to achieve 59.3 percent efficiency.
The best results are achieved when the blades are turning in the wind at 25 to 55 mph … the average annual wind speed in the United Kingdon is a little over eight miles per hour. The point is that at very low speeds these giant edifices are doing nothing for the power supply and above the higher figure they are closed down to prevent damage to the turbine structure. (No doubt where these turbines are to be constructed the wind velocity is higher).
It is a delusion to say these assemblies produce low-cost power as each has its own individual price tag, vast foundations of concrete and steel … Think of a detached house full of concrete.
They also have intense manufacturing and maintenance costs plus substantial weighty vehicles for transport of the finished item, and a mass of ground works to take away the electricity it produces.
It would be marvellous if all the Wind Turbines that are planned and being constructed across the green and pleasant countryside of the United Kingdom, on their demise after fifteen or so years could be used in a similar way to the old Battersea Power Station. But what use can a pile of worn-out rusting metal be put to?
However, the strategy could be to change the wind farms stretching for miles along the horizon into domestic homesteads, each pulled down and on the substantial foundations which they stand on being used to build masses of apartments for the homeless and maybe illegal visitors. Perhaps that is what the Government means when it says it is going to build millions of houses. Take care.
