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[cdn-nucl-l] Is the answer blowing in the wind?
Windmills were a good idea in Holland in the last century to grind wheat
into flour, but they were replaced by more efficient technologies.
We had nice sailing ships (tall ships) years ago, and they were replaced by
a better technology (fossil-powered ships).
Following the logic of pseudo-environmentalists, we ought to replace
fossil-powered ships with (more efficient) sailing ships. But
nuclear-powered ships would make a lot more sense, if nuclear technology
didn't have such a negative image. Isn't it time to work harder at
improving the image of nuclear as a safe, beneficial technology?
Jerry
----- Original Message -----
From: Brown, Morgan <brownmj@aecl.ca>
To: cdn-nucl-l (E-mail) <cdn-nucl-l@informer2.cis.McMaster.CA>
Sent: Thursday, January 04, 2001 2:02 PM
Subject: RE: [cdn-nucl-l] India to increase the role of renewables
> Wind energy is worth exploring and exploiting, where possible. But it is
> usually accompanied by low capacity factors, typically 20 to 30%. There
is
> a Danish wind energy web site, with an electricity production table at:
> http://www.windpower.dk/stat/tab14.htm
>
> In the latest UIC bi-monthly newsletter http://www.uic.com.au/news.htm :
>
> Wind blows hard in Europe.
> The 1999 IEA report on wind energy shows three countries generating more
> than 1 TWh from wind, with load factors ranging from 19 to 28%: Germany
7.4
> TWh at 19% load factor, Spain 3.75 TWh at 28%, and Denmark 3.055 TWh at
20%.
>
> APG Nuclear Issues July 2000.
>
> In 1999 Germany & Spain produced 169.9 and 58.9 TWh (gross) from nuclear,
> respectively. About 93% of this power gets delivered to the grids to give
> the net generation. In Canada we generated 74.3 TWh (gross) from nuclear
in
> 1999.
>
> A very interesting and detailed wind site is
> http://www.wisconsinwindproject.com/ with up-to-date performance graphs
> available at http://www.wpsenergy.com/windmill/
>
> The variability in output is enormous! Wind energy is a practical
> additional small source of electricity, but requires a means of energy
> storage. Hydrogen production comes to mind, either as a production unit
> (for vehicle hydrogen) or for a hydrogen reservoir with a series of fuel
> cells on site to use the H2 when wind speeds are down. Or how about using
> some of the electricity in peak generation periods to pump water up to a
> reservoir, to be used during lower wind periods?
>
> I hear there are now over 5000 wind turbines in Denmark. While Denmark
may
> produce 8-10% of its electricity from wind, it is still, I believe, the
> highest per-capita generator of greenhouse gases.
>
> Morgan Brown
> My opinions alone
>
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