Eloise HorsfieldA RECORD 60 per cent of all of Spain’s electricity was powered by wind turbines on one day earlier this month.
The feat, achieved thanks to high winds across the Iberian Peninsula, beat the previous record of 54.1 per cent set on December 30, 2010, over five hours.
ind energy supplied 59.6 per cent of production for two hours in the early hours of November 6 according to the Spanish Electricity Network (REE).
The energy put into the country’s national grid by Spain’s huge network of wind turbines was the equivalent to more than 11 nuclear power stations’ worth of electricity.
Can they store it, if not it’s a bit of a waste isn’t it, fine if we had high winds 24×7 365 days a year, not verynice to go out in.
Always the nit-picking when alternative energy is the subject. Every little helps. Just think of the oil or coal or gas that isn’t burned while these beauties are spinning. Turbines are only a part of the mix, including geo-thermal, renewable bio-mass, solar (fantastic in Spain) and wave energy on that Atlantic coast. Quite a lot of storage could be accomplished by storing it in vehicle batteries and using it for transport of all kinds. The will to overcome the giant fossil fuel behemoth is lacking at present, let’s hope we see sense before it’s too late.
I don’t think it is nit-picking to observe that when the wind is not blowing you need a power generating capacity of at least the same size, and that when it is blowing, you cannot just turn those power stations off. So you now have twice the capacity you need.
P.M.: Got any better ideas? Or should we just chuck in the towel?
Regarding “storing” excess electricity, we already have the technology. Electric cars. If municipalities converted to hybrid vehicles, excess electricity could be directed to plugged in public vehicles. As well, excess overnight electricity can be used to pump downstream water to reservoirs above hydro dams, again serving as a “battery” for future use. Anything to reduce our dependence on nuclear energy and our use of carbon fuels is good.
Solar Kayak: That’s more like it, sense at last and no nits.